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Originally Posted by BookZombie
Also as a side note I think it is wrong to forbid people who are Nazi to wear the symbol, I think Neo Nazis are messed up in the head and I could not disagree with them more. However part of the freedom of speech is that even idiots get to express themselves. If they harm anyone throw their asses in jail but if they just want to go around and hate and wear the swastika then by all means let them, it also makes it easier to identify them to keep an eye on them.
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That's an interesting point. At what point does something become offensive enough that it has to be banned? I mean, the swastika literally means good luck. Hindus have used it for years as well as boy scouts.
But as for its use in relation to Nazi beliefs, I wonder. Consider this. Racism is illegal, or at least, public racism is illegal. As in, you can have your views, however the second they leave your mouth you are guilty of prejudice biggotry and if it offends, you can get in serious shit. The swastika has unfortunately come to represent views precisely of that nature, and therefore, in wearing it, a neo-nazi is physically displaying their hostile views with intention of letting others know. Is that different from announcing publicly in the streets "I hate n*****s and Jews!"? It has potential to offend many.
The issue with freedom of speech is that there is no way to "measure" offensiveness. Anything has the potential to offend anybody. And when it does, you're breaching their freedoms. Something as widely offensive as racism is publicly recognised as outrageous and therefore it is controlled. However the classic argument is "I have a right to my views!" and therefore in suppressing them you are removing the racist's freedoms, because they have in turn breached the offended person's freedoms.
It's a continuing cycle. I don't know. To be honest, I don't think broad laws can be put on matters which are entirely based on personal reactions such as how offended people are, because it differs so much from person to person. I just hope people aren't so disrespectful of their fellow humans that they would do something so widely recognised as offensive.