Am Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:23:12 -0800 schrieb Darren New:

> scott wrote:
>>>> Publishing derogatory comments, especially when generalising about a
>>>> certain group of people is a very dangerous thing to do,
>>>
>>> No it's not.  It's *words*.
>> 
>> Try telling that to a newspaper editor!  They can't go publishing
>> things like I suggested without risking being sued or having some fine.
> 
> Well, if you lie about someone in a way that damages their reputation,
> yes. But that's not we're talking about. Certainly newspaper editors can
> (for example)
> 
> In theory, you're allowed to say anything that's true. "It's my opinion
> that ..." is true, since you've stated it as your opinion. Even if it's
> "It's my opinion fascism is good" or "it's my opinion that God hates
> you" or "I don't believe the holocaust ever happened." Which is some of
> the stuff that (for example) Germany and France don't like to hear.

Just to clarify a bit. The law in this case (§130 StGB) is against 
"Volksverhetzung" and the paragraph relating to that is:

 (3) Mit Freiheitsstrafe bis zu fünf Jahren oder mit Geldstrafe wird 
bestraft, wer eine unter der Herrschaft des Nationalsozialismus begangene 
Handlung der in § 6 Abs. 1 des Völkerstrafgesetzbuches bezeichneten Art 
in einer Weise, die geeignet ist, den öffentlichen Frieden zu stören, 
öffentlich oder in einer Versammlung billigt, leugnet oder verharmlost. 

which translates to

(3) One will be put in jail for up to five years or get some fine if one 
publicaly or on a convention approves, denies or plays down a crime 
commited during the national socialism according to §6, 1 of the 
Völkerstrafgesetzbuch in a way, which is likely to disturb the public 
peace.

So it has to be public *and* it has to be dangerous to the public peace. 
While this may sound quite arbitrary I'm sure all terms are well (and 
probably reasonable) defined in lawyers terms.

The intention of the law is to prevent someone like Hitler ever gaining 
power again in germany by extremists positions (remember, he was 
elected). That sounds pretty reasonable to me.

> 
> The problem with suppressing such things is that people wind up not
> being able to discuss it in public, and in private people use the
> censorship as an argument that they're right.

While it is true, that Germans in generally don't like to hear it, it is 
certainly possible to state the most ridicoulus positions, if you word 
them carefully. In fact, that's what the right extremists parties (which 
are thankfully not in power) in Germany do.

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