Limitations on Freedom of Speech - Essay Example

Your Full Your October 31, Limitations on Freedom of Speech In this day and age we pay a lot of lip service to the ideals of freedom, whether they be that of thought, or expression. Though it is a very lofty idea, however, there are certain restrictions that are placed upon this freedom. Altogether, it is not bad to have, say, hate speech, or speech that incites people to violence, banned or suppressed, or, at the very least, not have it covered under freedom of speech, but I find it very strange when, despite freedom of speech, the topic of Holocaust is considered taboo if one takes a different view from the norm.

Richard Williamson, a Catholic priest, for instance, did not deny the Holocaust, he merely disputed the number of Jews that were killed, and, also, he disputes the veracity of the claim that gas chambers were used to kill these people. David Irving is another example, who has been made a persona non grata by many states, for exercising his right to free speech. While I think that it is sad for the victims of the Holocaust to have people deny what happened to them, and that the countries that were responsible do have a part to play in “making it up” to the victims of the Holocaust, however, it is very strange that the free speech of others is restricted to the point of making it a criminal offense.

While we are flabbergasted by the ruthless way that freedom of speech is curtailed in the religious countries, we are doing the same. The whole idea behind having a law that protects speech, from what I gather, is actually to ensure that unpopular speech does not get suppressed, because the “mainstream” ideas and thoughts do not need such protection.