If you are a university president and you cannot say that calling for the "genocide of jews" violates your schools code of conduct, then you need to resign. If instead you need to know the "context," you have no business being in high education.
@marcelias Now do Netanyahu’s cabinet.
IMHO - The first amendment shouldn’t protect calls for genocide. Period. Germany is freer than the US exactly because they don’t allow this kind of speech.
There is no intellectual or political or artistic value in a call for genocide.
Ban them.
@morecowbell @marcelias You're claiming Germany is freer than us because they restrict more freedoms? ...what?
@LouisIngenthron @morecowbell @marcelias Yes - as the right to murder is not a freedom, neither is the right to call or organize or plan for genocide.
Any claim to the contrary is nonsense.
And the irony is not lost on me that this is Germany I’m talking about.
@morecowbell There is no "right to murder", but if it were not illegal, then you would absolutely have "freedom to murder".
There are valid claims you can make about outlawing murder or genocidal speech, but "more free" is definitely not one of them.
@LouisIngenthron @morecowbell Law is not morality and an unfettered “right to murder” is found in no legal or ethical system in human history, much less in post-enlightenment thinking which our conversation is concerned with.
A society where murder is legal is unfree by definition, because there is no freedom of movement or association.
Simply put, outlawing speech advocating genocide is completely consistent with enlightenment values and definitions of “freedom”.
@morecowbell No, it's not. If murder was legal, you'd still be free to move and associate. It would just be more dangerous. You seem to be confusing "safety" with "freedom". These are two separate concepts.
More importantly, I want to know who the genocide advocates are so I can disassociate from them and shun them. If the government keeps them silent, then they'll be a hidden rot on our society, and I won't be able to make informed decisions about my associations.
@LouisIngenthron No. Freedom is predicated on stability and safety. A government that can’t provide that, can’t guarantee freedom. And if men were angels we wouldn’t need government.
Unless you’re going to argue tribal areas of Afghanistan or Somalia are more free than modern Germany (which is, of course, nonsense) your claim fails.
You lose nothing by banning advocation of genocide and you gain freedom AND stability.
You don’t have to worry about associating with jailed Nazis.