Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/03/21/count-dankula-convicted-for-na.html
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Every so often another country reminds us why the First Amendment is important. Yes, what he did here is in extremely bad taste, but there is no argument to be made that he was actually going to hurt anyone or cause actual damage.
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Very true, all these hate groups that kill people just spring out the ground. It is completely natural, and there is literally nothing we can do to avoid their formation and propagation.
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To me it’s weird that this case seems so clear cut to you that you think it’s a good poster child for the first amendment. Scotland has freedom of speech too.
Out of the literal ground. It’s properties of the soil that explain the difference in the level of violence between nations.
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Waiting for the red faced, teary eyed, “I didn’t really mean it” court room photos. 
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… there is no argument to be made that he was actually going to hurt anyone or cause actual damage.
Weird. And here I thought that World War 2 was a solid argument against letting entitled white pricks do the Nazi thing unchecked. I’m pretty sure Poland would agree with me.
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He said " i did it to mainly annoy my girlfriend."
You mean, looking at his face wasn’t enough already?
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Nazi Pugs, Nazi Pugs, Nazi Pugs… F*ck off!
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“Weird. And here I thought that World War 2 was a solid argument against letting entitled white pricks do the Nazi thing unchecked. I’m pretty sure Poland would agree with me.”
Yeah, because it’s one step from Nazi pugs to Auschwitz. A free society allows the expression of unpleasant ideas. That’s what separates us from the fascists. The state can’t, and shouldn’t try to, adjudicate hate speech. If the government’s argument is predicated on avoiding offense towards any given minority group watch out because everything is now fair game. We exist in a marketplace of ideas, and freedom of conscience and thought is the bedrock upon which it is built, regardless of how unpleasant those ideas are.
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This is where the apologists and excusers step in with, “Can’t you take a joke?”
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Too late; there are at least two apologists in this thread already.
It’s gonna be a long 5 days.
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Do you have any sources to support that assertion? The OP seems to indicate otherwise.
The OP seems to be making a tasteless joke, not actually advocating fascism.
Many 1st Amendment scholars here in the US recall that restrictions of free speech have historically used to shut down leftist speech. (Look into anti-sedition laws around WWI or the various “anti communist” measures)
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They also sound like enablers, as if a group espousing the death of others because of their race, ethnicity, and religion should be tolerated.
Hey… enablers… I hope you didn’t miss the part about “the death of others”. See the difference?
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So what is the penalty in Scotland for mocking der fuhrer?
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Huh. Usually those guys go with German Shepherds.
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The two usually go hand in hand, in my experience.
The thing is, what this moron did is illegal in the country where he lives, and yet there are people who will still defend his unacceptable behavior and attack the law itself as “unfair.”
As if there isn’t a highly valid, historical reason that such a law exists in the first place.
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With the resurgence of right-wing populism there and denial of Polish complicity in the Holocaust I wish I could be as confident as you are.
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Without sarcasm, and although you may condemn me as an “apologist,” I think this response to the video is as much predicated on the tension of the times as on the content itself. Thirty years ago Monty Python did Hitler jokes and there was no public outcry about hate speech. But the world since then has become more and more fractured, and what were obviously jokes then are hate speech now. The definition of “hate speech” has gone into hyperbole. Simply put, it is speech designed to promote hate or to denigrate a group of people. Monty Python wasn’t doing either of those things. I question whether this young man’s intent, whether in poor taste or not, was fueled by or designed to spread hatred.
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Well what about the pug? What’s his responsibility in all this? He seemed perfectly willing to go along with everything so maybe he should be charged as well.
