Free Speech Advocates Raise Alarm After Writer is Jailed in Switzerland for Insulting Lesbian Journalist
“that intolerance and repression already is present in various forms in the United States, particularly through campus speech codes and bias reporting”
This story is just crazy. Professor Jacobson is quoted, talking about how this could be coming here soon.
FOX News reports:
Swiss writer being jailed for insulting lesbian journalist alarms free speech advocates
A court in Switzerland fined and sentenced a writer and pundit to 60 days in jail for calling a journalist a “fat lesbian,” alarming free speech advocates across the globe.
On Monday, controversial French-Swiss polemicist Alain Bonnet, who goes by Alain Soral and is a noted Holocaust denier, was sentenced by the Lausanne court for the crimes of defamation, discrimination and incitement to hatred after he criticized Catherine Macherel, a journalist for Swiss newspapers Tribune de Geneve and 24 Heures, in a Facebook video two years ago.
The story caught the attention of numerous U.S. outlets and alarmed some stateside free speech advocates…
Cornell Law School professor William A. Jacobson agrees and said Americans need to be careful.
“It sounds outrageous to most Americans that someone could be sent to prison for what at worst was a crude joke. But that intolerance and repression already is present in various forms in the United States, particularly through campus speech codes and bias reporting procedures that turn one person’s joke into a punishable thought crime,” Jacobson told Fox News Digital.
“The problem with punishing ‘hate’ speech is, who gets to decide what is hate speech? Free speech then becomes subject to the whims of the people with power,” Jacobson added. “Europe is just a few years ahead of us, and will be our future if we are not careful.”
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Comments
“The problem with punishing ‘hate’ speech is, who gets to decide what is hate speech?”
Irony:
“French-Swiss polemicist Alain Bonnet, who goes by Alain Soral and is a noted Holocaust denier”
This in itself has been a crime in Germany for years. Switzerland?
He was convicted of the terrible sin of calling Catherine Macherel a fat lesbian, not Holocaust denial.
Yep, pretty much this.
I think Henry’s point is that it’s ok in Switzerland to deny the Holocaust but not to call someone a fat lesbian. If that’s Henry’s point, then it’s a good one.
Fat lesbian, Catherine Macherel, is a fat lesbian. I have never seen a fatter lesbian in all of Fat Lesbianville. Honestly, the only reasonable way to fight this nonsense is to scream all over the internet that Catherine Macherel is a fat lesbian.
*Crosses Switzerland off of places to visit*
Great comment. For me the problem is, what countries can I visit? For the
most part, Europe sucks. Maybe Thailand. We went to Georgia (the country) this year. I can recommend that.
Laurence Fox has been arrested for talking.
https://mugclub.rumble.com/post/4681422/orwell-warned-everybody-https-rumble-com-v3n00ia-laurence-fox-arrested-in-englan
It sounds like Switzerland is also indirectly outlawing fat lesbians.
How can calling someone a fat lesbian be defamatory, discriminatory, and/or incitement to hatred? I don’t speak French so can’t be absolutely positive the Tribune de Geneve image I Ducked is the correct Cathy, but the woman in question looks to be old (60+), lesbian (hair shorter than some guys but styled similarly), and fat, or at least matronly figured, Doesn’t factual accuracy or truth matter any more?
While Holocaust Denialism is vile, the court ruling in this case seems to be a triumph of power and privilege over common sense, and justice.
I’m shocked. I thought Switzerland was an island of sanity in a ridiculously leftist Europe. Guess I was wrong! Is there some kind of contest going on over there for the stupidest country? The Netherlands is determined to close a third of its farms, despite the farmer’s opposition and the damage to the country’s economy. France battled huge violent protests of a reduction of benefits from the government. And they are all pretending the Ukraine has always been an independent country, instead of an ethnic enclave, much like the Basques and the Catalans. Geez!