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Forums - Politics Discussion - Belgian man convicted for sexism, will be jailed if fine isn't paid, Under new law.

 

I find this...

Funny. 10 16.39%
 
Absurd. 20 32.79%
 
Scary. 16 26.23%
 
Sexist. 7 11.48%
 
Indifferent/comments... 8 13.11%
 
Total:61
super_etecoon on 17 March 2018
DarthMetalliCube said:
RolStoppable said:

Yes, we need laws. The reason why laws need to exist is because basic human decency isn't something that all people live by. Those who are prone to do stupid things must be kept in check.

This law isn't demeaning to women in the slightest. It's also not an obstacle for men, unless you want to turn around and argue against your own argument of basic human decency. Anyone with basic human decency has no risk to get charged and convicted because to this law.

Fair enough I guess. Just glad I don't live in Europe lol.. Like I said, I suppose it boils down to cuture. Americans HIGHLY value our freedom of speech (me probably even moreso than even most other Americans heh).

It's not that I feel this law or this one case is in and of itself dangerous. It's more what the law implies, and the slippery slope of where it could lead us as a civilized, logical, and free society.

For instance - after this, why not just lock people up for insults? Or being assholes (as I believe Kristof already mentioned here). Or what if people are eventually insulted by just looking a certain way of others, and could be fined for an "aggressive stare" lol. Will arguing or talking back one day come with a fine? See once you've opened this can of worms, there's no telling how much they can spread. (That's a phrase right? Screw it, I'm making it one lol).

Hate speech is not protected speech, even in the US.  

Hate speech is speech which attacks a person or group on the basis of attributes such as race, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, or gender.[1][2] In the law of some countries, hate speech is described as speech, gesture or conduct, writing, or display which is forbidden because it incites violence or prejudicial action against a protected group, or individual on the basis of their membership of the group, or because it disparages or intimidates a protected group, or individual on the basis of their membership of the group. The law may identify a protected group by certain characteristics.[3][4][5] In some countries, hate speech is not a legal term[6]and in some it is constitutionally protected.[7]



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DarthMetalliCube on 17 March 2018

Alrighty.. Well I need to step away from this topic because I can easily spend all day getting lost in discussing freedom of speech. It's absolutely one of my hot button issues and one of the things I cherish most in the world, so I can easily see myself getting very heated at some point and that's not where I want to go. I certainly don't want to waste my St. Patty's day doing that.

Luckily the vast majority here and I assume generally speaking aren't ok with this type of dictatorial behavior of governments so that's good enough for me lol. Different strokes for different folks I guess. :/

So carry on all.. Maybe I'll revisit this in like a week or something.



 

"We hold these truths to be self-evident - all men and women created by the, go-you know.. you know the thing!" - Joe Biden

Ganoncrotch on 17 March 2018
DarthMetalliCube said:

More proof that we're slooowly but surely regressing back into the dark ages..

So racist, I'm triggered and offended for people from the dark ages! They're all dead so I'll be offended for them on the internet! That seems to be a good way to distract from not having a job in 2018!

 

#metoo



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kirby007 on 17 March 2018

Truth be told this is why we make belgian jokes



 "I think people should define the word crap" - Kirby007

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numberwang on 17 March 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoqXLbchg6Y



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Aeolus451 on 17 March 2018
Flilix said:
DarthMetalliCube said:

Seriously, I keep hearing stuff like this happening in Europe and I'm like "really guys? And we're criticizing Americans for electing a so called 'dictator' as president?" Not that I like Trump, but some of the things currently going on in Europe sound FAR more dictatorial than in the US. At least we've still got our freedom of speech (well sort of) :/

Every single western European country is more free than the US.

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/freedom-world-2018

Most of them don't have freedom of expression or freedom of speech so I have to disagree with that.



forest-spirit on 17 March 2018
numberwang said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoqXLbchg6Y

Yeah, the real problem here is the fact that we have girls wearing the police uniform when they should be at home making dinner. The man who was fined did the right thing when he tried to put the police woman in place.



SuperNova on 17 March 2018

You have to go to jail over every fine you don't pay, That has nothing to do with the sexism charge,
People go to jail over being cought without a ticket in public transport and not paying the fine (I think it's five days for that), so there's nothing sensetional about the possibility of jailtime here.

Also I assume he'll pay the fine in installments (wich is almost always the case), so the likelyhood of this actually eding in jailtime is pretty miniscule.



ironmanDX on 17 March 2018

So... It's basically verbal abuse?


That's not worth jail time. He should pay the fine though.



Conina on 17 March 2018
Aeolus451 said:
Flilix said:

Every single western European country is more free than the US.

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/freedom-world-2018

Most of them don't have freedom of expression or freedom of speech so I have to disagree with that.

Which ones? Can you list them?