Should it be illegal to insult politicians?

[noname223]

There was this judgment some months ago in my country. In the first instance a court allowed (heavy) insults of politicans. The media scandalized the court decision (It was kind of a campaign in my opinion...). Then the highest court had to look at the case. It ruled that insults of politicians is a criminal act. I mean in the USA this must sound quite ridiculous. I mean everyone makes this "Let's go Brandon!" joke.

FIrst of all I obviously follow the ruling. Though I personally might have done another decision. Mild insults like "He is an asshole" should not be forbidden in my opinion. Sometimes it is just the truth. Sometimes people behave like assholes and I should have the right to call that out. I think the whole ruling was made with the consideration of violence against politicians. Especially local politicians have to endure a lot. But for me it is a huge difference between an insult and a threat of violence.

I don't want to make insane comparisons but I am a little bit scared of 1984. The EU also does a lot of regulation which I am not fully in favor of. Without a doubt I like the EU and my country profits a lot. But sometimes some decisions remind me of George Orwells dystopia.

 

[vold3m0r†]

we should critize and insult any politician that doesnt do their job and generally act like asshats.

not even going to talk about the US because its honestly becoming a handmaides tale at this point.

 

[Someone123]

In a free country you can insult politicians all you want, which is fine. If it is illegal in your country then you have a lot of limitations that imn the end hurt your country, in my opinion.

 

[watchingthewheels]

Should it be illegal? Nope.
Next question.

 

[noname223]

Should it be illegal? Nope.
Next question.

Yeah I imagined I would get a lot of these responses. I think this ruling might should have been a little bit more controversial.

 

[Feeding Pigeons]

It should be legal to insult, openly harass, and to stop them from having any semblance of a peaceful life if they do not do their job.

 

[Angst Filled Fuck Up]

I would never even want to insult fine people like Biden, Trump, AOC, Graham etc.

You all need to get out of your mom's basements and try being sane while in charge of something. It's not as easy as it looks!

 

[Lost Magic]

Of course it shouldn't be illegal to mock politicians. Look into shows like Spitting Image or SNL for further proof of that. The worst ones should be open duck season.

 

[watchingthewheels]

I would never even want to insult fine people like Biden, Trump, AOC, Graham etc.

You all need to get out of your mom's basements and try being sane while in charge of something. It's not as easy as it looks!

"But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother."- 1984

 

[Lullaby]

All politicians just suck, I feel like they don't hear it enough.

 

[Someone123]

All politicians just suck, I feel like they don't hear it enough.

I used to think that, but it's a mix. There are good politicians who have gone into this work for the right reasons and who do a lot of good things to help their constituents, but usually these aren't the ones who seek publicity. Of course these are3 polarized times, but as an independent I usually can see some good things on each side.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

It should only be illegal if I agree with them. Otherwise, insulting them should be mandatory.

 

[Imissyoumydarling]

Without the ability to insult them, I never would have discovered this hell of an interview

 

[Quiet Desperation]

It depends on the context and content. If it's just expressing disagreement, that's just basic freedom of expression. If you don't have that, you live in an autocracy where the "truth" is decided for you and politicians view free speech as a threat to their power.

When it crosses into the realm of conspiracy theories and lies that are used in a calculated way in mass media to brainwash people with false information, there's a great argument for taking measures to suppress it. Some European countries certainly figured that one out after WWII. In the US much of our population thinks that lies and truth should be equally protected, particularly when they think the lies benefit them.

 

[chocolatebar]

this is the kind of law that can be easily used to arrest innocent people.

 

[whatevs]

It should be illegal to BE a politician

 

[waitingforrest]

I can't trust politicians, the saying that power corrupts has some truth to it.

 

[Julgran]

There was this judgment some months ago in my country. In the first instance a court allowed (heavy) insults of politicans. The media scandalized the court decision (It was kind of a campaign in my opinion...). Then the highest court had to look at the case. It ruled that insults of politicians is a criminal act. I mean in the USA this must sound quite ridiculous. I mean everyone makes this "Let's go Brandon!" joke.

FIrst of all I obviously follow the ruling. Though I personally might have done another decision. Mild insults like "He is an asshole" should not be forbidden in my opinion. Sometimes it is just the truth. Sometimes people behave like assholes and I should have the right to call that out. I think the whole ruling was made with the consideration of violence against politicians. Especially local politicians have to endure a lot. But for me it is a huge difference between an insult and a threat of violence.

I don't want to make insane comparisons but I am a little bit scared of 1984. The EU also does a lot of regulation which I am not fully in favor of. Without a doubt I like the EU and my country profits a lot. But sometimes some decisions remind me of George Orwells dystopia.

You are right.

A few years ago, a doctor in Turkey likened the Turkisk president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings", so the doctor was put to trila for insulting Erdogan, but the doctor has been freed, apparently. Some people are just so self-conscious.

 

[onlyanimalsaregood]

In my country, it isn't a crime to insult a politician, but if the insult is in his/her private field, even though he/she is considered a public person, he/she can ask for compensation in court through the right to image.

I agree. I think everyone has the right to free speech and to say what they think but it's not necessary to insult, not least because it's counterproductive.

 

[Fragile]

It should be mandatory to insult them.

 

[locked*n*loaded]

It should always be legal to insult any of them. If someone can't take a few words of disparagement, then they shouldn't be in that position. If you can't say what you feel, then you aren't really free.

Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names will never hurt me.