Want to take action against anti-gay groups on Facebook?

hate to say it, but I feel compelled to: Freedom of Speech and the Press.

We arent going to win support by going after peoples right to have a opinion and express it. yes, they do it to us, but should we sink to their lowly little level?

 

I agree with Emberstone. Having the people who don't agree with us denied the freedom to speak their mind just goes against the ethos of most western nations. =/

There's better ways to go about it..

 

This is the beauty of freedom of speech. You can say bullshit, but expect other people to point it out if you do. As far I'm concerned, the best bet for fighting anti-gay sentiments is to laugh at them. Marrying a cat is hilarious! Not allowing gay students in universities? I'm in stitches! God hates fags? Well, they do give you cancer...

Laugh them off. Don't try to surpress their freedoms. Or we are just being hypocritical.

 

You have the right to report the group, and facebook can deem whats appropriate and what isn't. People have the right to be assholes and private business owners also have the right to decide who they want to serve.

 

And LOL @ abort gay babies. They can't be serious xD

 

i know i was like wtf really
however i do agree these people have a right to say this stuff even if it is stupid. What would be funny is if a bunch of gay, lesbian, and bisexuals joined the groups and just started making fun of them or disproving there stupid points. Easier way to educate those ignorant about the subject. You have to admit it would be funny as hell to see a group called GOD HATES FAGS then have 90% of the members be gay and using it to educate people who think its wrong. The homophobes won't even see the trap coming lol

oh also 71390S i love your sig lol

 

lol thanks!

And yeah, they can say whatever they want. But just like how a private restaurant can kick out and not serve whomever they choose, facebook can consider feedback from their customers and serve whomever they choose. People are also allowed to speak their opinions on what *others* say.

chose...choose...I can't remember which one is correct.

 

Yep, I'm in the same camp as Numfarh. I highly value my freedom of speech. If we had the power to take away all these Facebook groups dedicated to anti-gay rhetoric...... what do you think THEY would have done to us years ago? You think you'd see any pro-gay stuff? We are still a minority. Freedom of speech is our very saving grace, it's what has allowed us to get as far as we have. So no, I won't support a group that squelches the opinions of others, even if they are distasteful and ignorant.

 

I'm a bit puzzled by all this "it's freedom of speech" argument. So, if I make a facebook group called, for instance, "people with Down syndrome should die!" I should not be reported so that "freedom of speech" remains inviolate? I think there're limits. We may argue about where to draw the line, but I don't think anything's permissible.

 

Which is why having the freedom to voice your opinion about another person's opinion is so awesome

EDIT: If you weren't allowed to voice *your* opinion on this group, that would be censoring freedom of speech. Whether you chose to is up to you

 

I think anything short of an actual crime should not be restricted by force. Things like verbal threats of violence can be restricted and prosecuted (they already are). But professing opinions like "I don't like gays" is perfectly legal and should be so. Hurting someone's feelings shouldn't be a reason to take away rights of anyone.

 

Someone's feelings being hurt is too vague a criterion. A Madonna fan might feel bad if he sees a group called 'Madonna sucks', but of course this doesn't merit banning said group. So, when I say there has to be a limit, I'm not suggesting that each and every facebook group that might somehow offend someone should be reported. Ultimately, this is the basis of anti-discrimination policies and regulations: they don't ban everything that might hurt someone, but they have certain criteria, which can surely be arguable but are not totally arbitrary. I'm not saying all these groups mentioned in the first post should be deleted, I'm not even that concerned about them in particular --though you'll probably agree with me that there's a difference between 'I don't like gays' and 'Keep gay abortion legal'. I'm just not in favour of allowing absolutely everything in mass media or mass social nets for the sake of freedom of speech. There was some stir here a while ago due to a facebook group made to insult and make fun of a deaf and dumb poor woman that was always seen begging in the streets. They chose her to make the point that deaf and dumb people are stupid and ridiculous. The group was reported by some psychologist and later deleted. I thought Facebook's decision was totally right. And yet, you could also claim that freedom of speech was violated here: I guess it all comes down to what you prefer to preserve.

This is pretty much answered above. I don't condemn freedom of speech, I just think it's relative when dealing with mass media and mass social groups.

 

Well yeah, I think it's obvious I agree

 

Yeah, I pretty much agree as well. In the case you mentioned, it could be considered libel in a court of law had the woman chosen to pursue it (if she even knew about it) as it attacked her character specifically, rather than as a generalized statement about hearing-impaired people. Libel is very rarely prosecuted, though, because it is fairly easy to disprove a case or to simply settle out of court.

"Keep aborting gay babies" I'm on the fence on as far as legality. It's in the same camp with "Fags go to hell" that the Phelps clan uses. It's not really libel, a threat, treason, or fraud. It's just cruel. Then again, anyone who joins a group about aborting gay babies is all sorts of mixed up. Generally, anti-gay are not pro-choice. But that's a subject for another time, lol.

So in the end, yes, there are restrictions to the Freedom of Speech. But they should only be put into play when they infringe on the rights or life of someone else.

 

are yall sure it's real? "aborting gay babies" seemed pretty satirical, te he.

 

I like these groups. Because to defeat your enemy you must first know who they are.


My thought is that if you want true change you can't legislate it or write it into policy. The only thing you can do is make it happen and push for critical mass. When that happens your detractors have two choices. Go along or move along.

 

I learned in my Amer. Gov't class that people had the right to say or do whatever they wanted as long as they didn't infringe on the rights of others. Ranting against gays is legal, but banning our rights aren't.

 

Sad thing is if they ever find out that being gay is genetic this could actually happen.

 

In my opinion, the Freedom-of-Speech smegma only covers rational and polite arguments. I mainly went for the cyberbullying and very strong hate-speech groups.

I wonder if since I'm using Facebook France if they'll send my English reports over to the US regions...? I dunno.

In any case, I hope I helped. :'D