First Amendment

Originally Published December 20, 2006; Last Updated and Republished November 15, 2009:

Holocaust denier David Irving has been released from jail.

It is shocking that any nation adhering to democratic principles would enact and enforce a law prohibiting a person from denying the holocaust or anything else!

Shame on Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Australia for enacting and enforcing such an anti-democratic law!

Link to Misblog's Austria's Supreme Court Deserves Muzzle Award

Web:

• UPDATED 11/15/2009 Wired, Hackers Post Private E-mails of Historian and Accused Holocaust Denier.

  Irving's response to these modern day vigilantes must be "FUCK OFF"—continuing to exercise his freedom of speech and association rights as he and only he sees fit.

  Regardless, of what you think about a person's speech you have no right to engage in bullying tactics to suppress their speech—regardless of how vile that speech may be perceived.

  Those exercising their speech and association rights on controversial topics or subjects may find it helpful to use disposable email accounts until these modern day vigilantes can be tracked down, outed, and criminally prosecuted.

  Ironically (and more than a little hypocritical) the modern day vigilantes hide behind the anonymous transparency site Wikileaks¹ to bully Irving for anonymously reserving a speaking facility.

  Additionally, the modern day vigilantes² harm the very cause they seek to aid—and likely bolster the the deniers' crusade. At a minimum one crusade calling attention to another crusade.

• Holocaust denier to be released
• Other Incidents of Suppressing Speech Freedoms of Holocaust Deniers:

  • UPDATED 05/14/2009 UPI, Holocaust denier sentenced to three months.. Surprisingly Australia has joined the nations engaging in the ridiculous behavior of jailing Holocaust deniers—jailing Holocaust denier Frederick Toben for three months.

    How is it that a nation jailing anybody for speech can be rated "green" by Freedom House?

    "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers."--Freedom House quoting Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 19--

-----notes-----

1. Using Wikileaks for the purpose of suppressing an individual's First Amendment guarantees is disrespectful of the speech-enhancing mission that enables Wikileaks to attract and sustain a large measure of support.

2. UPDATED 11/17/2009 Vigilantes are not known for their ability to think through the logic implications of their vigilantism but just in case there is an exception:

The vigilantes should consider to what extent the Holocaust was caused by a denial of speech, association, and religious rights (First Amendment); To what extent were the Jews bullied for their speech, association and religious beliefs (for example told they could not work or in many cases killed); To what extend do the vigilantes compromise their own speech, association, and religious beliefs by denying the same to the deniers; And finally to what extent does the vigilantes actions in suppressing the deniers' speech, association and religious beliefs increase rather than decrease the likelihood that the very event the vigilantes seek to avoid repeating will in fact repeat.