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Supreme Court To Decide Whether Rap Lyric Threats Are Free Speech

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in Elonis v. United States, in a case that could result in more attention paid to language in online postings. After a series of angry posts on Facebook in the form of explicit rap lyrics "about killing his estranged wife, shooting up a kindergarten class and attacking an FBI agent," Anthony Elonis "was convicted of making threats of violence and sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison. A federal appeals court rejected his claim that his comments were protected by the First Amendment. The Obama administration says requiring proof that a speaker intended to be threatening would undermine the law's protective purpose. In its brief to the court, the Justice Department argued that no matter what someone believes about his comments, it does not lessen the fear and anxiety they might cause for other people.

436 comments

  1. WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST FUCKING SAY?!?!?!? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    What the fuck did you just fucking say about me, you little bitch? I’ll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals, and I’ve been involved in numerous secret raids on Al-Quaeda, and I have over 300 confirmed kills. I am trained in gorilla warfare and I’m the top sniper in the entire US armed forces. You are nothing to me but just another target. I will wipe you the fuck out with precision the likes of which has never been seen before on this Earth, mark my fucking words. You think you can get away with saying that shit to me over the Internet? Think again, fucker. As we speak I am contacting my secret network of spies across the USA and your IP is being traced right now so you better prepare for the storm, maggot. The storm that wipes out the pathetic little thing you call your life. You’re fucking dead, kid. I can be anywhere, anytime, and I can kill you in over seven hundred ways, and that’s just with my bare hands. Not only am I extensively trained in unarmed combat, but I have access to the entire arsenal of the United States Marine Corps and I will use it to its full extent to wipe your miserable ass off the face of the continent, you little shit. If only you could have known what unholy retribution your little “clever” comment was about to bring down upon you, maybe you would have held your fucking tongue. But you couldn’t, you didn’t, and now you’re paying the price, you goddamn idiot. I will shit fury all over you and you will drown in it. You’re fucking dead, kiddo.

    1. Re:WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST FUCKING SAY?!?!?!? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I like the YouTube version where a guy sings it Portal style.

    2. Re: WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST FUCKING SAY?!?!?!? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      His IP is 127.0.0.1 .. Now go get him!

    3. Re:WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST FUCKING SAY?!?!?!? by ericloewe · · Score: 2

      "Gorilla" apparently being the keyword here.

    4. Re:WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST FUCKING SAY?!?!?!? by HiThere · · Score: 0

      What idiot modded thie parent offtopic? I could see flamebait, or even, vaguely, troll, but offtopic?

      OTOH, I don't see it as particularly useful. Not without a context, that, for me at least, is missing. (Personally, I think of it [without context] as overrated, even at -1.)

      --

      I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
    5. Re: WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST FUCKING SAY?!?!?!? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well since I'm not a "gorilla" I'm not particularly worried. And besides, as someone once said, it's not really fair or productive to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.

    6. Re: WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST FUCKING SAY?!?!?!? by tobenemo32 · · Score: 1

      What in Davy Jonesâ(TM) locker did ye just bark at me, ye scurvy bilgerat? Iâ(TM)ll have ye know I be the meanest cutthroat on the seven seas, and Iâ(TM)ve led numerous raids on fishing villages, and raped over 300 wenches. I be trained in hit-and-run pillaging and be the deadliest with a pistol of all the captains on the high seas. Ye be nothing to me but another source oâ(TM) swag. Iâ(TM)ll have yer guts for garters and keel haul ye like never been done before, hear me true. You think ye can hide behind your newfangled computing device? Think twice on that, scallywag. As we parley I be contacting my secret network oâ(TM) pirates across the sea and yer port is being tracked right now so ye better prepare for the typhoon, weevil. The kind oâ(TM) monsoon thatâ(TM)ll wipe ye off the map. Youâ(TM)re sharkbait, fool. I can sail anywhere, in any waters, and can kill ye in oâ(TM)er seven hundred ways, and that be just with me hook and fist. Not only do I be top oâ(TM) the line with a cutlass, but I have an entire pirate fleet at my beck and call and Iâ(TM)ll damned sure use it all to wipe yer arse off oâ(TM) the world, ye dog. If only ye had had the foresight to know what devilish wrath your jibe was about to incur, ye might have belayed the comment. But ye couldnâ(TM)t, ye didnâ(TM)t, and now yeâ(TM)ll pay the ultimate toll, you buffoon. Iâ(TM)ll shit fury all over ye and yeâ(TM)ll drown in the depths oâ(TM) it. Youâ(TM)re fish food now.

    7. Re: WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST FUCKING SAY?!?!?!? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Big talk

  2. He's guilty, went way over the line by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Next story

    1. Re:He's guilty, went way over the line by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You know the way to the exit. Feel free! No one will miss you.

    2. Re:He's guilty, went way over the line by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd also like for you to burn. Can you help with that dilemma too?

    3. Re:He's guilty, went way over the line by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      Where's the guy who's trying to start fires with his mind when you need him?

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    4. Re: He's guilty, went way over the line by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why? Because he's black?

      You racist fuckhole.

    5. Re:He's guilty, went way over the line by Barsteward · · Score: 1

      have the courage of you convictions or wimp out - bye !

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
    6. Re:He's guilty, went way over the line by RavenLrD20k · · Score: 1

      I keep on trying...but I have yet to succeed, so I don't think I can help you much.

  3. Rap isn't free speech. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    There's a limit to "free speech" and saying you're going to kill someone in a "rap", isn't free speech.

    1. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It's speech.

      Maybe he should have just recorded a bass line.
      Feels the same.

    2. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Think of it like this, if these lyrics were written in a bathroom stall, would anyone care about it?

      The only time when the idea of free speech should be trumped, is when there is intent to cause harm, like yelling bomb or fire in a crowded area, or shining a laser pointer at an air plane or person. Sure, a business or person can or should be able to get a restraining order on the person, but that shouldn't stop them from the ability to practice free speech.

    3. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Was fine for Eminem and Dr Dre.

    4. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Pablew+Nopl · · Score: 1

      Care to point out where the first amendment says that? Oh, wait; no one, including judges, cares about what the constitution says. That's the land of the free and the home of the brave for you.

    5. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Pablew+Nopl · · Score: 1, Interesting

      The only time when the idea of free speech should be trumped, is when there is intent to cause harm, like yelling bomb or fire in a crowded area

      The first amendment lists no such exceptions. If people panic and harm others, that is on them and no one else.

      or shining a laser pointer at an air plane or person.

      How does that even qualify as speech?

    6. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So I have the right to launch a multi-million-dollar libel campaign against anybody I want because "that's not listed as an exception to free speech in the constitution?"

    7. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      kill yourself

    8. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by bledri · · Score: 4, Informative

      The only time when the idea of free speech should be trumped, is when there is intent to cause harm, like yelling bomb or fire in a crowded area

      The first amendment lists no such exceptions. If people panic and harm others, that is on them and no one else.

      There have always been limits to the 1st Amendment. At least the Supreme Court has always believed there are limits and contrary to ideologues' rantings it is the Supreme Court's job to define how the Constitution applies in the real world. Here's a Wikipedia page on United States free speech exceptions.

      --
      Some privacy policy Slashdot.
    9. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Pablew+Nopl · · Score: 1

      Yes.

    10. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Pablew+Nopl · · Score: 1, Insightful

      The Supreme Court is usually made up of hardcore authoritarians that modify the constitution with invisible ink in order to give the government more power. Citing their invalid opinions and appealing to authority will not change reality.

    11. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      I'm glad you're not my attorney.

      I hope like hell you're not trying to be *anyone's* attorney.

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    12. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      You're easily proven wrong, and your response is to commit karmacide?

      Good riddance to bad rubbish, saith the Mindless One.

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    13. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      Jeeze! you're a goofy spammer! Why did you have to post something I agree with??

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    14. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think he was trying to be an attorney. He was speaking about how the law should be, not how it is.

    15. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      Then he shouldn't phrase his nonsense as statements of fact.

      Resorting to crapflooding from multiple accounts when he didn't get the cheering throngs he was apparently expecting in response doesn't add to his credibility, either.

      (Not to mention the Troll mods that started showing up on my recent posts about 10 minutes after I made the above response; I suspect that's not a coincidence.)

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    16. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Your doctor does not have the right to share your confidential medical details with anyone he likes and claim free speech.

      A food manufacturer does not have the right to lie about the ingredients it uses and claim free speech.

      I don't have the right to spray paint a political slogan on the wall of your house and claim free speech.

      A pharmaceutical company does not have the right to make nonsense claims about its products and claim free speech.

      There have always been rights, and laws, that conflict with free speech. We all agree about this. I'm glad that's settled and we can move on.

    17. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your doctor does not have the right to share your confidential medical details with anyone he likes and claim free speech.

      A food manufacturer does not have the right to lie about the ingredients it uses and claim free speech.

      I don't have the right to spray paint a political slogan on the wall of your house and claim free speech.

      A pharmaceutical company does not have the right to make nonsense claims about its products and claim free speech.

      Under the US constitution, they do have most of those rights. Spray paining your house alters your physical property and therefore isn't pure speech.

      There have always been rights, and laws, that conflict with free speech.

      Yes, and they're unconstitutional.

      We all agree about this. I'm glad that's settled and we can move on.

      We all agree that the government isn't following the constitution as it should.

    18. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And what so many of you dont get is Free speech actually refers to POLITICAL free speech

      The faster you get that, the better.

    19. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Supreme Court is usually made up of hardcore authoritarians that modify the constitution with invisible ink in order to give the government more power. Citing their invalid opinions and appealing to authority will not change reality.

      That is an interesting stance. The Supreme Court is defined in the original
      constitution while the part with free speech is one of those modifications.
      While I don't disagree with you I advice against using the constitution to back your argument since it doesn't support you.

      Neither the Constitution nor the Bible are some magic infallible documents. They are just stuff written by people. They have flaws.
      If you rely on them as your point of defense you will be rolled.

    20. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No doubt you will continue to hold these entirely principled views in the event that a crowd shows up at your home with a projector and uses your outside walls to project vicious libels, swastikas and porn.

    21. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Although they're also free to sue your ass for it too.

    22. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      May I suggest this:

      Bridge -> Edge -> Deep Dropoff -> Jump

    23. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by ultranova · · Score: 1

      The first amendment lists no such exceptions. If people panic and harm others, that is on them and no one else.

      Thus making the First Amendment a terror not just to a would-be tyrant, but also to Joe Average. I guess taking a popular law to absurd extremes to artificially inflate the cost is one way of getting it overturned.

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

    24. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by AthanasiusKircher · · Score: 1

      The Supreme Court is usually made up of hardcore authoritarians that modify the constitution with invisible ink in order to give the government more power.

      [Citation needed]

      If you look at the history of the U.S., you'll find that it's very rarely the Supreme Court (at least not until the past 50 years or so) as the branch of government who has tried to grab power most often. Ever hear of judicial review? SCOTUS actually came up with what was originally a somewhat controversial power of invalidating actions of Congress and the Executive in order to PRESERVE the Constitution and prevent accretion of federal power.

      For the first 150 years or so of the U.S., that's generally what SCOTUS did. They invalidated overreaching statutes on many occasions to rein in federal power. It was only about the time that they were threatened to be overruled by a President (FDR) threatening to enlarge the Court (per his Constitutional prerogative) and pack it with his cronies that SCOTUS finally caved in and basically said, "Uh... yeah, I guess the federal government can do whatever it wants... please don't pack our court with your cronies, Mr. President!"

      Even since then, you'd be hard pressed to find lots of places where it's SCOTUS who is modifying the meaning of Constitution -- they are generally letting the legislative and executive overreaches get by them. In other words, it's the OTHER BRANCHES generally who are "modifying the Constitution with invisible ink in order to give the government more power"; the Supreme Court has just stopped saying "no" to such things as often, a power which was never actually expressed in the original Constitution directly, by the way...

      So how you're blaming the Supreme Court for not asserting a right (judicial review) which was unclear in the original Constitution to justify your Originalist position is beyond me. That's quite some logical fallacy hoops you're jumping through to blame one branch of the government, rather than the ones actually asserting AND exercising that power.

    25. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Phronesis · · Score: 1

      The only time when the idea of free speech should be trumped, is when there is intent to cause harm, like yelling bomb or fire in a crowded area, or shining a laser pointer at an air plane or person.

      How can you prove that I intend harm when I yell "bomb" in a crowded arena? I might say that it was just a joke or that I was performing a rap that I call, "There's a bomb in this arena."

      Consider a kid who calls in a bomb threat to a school and says that he didn't mean harm; he was only pulling what he thought was a harmless prank. Would that be a legitimate excuse, if the jury believes that he only meant it as a harmless prank?

    26. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Albanach · · Score: 1

      The only time when the idea of free speech should be trumped, is when there is intent to cause harm, like yelling bomb or fire in a crowded area

      So what exactly is the difference between yelling fire in a theater and yelling "I'm going to murder $ex_girlfriend" in a song lyric?

      Are you suggesting that to be guilty of the former, the police must show there was a specific intent to start the fire? If not, why is using speech to place a number of people in fear problematic, but it's okay if the target is an individual?

    27. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      or shining a laser pointer at an air plane or person.

      How does that even qualify as speech?

      My intent for that is that actions in public spaces should also be considered free speech, unless there is intent (or really negligence) to harm. If laser pointers aren't enough, how about drones. I think they should be allowed publicly up to 500 feet above ground (a home owner's air space height) and above that with permits, but in no case should they be around an airport except for authorized use, such as law enforcement.

    28. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The only time when the idea of free speech should be trumped, is when there is intent to cause harm, like yelling bomb or fire in a crowded area

      So what exactly is the difference between yelling fire in a theater and yelling "I'm going to murder $ex_girlfriend" in a song lyric?

      Are you suggesting that to be guilty of the former, the police must show there was a specific intent to start the fire? If not, why is using speech to place a number of people in fear problematic, but it's okay if the target is an individual?

      It isn't the intent of setting a fire that causes harm, but people not thinking and running over each other to escape. Wanting that panic is the harm intended, generally in those cases.

      The lyrics themselves there are no problems with, aside from being guilty of bad taste. The problem is if the lyrics were made to harass or even warn (for some reason) the person of intended actions. The lyrics could just their mechanism to work out stress. I did not read the story, and I did not imply or explicitly state how to interpret the lyrics. I just stated that they lyrics themselves don't matter, but the intent of it does.

    29. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wrongo. Else laws can be made restricting speech for anything apolitical. Simply define it as apolitical via law and it's apolitical. Then it can be made illegal. It just says speech, not political speech.

    30. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by lgw · · Score: 1

      The correct test is not "intention" but "reasonable person". IMO, no reasonable person would believe anything the read on the Internet, including threats. But reasonable people seem scarce these days.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    31. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're exactly right, and that is why intent doesn't matter - if you yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater it is a crime, regardless of intent. In fact, if you commit any crime, save murder, intent doesn't matter, and it only matters with murder because manslaughter is the taking of life without intent.

    32. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Phronesis · · Score: 2

      Reasonable person sounds right to me too. If a reasonable person would interpret something as a threat, that sounds like the right First Amendment criterion. If you can't assume that a jury consists of 12 reasonable people, then the whole Constitution is broken beyond repair and worrying about this little part of it would miss the big picture.

    33. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      The difference is that the former directly puts people in harm's way, whereas the latter are just words being spoken publicly. For example, Eminent sticking a gun to his ex-wife's head and screaming "Imma kill dis bitch!" would be felony assault, but him saying he would do that to a killer rap beat is a multi-platinum record.

      Not sure where the confusion is coming from.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    34. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lol, did you just cite Marbury v. Madison as a counterpoint to the SCOTUS inventing themselves authority out of thin air? Must be nice living with doublethink so comfortably.

      Before Judicial Review, Constitutionality was enforced through Jury Nullification. Judicial Review took that power away from Juries and put it in the hands of lawyers. The Animal Farm's most honorable creatures has been rewriting the plain english writing on the barn in legalese ever since.

    35. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Citing their invalid opinions and appealing to authority will not change reality.

      While I agree with you that the "interpretation" done by the Supreme Court may at times be at odds with the plain reading or original intent (or both), I'm curious what other "reality" you have in mind than the Constitution as the Supreme Court has directed the lower courts to interpret it.

    36. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Cito · · Score: 2

      Tupac -

      "We bringing drama
      fuck you and your mother fucking mama.
      We're gonna kill all you mother fuckers.

      All of y'all mother fuckers,
      fuck you, die slow motherfucker.
      My four four (.44 magnum) make sure all your kids don't grow.
      You motherfuckers can't be us or see us.
      We mother fuckin' Thug Life riders.
      West Side till' we die.
      Out here in California, nigga
      We warned ya'
      We'll bomb on you mother fuckers.
      We do our job.
      You think you the mob, nigga, we the motherfuckin' mob
      Ain't nothing but killers
      And the real niggas, all you motherfuckers feel us.
      Our shit goes triple and four quadruple
      You niggas laugh 'cause our staff got guns under they motherfuckin' belts"

      Arrest me for quoting rap lyrics...

    37. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Barsteward · · Score: 1

      And i bet saying when in the queue to board a plane that you have a bomb on you will also not go down well with the people around you or the authorities

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
    38. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by JasonGoatcher · · Score: 1

      I'm going to use my free speech to say that anyone who takes the lyrics in rap music seriously is a fucking idiot.

    39. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The actual fallacy is appeal to false or illegitimate authority. Article III of the Constitution makes cities SCOTUS's interpretation of the document a perfectly valid argument.

    40. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by davydagger · · Score: 1

      Its not "free speech" when it contradicts other rights. See 9th amendment. The US of A, never was the gold standard in "freedom of speech", everything from tough "obscentiy" laws to sedition acts, to all merits of denying or disparaging "offensive speech", when merely either the majority or ruling parties objected to the social or political message.(censorship)

    41. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by davydagger · · Score: 1

      the united states government does a terrible job of defining Freedom, and always has. I hardly put the US government or even the US constitution as any sort of gold standard of Freedom, nor do any of them uphold many of the ideas they claim to. At best they indirrectly touch upon some revolutionary concepts. the 1st amendment of the US Consitution does not guaruntee freedom of speech, never has, and never will. The US government never in history has tollerated free speech, and has ignored the constitution at its convience, since day one. I'm not just talking about 9th amendment exceptions, as the much forgotten 9th amendment states the enumeration of any right cannot be used to disparage or deny any other rights. The "freest country on earth" is pure hubris.

    42. Re:Rap isn't free speech. by davydagger · · Score: 1
      intent.

      If you were loudly perfoming a rap, in a crowded event, not assembled to hear you rap, you'd be interfering with someone elses free speech by shouting them down. Your right to free speech cannot be used to deny someone elses.

      However, if your a rapper, and you sell out a crowded arena of people coming to here you rap, then its diffrent.

      Also consider the use of metaphors, hyperbole, and figures of speech often used in the arts to express disgust

  4. In the news today by stevez67 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    An imbecile makes threats specifically against his ex-wife and local police, then tries to hide behind "freedom of speech" after they took his intimidating and threatening rants (calling them rap lyrics is being way too generous) seriously. I guess he thought this was golf and he'd get a mulligan.

    1. Re:In the news today by fustakrakich · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Words are not deeds. Everybody needs to stop conflating the two.

      If you want to restrict my speech, I want to make women cover themselves. Their provocative dress incites rape.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    2. Re:In the news today by Nyder · · Score: 0

      An imbecile makes threats specifically against his ex-wife and local police, then tries to hide behind "freedom of speech" after they took his intimidating and threatening rants (calling them rap lyrics is being way too generous) seriously. I guess he thought this was golf and he'd get a mulligan.

      And Freedom of Speech protects him. You don't like what he says? Don't buy his music. I can guarantee you won't hear it on the radio. They would have to start arresting many musicians because killing people and other stuff is in many songs.

      --
      Be seeing you...
    3. Re:In the news today by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And Freedom of Speech protects him.

      If you really think that, try to tell a police officer to go fuck himself.

    4. Re:In the news today by ZombieBraintrust · · Score: 2

      He isn't selling music. After his divorce the defendant started posting quotes of violent rap lyrics on Facebook. Lyrics that were about harming women. His ex-wife reported him the FBI. The FBI only stepped in when things were a little to on the nose as a threat. Basically this guy was trying to be clever and protect his threats by being vague. He was dancing on the line and the FBI stepped in when they perceived he crossed it.

    5. Re:In the news today by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you want to restrict my speech, I want to make women cover themselves. Their provocative dress incites rape.

      This, this one million times.

      It is immensely hypocritical to say, in one breath, that one person should be punished for their words because they "incited" someone to violence, but in the next, to say that a rape victim who was dressed in a particular manner bears no responsibility for the rape.

    6. Re:In the news today by russotto · · Score: 1

      If you really think that, try to tell a police officer to go fuck himself.

      Been there and done that. Well, I told him to rot in hell, but same idea. I can't say the result was pleasant, but I was not convicted of a crime as a result.

    7. Re:In the news today by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 1

      You don't like what he says? Don't buy his music.

      Didn't read the story, did you?

      --
      If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
    8. Re:In the news today by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "He isn't selling music. After his divorce the defendant started posting quotes of violent rap lyrics on Facebook. Lyrics that were about harming women. His ex-wife reported him the FBI. The FBI only stepped in when things were a little to on the nose as a threat. Basically this guy was trying to be clever and protect his threats by being vague. He was dancing on the line and the FBI stepped in when they perceived he crossed it."

      This is a woman's cuntry. It needs to be overthrown.

    9. Re:In the news today by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Positive and negative freedom.

      Negative freedom is your right to say what you like without limit or interference. Positive freedom is everyone else's right not to receive credible threats of violence that make them live in fear, i.e. the freedom to have a reasonably prosperous and enjoyable life.

      There has to be a balance. If someone makes a credible threat to harm you would you then argue that here is nothing to police should do until the moment the knife breaks your skin?

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    10. Re:In the news today by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      A threat is not credible, too many liars out there. Only action is. I will not be censored by somebody else's fears. Every irrational nervous nellie out there can make trouble otherwise. I will take every step possible to break censorship.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    11. Re:In the news today by DutchUncle · · Score: 1

      Words are not deeds, but *saying* words *is* a deed. That's why there are concepts like "incitement to riot". Note that "assault" does not mean "harming someone"; it means "threatening to harm someone". (The actual harm is "battery".) Your speech is also restricted in other ways: "The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schenck_v._United_States)

      Try walking into a bar near a police station and yelling "This is a stickup!"

    12. Re:In the news today by kloro2006 · · Score: 1

      To threaten harm in order to prevent another from doing what is not unlawful is the crime of assault. In many states it's a felony, e.g., Maryland, which is my home state. Battery btw is the actual physical violence. Why do so many people here not know this??

    13. Re:In the news today by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      "incitement to riot"

      ...is like saying a miniskirt is incitement to rape. If you can't control yourself when you hear or see something, then YOU are the problem, regardless what the corrupt courts will tell you.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    14. Re:In the news today by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.

      Seems we have moved into a new age where words are more dangerous thn sticks and stones.

      Here in Gerogia if I say "I'm going to kick your ass" tht is 5 years for Terrorist Threats. If I jump up and beat the shit out of you it is only a $150.00 fine for simple assult. Something is really fucked up here.......

  5. Logical next stop if his conviction is reversed by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 0

    What will we be looking at if his conviction is reversed? Simple - people claiming that killing someone was "performance art" and as such covered by free speech. And as an alternate defense, saying anyone that believed that defense would work is clearly insane ...

    ... coming soon to a crime show plot line near you ...

    --
    "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    1. Re:Logical next stop if his conviction is reversed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      that's moronic.

    2. Re:Logical next stop if his conviction is reversed by ihtoit · · Score: 1

      Hannibal already did it.

      SPOILER ALERT!

      -
      -
      -
      -

      In one episode, Lechter flash-freezes a CSI and vertically bisects her body. He sandwiches one half in glass, and vertically bisects the other half, sandwiching the middle quarter in glss and bisecting the outer quarter, sandwiching the middle eighth and bisecting the outer eighth, all the way down until he's got eight sandwiches, then he stands them in a museum atrium for the police to find. I fucking love that show.

      --
      Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
    3. Re:Logical next stop if his conviction is reversed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And as an alternate defense, saying anyone that believed that defense would work is clearly insane ...

      Contrary to popular media, there's no insanity defense. If they rule someone insane, what they're saying is that the person is not capable of participating in an active defense. That doesn't mean that they can't convict. They just have to wait until the person is sane enough to participate. Since there's no statute of limitations on murder, there's no hurry.

      Many murderers are clearly fruit loops. They get convicted anyway.

    4. Re:Logical next stop if his conviction is reversed by S.O.B. · · Score: 1

      Contrary to popular media, there's no insanity defense.

      Contrary to your belief, the insanity defense is valid in U.S. federal court and all but 4 U.S. states.

      http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-procedure/the-insanity-defense-among-the-states.html

      --
      Some of what I say is fact, some is conjecture, the rest I'm just blowing out my ass...you guess.
    5. Re:Logical next stop if his conviction is reversed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What will we be looking at if his conviction is reversed? Simple - people claiming that killing someone was "performance art" and as such covered by free speech.

      I really hope you abstain from voting, because that is the most fucked up logic I have ever read.

    6. Re:Logical next stop if his conviction is reversed by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      Criminals usually are. These are the same idiots who complain to the cops that someone ripped them off on a rock of crack.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    7. Re:Logical next stop if his conviction is reversed by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      I guess my post was like the joke about the ceiling - it's obviously over your head :-)

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    8. Re:Logical next stop if his conviction is reversed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The "insanity defense" is not a defense, but it can be a "get out of death row free" card. It means you're not competent to stand trial. No trial means no conviction, even in absentia. But once you're well, you better believe there's going to be a trial. So you might be best off pretending to remain insane if you do get better.

    9. Re:Logical next stop if his conviction is reversed by ultranova · · Score: 1

      I guess my post was like the joke about the ceiling - it's obviously over your head :-)

      It's impossible to tell a genuine insane rant from a "joke".

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

    10. Re:Logical next stop if his conviction is reversed by DutchUncle · · Score: 1

      Are you sure you aren't referencing Bodies: The Exhibition?

    11. Re:Logical next stop if his conviction is reversed by ihtoit · · Score: 1

      Season 2 episode 5 "Mukozuke, the CSI I referred to is actually an FBI special investigator, Beverly Katz. The episode does reference Bodies, and another one from 1986 (the NLM Visible Human Project). The prop is as awesomely disturbing as it is spectacular. Has to be seen to be believed - in fact, take a weekend and watch the whole series.

      --
      Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
  6. Re:Free speech is dead. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just go back to screwing sheep will you?

  7. Re:Free speech is dead. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Give thanks to the fact that women can vote for that.
    Free speech is dead.

    It's never coming back.

    Don't be sad. We can still make fun of North Korea.

  8. With stuff like this maybe yes or no but look out by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1
  9. And this is how perverted our system has gotten... by loony · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I don't even know where to start with this one... The first amendment - like anything written in the Constitution is absolute. It has to be. If it weren't then we could all ignore any law we choose and even ignore rulings of the Supreme Court because their powers are based on the same document. So either the Constitution is absolute or it is not - but you can't have it both ways.

    However, even with that I don't see how it matters... The bill of rights is supposed to keep us from the Federal Government taking too many rights and amassing too much power (and in doing so has given the federal government way too much power - just as the opponents of the bill of rights originally feared). It should have absolutely no influence in a court case between two individuals.

    Peter.

  10. Not about rap by phantomfive · · Score: 5, Insightful
    This is not about rap. It could have been written in the form of a poem or a minuet or an angry boring rant, and the question would be the same, at what point does a threat become more than just speech? Here's a quote from the article:

    For more than four decades, the Supreme Court has said that "true threats" to harm another person are not protected speech under the First Amendment. But the court has been careful to distinguish threats from protected speech such as "political hyperbole" or "unpleasantly sharp attacks".....most lower courts have [ruled] that a "true threat" depends on how an objective person perceives the message.

    So apparently the jury decided that a reasonable person would see those Facebook posts as a true threat.

    The real thing to take from this is be careful what you say online. It's not ranting in a bar, it's public record.

    --
    "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    1. Re: Not about rap by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

      It's sad how many people simultaneously try to share information online and treat the same exact service as if it was a 100% private diary. (Or, at the least, that only their small group of friends could ever see it.). No matter how private the message, you should always treat it as if it will spread to everyone.

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    2. Re: Not about rap by phantomfive · · Score: 0

      It's sad how many people simultaneously try to share information online and treat the same exact service as if it was a 100% private diary.

      LOL

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    3. Re:Not about rap by Bob9113 · · Score: 1

      Grumble grumble. I came into the comments section to see reactionary histrionics and all you can manage is reasonable and dispassionate analysis?

    4. Re:Not about rap by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      So, "No means no" really means "No means 'the courts will decide'"? Okay, I get it.. I mean, if everything is going to be open to interpretation, let's start there...

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    5. Re:Not about rap by Kjella · · Score: 2

      Yeah, I'm not really seeing what the principal issue here is. If a woman has had a violent boyfriend and he leaves Eninem's "Smack my bitch up" on her answering machine, that's a pretty blatant threat. Almost like using newspaper clippings to make threat letters, whatever they were you're using them as a threat now. That said, you seem to get away with an awful lot of threats by proxy by saying "The [holy book] says that [type of sinners] should be [punishment]." instead of making the threats yourself. I guess maybe the issue is how "transitive" the song is, like if you were just raging and posted a song that was raging but contained a line which might be interpreted like a death threat, are you now on the hook for death threats? Like, how literally can an objective person take every word of a rap text? There's a lot more gangsta rap fans than actual gangstas, quoting one doesn't exactly have the same credibility as making the same threat in your own words.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    6. Re:Not about rap by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure a reasonable person would consider ranting on facebook to be a legitimate threat. In this case, he doesn't seem to have threatened seriously, rather making mindless, impotent threats.

      However, that is not the issue before the supreme court here. The question before them is, "is the 'reasonable person would consider it a threat' test a valid test, or should the test be changed to 'proven intent to injure?" I'm not sure they will be willing to change that standard, but this court has been a strong defender of free speech.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    7. Re:Not about rap by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      So, "No means no [wordpress.com]" really means "No means 'the courts will decide'"?

      I'm really not sure where this is coming from, or how it relates.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    8. Re:Not about rap by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      Grumble grumble. I came into the comments section to see reactionary histrionics and all you can manage is reasonable and dispassionate analysis?

      Yeah, it's because of people like me that civilization will end, having found its death in boredom.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    9. Re:Not about rap by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      I saying speech cannot compel action of any kind anymore than a short skirt can compel rape. Can it be any simpler?

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    10. Re:Not about rap by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      So......your point is that if someone threatens to kill someone on Facebook, it is obviously a serious threat?

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    11. Re:Not about rap by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      Talk is cheap. It's less than cheap... It is nothing... It is lies... Follow the action, you'll see a better show.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    12. Re:Not about rap by adolf · · Score: 1

      If a woman has had a violent boyfriend and he leaves Eninem's "Smack my bitch up" on her answering machine, that's a pretty blatant threat.

      That wasn't Eminem. That was the UK-based group called The Prodigy.

      (srsly. If you want to name names, please at least make sure that the names are correct.)

    13. Re: Not about rap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Only issue is that the "objective person" is not what it used to be.. This mentality of hurting feelings is punishable is quite strong nowadays. Not saying this case should not be punished but the principle does not mean what it used to. Also 4y in jail for a threat seems excessive, how about fines and community service?

    14. Re:Not about rap by dave420 · · Score: 1

      It could also have been written in the form of a French dance? Wha?

    15. Re:Not about rap by martas · · Score: 1

      Cool, when I get an assassin to kill your mother, I'll call on you to defend me in court.

    16. Re:Not about rap by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      You have to dig her up first. Aside from that, I'd go after the assassin. I don't see what dragging you through the courts would being me. The idiot who listens to you and pulls the trigger is the criminal.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    17. Re:Not about rap by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      I'll have you know, George Washington loved dancing the minuet, and as president often danced with every woman at the ball. He also had a harpsichord.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    18. Re:Not about rap by DutchUncle · · Score: 1

      re: "unpleasantly sharp attacks" - Jon Stewart on The Daily Show points out that people are liars, cheats, and/or morons, and may insult them as well. But he never *threatens* anyone. The difference is pretty clear.

    19. Re:Not about rap by Agent0013 · · Score: 1

      It is true that he said some pretty stupid things on Facebook. But from what I heard on public radio this morning, he did have disclaimers on the pages saying that it was only ranting and venting of his frustrations and not to be taken seriously. That seems to show that he did not mean the threats seriously. If you let anybody take offence to anything said, then I have plenty of stuff to through all the politicians and even the President into jail for!

      --

      -- ssoorrrryy,, dduupplleexx sswwiittcchh oonn.. -Quote found on actual fortune cookie.
    20. Re:Not about rap by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      Yeah, it doesn't seem that his rantings were serious threats. Unfortunately for him, that is not the question before the supreme court. The question before the supreme court is whether the test of, "would a reasonable person construe this as a threat?" is a valid test or not.

      I don't think a reasonable person would construe that as a threat, especially if it has a disclaimer, as you mention. But that is not the issue at question (though my understanding is that the court can address that point anyway, if they desire).

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    21. Re:Not about rap by StikyPad · · Score: 1

      Dear God, man. Eminem != The Prodigy, and that song's a classic. If you haven't, you should watch the video, as it's still relevant today.

  11. Oh, the irony!! by Nutria · · Score: 1

    Who wants to bet that Obama and Holder were great First Amendment supporters back in 1992 during the Body Count "Cop Killer" brouhaha?

    --
    "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    1. Re:Oh, the irony!! by XxtraLarGe · · Score: 1

      Who wants to bet that Obama and Holder were great First Amendment supporters back in 1992 during the Body Count "Cop Killer" brouhaha?

      Freedom of speech, just watch what you say.

      --
      Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
  12. Re: Logical next stop if his conviction is reverse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nah, we already have people committing homicides and claiming self-defense in very tenuous circumstances.

    Not to mention the government engaging in assassination in the name of national security.

    Performance art would be an improved situation.

  13. Re:I SAID by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    And you're either a troll or completely clueless. http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/navy-seal-copypasta

  14. Freedom has limits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Your freedom ends, where someone else's nose begins.

    It used to be known as 'good manners' and 'common courtesy', or 'being a gentleman/lady'.

    Your constitution doesn't guarantee everyone a right to rudeness and obnoxious behaviour.

    1. Re:Freedom has limits by Pablew+Nopl · · Score: 0

      Where does the first amendment list "rudeness" or "obnoxious behavior" as exceptions to freedom of speech?

    2. Re:Freedom has limits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      See that amendment about women voting.
      That's the one.

    3. Re:Freedom has limits by Njorthbiatr · · Score: 5, Insightful

      There is no right to not be offended.

    4. Re:Freedom has limits by Trepidity · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The "offense" in this case is a threat of violence directed at specific people with whom the speaker has a dispute with, which is rather more serious than someone just finding the lyrics in poor taste.

    5. Re:Freedom has limits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Bullshit. I can be as rude as I want to anyone that I want and there isn't a damned thing they can do about it. If you have such thin skin that you can't handle it, then you need to remove yourself from society, little boy.

    6. Re:Freedom has limits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You have a right not to receive death threats, thank god.
      Imagine what a dystopic hellhole this would be if people walked around fearing for their lives because the police let abusive psychopaths run free because death threats were "free speech".

    7. Re: Freedom has limits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      We can fire you, ignore you, shun you, refuse to do business with you, etc. If you are rude and abusive to enough people you will die alone and unloved.

    8. Re:Freedom has limits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wouldn't be so sure.

      Here in Australia, I'm allowed to give you fair warning, then punch you in the face if you don't get out of mine.

      So when can we be expecting you to visit?

    9. Re:Freedom has limits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah? Well here in the USA if you assaulted me, I could legally pull out my gun and shoot you dead.

    10. Re:Freedom has limits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Your freedom ends, where someone else's nose begins.

      In that case, quit punching me in the nose.

      What's that? You wonder how I concluded that you are violating my rights? It's simple really.

      If this rapper violated another person's rights by just talking, then you are right here, right now, violating my rights by just talking.

    11. Re: Freedom has limits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We can fire you

      Considering I run my own business, no you can't.

      ignore you, shun you, refuse to do business with you

      If you're the type of person I need to get rude with, then good. That's exactly the response I would desire.

      If you are rude and abusive to enough people you will die alone and unloved.

      Only by those I don't want to associate with anyhow.

    12. Re:Freedom has limits by geoff_smith82 · · Score: 1

      There is a difference between language that offends and threats of violence!

    13. Re:Freedom has limits by x0ra · · Score: 1

      No. You'd shoot to stop a threat, not to kill.

    14. Re:Freedom has limits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Shut the fuck up or i'll kill you. jk

    15. Re:Freedom has limits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How was it directed at specific people? Certainly if they had stumbled upon the post online they would have no reason to feel threatened. It didn't include their names, or his name or give any indication who it was about other than a fictional character.

    16. Re:Freedom has limits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wrong, if I feel my life or anyone else's is in danger, I would *always* shoot to kill. I don't practice at the shooting range to hit arms and legs, I aim for the head and heart.

      Also, shut your mouth. Don't you dare presume to tell me what I would do, junior.

    17. Re:Freedom has limits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Reported to the FBI, NSA and my local authorities.

    18. Re:Freedom has limits by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      There is no right to not be offended.

      Do they hand out a little book of cliches to kids graduating high school in the US that they are legally obliged to refer to in any internet discussion?

      I'm not sure why the same tenuously related bollocks keeps cropping up otherwise.

      Take a tap from the cluebat: a credible threat to kill someone can't be explained away as "free speech" or "performance art" just by saying it's rap lyrics.

      It's got nothing to do with third parties being offended.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    19. Re:Freedom has limits by DocSavage64109 · · Score: 1

      Some brave and manly ACs around here... As an option to killing someone who punched you because you were rude to him, you could just walk away...

    20. Re:Freedom has limits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry, but anyone who assaults me deserve death and that's precisely what they will get. If they don't want that, then they can walk away instead of starting something that they will not be able to finish.

  15. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by ColdBoot · · Score: 2

    I beg to differ. Our Constitutional Rights are not absolute. There are exceptions to free speech.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U...

  16. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by phantomfive · · Score: 5, Informative

    The first amendment - like anything written in the Constitution is absolute. It has to be.

    So, even when the constitution was written, there were different viewpoints on how to interpret it. Your approach was that taken by Jefferson. He said, "anything not written in the constitution is not allowed."

    The viewpoint kind of died when it turned out to not be practical. Jefferson tried, but when it came time for the Louisiana purchase, he realized the constitution didn't authorize him to purchase the land. Also, there wasn't enough time to modify the constitution. So he bought the land anyway, without modifying the constitution.

    Jefferson was the prime proponent of that viewpoint. If he couldn't do it, then it was doubted that anyone could do it. So now we have three defenses of democracy: the soapbox, the ballot box.....

    --
    "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  17. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by sanchom · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The first amendment - like anything written in the Constitution is absolute.

    That statement is not consistent with Supreme Court jurisprudence. There are limitations on many rights listed in the Constitution. For example, the first amendment has been held *not* to give you the right to incite violence. (See Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire.)

    So either the Constitution is absolute or it is not

    The answer is that it is not. Interpretation of the constitution comes down to a balancing act between competing rights.

    It should have absolutely no influence in a court case between two individuals.

    True. That's why this is about the *government's* prosecution of one individual and whether the elements of the crime were actually established.

  18. Threats Vs. Free Speech always a judgement call by retroworks · · Score: 1

    That's all this is, it's balancing the laws protecting citizens against credible threats vs. the free speech rights of the person making the threat. Whether it rhymes, is set to music, or is in iambic pentameter is irrelevant. Threatening speech is like pornography, judges have to know it when they hear it.

    --
    Gently reply
    1. Re:Threats Vs. Free Speech always a judgement call by howzermyhamit · · Score: 1

      That's all this is, it's balancing the laws protecting citizens against credible threats vs. the free speech rights of the person making the threat.

      The balance goes to the free speech rights 100%. No law can exist which can override someone's right to free speech.

      Congress shall make no law [...] abridging the freedom of speech [...]

      So every law that doesn't have explicit exceptions to allow freedom of speech:

      A) Has implicit exceptions to allow freedom of speech, or
      B) Is not valid under the Constitution of the United States of America, as congress has no authority to pass such a law

    2. Re:Threats Vs. Free Speech always a judgement call by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are several exceptions to free speech. Defamation, falsehood, screaming "fire" in a crowded theater, threats, child porn, etc. Here's a list. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U...

    3. Re:Threats Vs. Free Speech always a judgement call by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes. The petitioner knew what he was doing; read the first few pages of the brief (Elonis v US: Brief for the US) and note how around page five he's clearly crying "free speech" in his Facebook posts because he thinks he can get away with making threats at the same time if he calls them art. He knows what he's doing. Art, like pornography, is a subjective call in law, and the petitioner made the mistake of assuming that laws were wholly objective, with no common-sense tests to them. From page seven, two quotes:

      The post also stated: “Art is about pushing limits. I’m willing to go to jail for my Constitutional rights. Are you?” J.A. 333. The post—which included an accurate diagram of the house where petitioner’s wife and children were staying---made petitioner’s wife “fe[el] like I was being stalked” and “fe[el] extremely afraid for mine and my childrens’ and my families’ lives.” J.A. 153; see J.A. 154.

      Fold up your PFA [protection-from-abuse order] and put it in your pocket

      Is it thick enough to stop a bullet?

      Try to enforce an Order

      that was improperly granted in the first place

      Me thinks the Judge needs an education on true threat jurisprudence

      And prison time’ll add zeros to my settlement

      But what he finally gets in trouble for is this, which the FBI, which had been tipped off about him, saw:

      That’s it, I’ve had about enough

      I’m checking out and making a name for myself

      Enough elementary schools in a ten mile radius to initiate the most heinous school shooting ever imagined

      And hell hath no fury like a crazy man in a Kindergarten class

      The only question is . . . which one?

      In the end, this guy needed psychological help more than anything, and the real disappointment isn't that he was arrested, but that arrest and incarceration are the only tools that society has for dealing with this kind of problem. He pretty clearly had a problem way back on page 3, and a better system for maintaining order would have given him some sort of psychological help then.

    4. Re:Threats Vs. Free Speech always a judgement call by howzermyhamit · · Score: 1

      These exceptions may often be seen in US courts, but they do not exist under the constitution, and a court observing these exceptions is itself unconstitutional and as such has no constitutional authority.

    5. Re:Threats Vs. Free Speech always a judgement call by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You said "it's balancing the laws protecting citizens against credible threats vs. the free speech rights of the person making the threat."

      Our government said "requiring proof that a speaker intended to be threatening would undermine the law's protective purpose."

      If this is really supposed to be about credible threats, why would the government claim that they do not need to prove credibility?

    6. Re:Threats Vs. Free Speech always a judgement call by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      In other words, it's porn if a judge gets hard when looking at it?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    7. Re:Threats Vs. Free Speech always a judgement call by vux984 · · Score: 2

      The balance goes to the free speech rights 100%. No law can exist which can override someone's right to free speech.

      Fortunately, only a few lunatics like yourself wish that were the case.

      Turns out the rest of society thinks there are quite a few edge cases.

      Phoning someone to make death threats is one.
      Calling in a fake bomb threat is another.

      You may disagree. That's your right. But the rest of us are on board with these restrictions.

      Now somewhere between phoning in a death threat, and free speech we have a writing a plausible death threat in the form of a rap lyric... so its quite right for the courts to look at it and decide if really is a death threat threat or not.

      Lots of rap lyrics are full of threats. I don't think i've ever seen one that anyone would take seriously though... so far. That doesn't mean this case isn't real.

    8. Re:Threats Vs. Free Speech always a judgement call by TapeCutter · · Score: 1

      this guy needed psychological help more than anything

      Even if he wasn't pissed at society when he wrote that, he is now!

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    9. Re:Threats Vs. Free Speech always a judgement call by Maow · · Score: 1

      That's all this is, it's balancing the laws protecting citizens against credible threats vs. the free speech rights of the person making the threat.

      The balance goes to the free speech rights 100%. No law can exist which can override someone's right to free speech.

      Congress shall make no law [...] abridging the freedom of speech [...]

      So every law that doesn't have explicit exceptions to allow freedom of speech:

      A) Has implicit exceptions to allow freedom of speech, or
      B) Is not valid under the Constitution of the United States of America, as congress has no authority to pass such a law

      Oh bullshit. I'm not even American and I know that libel / slander / defamation / threats are not covered by your free speech amendment.

      The trick is, what's a real threat, what's not? What's defamatory, what's not?

      But there is absolutely no 100% guarantee of free speech for anything that comes out of one's mouth.

    10. Re:Threats Vs. Free Speech always a judgement call by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      Take, for instance, the 2nd amendment.

      People who elect to live in some government housing cannot keep and bear arms in that housing.

      Tenants waive that right and the authorities can and do file charges for those exercising their right.

      Courts have successfully litigated those cases, so your position in wrong.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    11. Re:Threats Vs. Free Speech always a judgement call by One+With+Whisp · · Score: 1

      [...] the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

      Again, this is plain as day. What the supreme court, or any court at all for that matter, has to say about this is of absolutely no relevance.

      When the supreme court decides to ignore the constitution or reinterpret parts of it as if they simply did not exist, it is invalidating its own existence. At that point, the Supreme Court as defined by the Constitution of the United States of America does not actually exist, and all that remains is a rogue entity claiming to be as such.

    12. Re:Threats Vs. Free Speech always a judgement call by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      The Supreme Court would be invalidating its own existence only if the validity of the Supreme Court were an issue before the court and the court decided to invalidate its own validity.

      To date, the validity of the Supreme Court has not been challenged in the lower courts and gone through the appeals process and been accepted by the Supreme Court for consideration, so you're full of shit and stuff.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    13. Re:Threats Vs. Free Speech always a judgement call by gnasher719 · · Score: 1

      The trick is, what's a real threat, what's not? What's defamatory, what's not?

      The question here isn't really whether it is a "real threat" or not. (Although if it is a real threat then the police needs to go out and arrest the guy, this is not a matter of "freedom of speech", it is a matter of preventing a murder). The question is whether the speech is damaging to the victim. And a death threat is absolutely without any doubt damaging. Seriously, that's why the death threat is being made, to cause damage to the victim.

      I'd say a good law change would be to state that when a death threat is made, and the victim of the death threat kills the person threatening them in any way, then this should automatically be taken as self defence (and if the person making the threat injures the threat victim while trying not to be killed that will automatically be assault or murder).

      So if the ex-husband threatens to kill the ex-wife, she takes the letter to the police, they question him, and if they find that he did indeed make the threat, they give her a free hunting license.

    14. Re:Threats Vs. Free Speech always a judgement call by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh bullshit. I'm not even American and I know that libel / slander / defamation / threats are not covered by your free speech amendment.

      That's according to the government, not the actual constitution, you fool. You do realize the government can and does ignore the constitution, right?

    15. Re:Threats Vs. Free Speech always a judgement call by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm not sure why ignoring the actual constitution and allowing judges to make up their own versions of it in an effort to give the government more power rather than going through the proper procedures to change the highest law of the land (constitutional amendments) is considered a good thing in "the land of the free and the home of the brave." Maybe that's because it's full of worthless authoritarian cowards.

      Don't complain next time the NSA, the TSA, etc. violates the constitution. You are the problem. You want a government with unlimited power, whether you admit it or not.

    16. Re:Threats Vs. Free Speech always a judgement call by Maow · · Score: 1

      Oh bullshit. I'm not even American and I know that libel / slander / defamation / threats are not covered by your free speech amendment.

      That's according to the government, not the actual constitution, you fool. You do realize the government can and does ignore the constitution, right?

      So some internet retard is arguing that it's constitutionally protected speech to threaten to kill someone or to claim that one was raped by Anonymous Coward of 123 Coward Lane when it isn't true?

      Well, the links you've provided to back up your "point of view" (being generous there) sure are convincing!

    17. Re:Threats Vs. Free Speech always a judgement call by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      /sarcasm

      ftfy

    18. Re:Threats Vs. Free Speech always a judgement call by vux984 · · Score: 1

      rather than going through the proper procedures to change the highest law of the land (constitutional amendments) is considered a good thing in "the land of the free and the home of the brave."

      I agree with you. Amendments for the win.

      But what practical difference would it make if they amended free speech in the constitution to disallow death threats and bomb threats? vs what has been done?

      Don't complain next time the NSA, the TSA, etc. violates the constitution.

      Why exactly not?

      You are the problem. You want a government with unlimited power, whether you admit it or not.

      Government has the power to amend the constitution. You want a government able to do that do you not? So then you too want a government with unlimited power, because it can amend the consitutition to give it any power it wants.

      The government has whatever authority over us we collectively give it.

      Checks and Balances are the mechanisms by which we decide how to define that authority, but at the end of the day all that matters is our collective will or lack thereof.

        You are the problem. You want a government with unlimited power, whether you admit it or not.

  19. 9 out of 10 Chinese censors approve by nickmalthus · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Context is everything in regards to free speech. Was the post specifically addressed to the subject, i.e. posted on the subject's facebook page vs their own facebook page. What was the author's psychological profile, i.e. any psychological disorders, recent unemployment, history of violence, etc. From what I have researched on the web this guy in urban dictionary terms is a "poser" who is obnoxious and crass but otherwise harmless. The subject was right in alerting authorities and in addition they should have obtained a restraining order against Anthony as well as acquired a firearm to protect themselves. Certainly law enforcement should investigate all perceived threats and in this case they did.

    Perhaps his biggest mistake was to fantasize about harming an FBI agent. In a police state any public dissention or insubordination to government authority must be met with harsh retaliation to set an example. We will see if the current supreme court, strict constructionists who deem even money a form of speech, will decide that his speech was protected or that it was illegal and consequentially grant the government power to arbitrarily imprison people solely based verbal expression.

    --
    If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be-T J
    1. Re:9 out of 10 Chinese censors approve by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If your verbal expression is a statement of intent to cause signifgant harm to a specific person or category of persons then you should be facing an investigation for the threat.

  20. Re: And this is how perverted our system has gotte by Jason+Levine · · Score: 4, Insightful

    None of our rights are absolute. If I were to publish an article in a newspaper claiming that you embezzled millions of dollars with no proof whatsoever, I could be sure for libel. Similarly, I can't threaten people's lives and then claim "Freedom of Speech" when the police arrive. This guy made a specific threat against people. It doesn't matter that the threat was in the form of rap lyrics or a handwritten note. Freedom of Speech doesn't mean freedom from the consequences of your speech.

    --
    My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
  21. Easy. by denzacar · · Score: 4, Funny

    Morse.

    --
    Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
    1. Re:Easy. by Lord+Apathy · · Score: 1

      Hardware ban this son of a bitch.

      --

      Supporting World Peace Through Nuclear Pacification

    2. Re:Easy. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      or, just skip to the punchline

  22. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "The first amendment - like anything written in the Constitution is absolute"

      --> Spoken like somebody who never passed 8th grade civics... but then again, in modern schools "civics" has turned into "Worship the Messiah Obama" so I'm not surprised.

  23. Re: And this is how perverted our system has gotte by Pablew+Nopl · · Score: 2, Informative

    None of our rights are absolute.

    Are you even capable of comprehending the difference between someone saying that things should be a certain way and things are a certain way?

    Because responding to someone doing the former by doing the latter is simply offtopic. It's like saying to people who criticize the NSA's mass surveillance, "The NSA is conducting mass surveillance and violating the constitution." Yeah, thanks, except we already knew that, and that's why they're being criticized. You really don't need to tell us the current horrible state of affairs, because we're all aware.

    Freedom of Speech doesn't mean freedom from the consequences of your speech.

    Under that logic, North Korea has just as much free speech as the US, because you might get murdered or imprisoned for your speech, but you can still say things! You're just not free from the *consequences* of your speech (which is, actually, nothing).

  24. Clickbait headline by Theaetetus · · Score: 4, Insightful
    This case has nothing to do with whether "rap lyric threats" are free speech, but whether convicting someone for making a threat should require that the accused intended to make a threat, or whether a reasonable person who received the message would interpret it as an intentional threat. The former is very difficult to prove and a simple disclaimer would obviate it: "oh, those were just rap lyrics when I said 'I'm coming to your house this evening to cut your throat, you biatch.' Ha ha ha!"

    The wider implication is in the area of cyberbullying and online death threats - if threats are judged from the perspective of a reasonable recipient, rather than the intent of the sender, then the "oh, everyone makes death threats online, they'd never follow through" defense fizzles away.

    1. Re:Clickbait headline by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Worse, the link is to Huffington Post, which has no news, just spin. I've blocked it in /etc/hosts, along with Fox and the Daily Mail and the Daily Beast and Breitbart and Salon and a bunch of other sites that do nothing but misinform for rage-induced clicks and ad revenue.

      A better link would have been http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/elonis-v-united-states/, where you can read the petition, replies and briefs.

    2. Re:Clickbait headline by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      if threats are judged from the perspective of a reasonable recipient, rather than the intent of the sender, then the "oh, everyone makes death threats online, they'd never follow through" defense fizzles away.

      That does not follow. If the "reasonable recipient" knows that everyone makes such "threats", then going from the perspective of a reasonable recipient should only bolster such a defense.

      Or are you implying that supporters of Free Speech are unreasonable recipients?

    3. Re:Clickbait headline by martas · · Score: 1

      if threats are judged from the perspective of a reasonable recipient, rather than the intent of the sender, then the "oh, everyone makes death threats online, they'd never follow through" defense fizzles away.

      Uh, you mean the opposite? If you can demonstrate that there really is an internet subculture where "everyone makes death threats", then surely you have demonstrated that at least in that subculture no reasonable recipient would interpret them literally? Assuming the "threat" is made within the context of that subculture, that is. Reasonableness has to be context dependent, after all.

    4. Re:Clickbait headline by Theaetetus · · Score: 1

      if threats are judged from the perspective of a reasonable recipient, rather than the intent of the sender, then the "oh, everyone makes death threats online, they'd never follow through" defense fizzles away.

      Uh, you mean the opposite? If you can demonstrate that there really is an internet subculture where "everyone makes death threats", then surely you have demonstrated that at least in that subculture no reasonable recipient would interpret them literally? Assuming the "threat" is made within the context of that subculture, that is. Reasonableness has to be context dependent, after all.

      If the recipient is another person in that subculture, sure. So, no, screaming "I'll kill you, n00b" during a CoD deathmatch wouldn't be considered a real threat, but sending death threats over Twitter to a journalist or developer would be.

  25. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    >>The first amendment - like anything written in the Constitution is absolute.
    >That statement is not consistent with Supreme Court jurisprudence. There are limitations on many rights listed in the Constitution
    Only because the Supreme Court is, and has always been, corrupt.

  26. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Njorthbiatr · · Score: 1

    On the contrary it has everything to do with it.

    The court can't compel you to do anything if it's free speech.

  27. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    --> Spoken like somebody who never passed 8th grade civics

    Spoken like someone who believed everything they learned in an abysmal class about civics. Judges don't have the power to interpret away what the constitution actually says and sometimes intended, and anyone who says otherwise is a hardcore authoritarian who wants the government to have unlimited power.

    Unless the constitution says the government can do X, it can't. The constitutions says this in numerous places. Furthermore, the first amendment explicitly guarantees freedom of speech, and the 14th extends that to the states.

    They could try to amend the constitution, but no one seems to want to do that. They all seem to want to pretend it's a "living document" so they can give the government any power they want without going through the proper procedures.

  28. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by sanchom · · Score: 1

    > Only because the Supreme Court is, and has always been, corrupt. Let's focus on the argument and not the people making it. What part of Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire do you disagree with?

  29. I'll take a war on rap music vs... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...the war on drugs any day of the week.

    1. Re:I'll take a war on rap music vs... by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 1

      But I don't want more rap music.

      --
      Time to offend someone
  30. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by diamondmagic · · Score: 2

    That's the very argument GP is arguing against. What's the retort to that point? All the article does is show how uniformly the First Amendment has been applied (or lack thereof, in the positive), not what the reality is supposed to be (in the normative).

    That is, show us the free speech exception in the United States Constitution, instead of just assuming SCOTUS rulings are always correct. (And there are actually a few! Copyright law as mentioned in Article 1 section 8, for instance.)

  31. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    All citations in the article are the USSC changing the law. You are supporting the claim of the OP.

  32. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The incorporation clause of the 14th amendment is an invention of the Supreme Court, which undermines your entire argument. See Government by Judiciary, by Raoul Berger, and No Easy Walk to Freedom, by James E. Bond.

  33. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Theaetetus · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I don't even know where to start with this one... The first amendment - like anything written in the Constitution is absolute. It has to be. If it weren't then we could all ignore any law we choose and even ignore rulings of the Supreme Court because their powers are based on the same document. So either the Constitution is absolute or it is not - but you can't have it both ways.

    However, even with that I don't see how it matters... The bill of rights is supposed to keep us from the Federal Government taking too many rights and amassing too much power (and in doing so has given the federal government way too much power - just as the opponents of the bill of rights originally feared). It should have absolutely no influence in a court case between two individuals.

    Peter.

    I don't know why this got "insightful" points. Let's see... First, the free speech protections in the first amendment have never been absolute: from yelling fire in a crowded theater to threatening to kill someone, there have always been reasonable limits. In fact, no limitation in the Bill of Rights is absolute - we don't allow prison inmates to have guns, you can't practice your human sacrifice-based religion, etc.

    Second, this has nothing to do with "a court case between two individuals." See the title, Elonis vs. United States? That's a criminal conviction - Elonis is appealing because he was convicted of a crime. And the government certainly has "influence in a court case" where the government is one of the parties.

    At least your signature seems to be correct. So there's that.

  34. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by TubeSteak · · Score: 4, Informative

    The bill of rights [...]. It should have absolutely no influence in a court case between two individuals.

    If this was a civil trial, you'd have a point. But it isn't, and you don't.
    The case is Elonis v. United States, not Elonis v. Ex-Wife.

    The first amendment - like anything written in the Constitution is absolute. It has to be. [...] So either the Constitution is absolute or it is not - but you can't have it both ways.

    Well, then the Constitution isn't absolute.

    Constitutional literalists seem to ignore that there was an extensive body of common law and common interpretations of law before the Constitution was ever written. Things that were illegal didn't suddenly become legal just because they weren't explicitly mentioned in the Constitution.

    /The only crimes mentioned in the Constitution: piracy, counterfeiting, bribery, treason, and "high crimes and misdemeanors"
    /But the Constitution doesn't state what "high crimes and misdemeanors" are, so i guess that's not enforceable?

    --
    [Fuck Beta]
    o0t!
  35. The copypasta is the central debate of the case. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    What the fuck did you just fucking say about me, you little bitch? Iâ(TM)ll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals, and Iâ(TM)ve been involved in numerous secret raids on Al-Quaeda, and I have over 300 confirmed kills....

    The linked copypasta is actually germane to the case. Your grandmother who never used the Internet would likely perceive it as a threat. Those of us who live on the Internet recognize it for what it is.

    To further illustrate the point:

    What in the blue blazes did you just say about my client, you prevaricating bitch? I'll have you know I graduated top of my class in Harvard, and I've been involved in numerous cases before the Supreme Court, and I have over 300 cases settled with extreme prejudice. I am trained in litigation and I'm the top lawyer in the entire bar. You are nothing to me but just another defendant. I will wipe you the fuck out with decisions the likes of which has bever been seen before in this Court, mark my fucking words. You think you can defame my client over the Internet? Think again, fucker. As we type I am subpoenaing NSA and your IP is being traced right now so you better prepare for the deposition, maggot. The deposition that wipes out the pathetic little thing you call your life. You're in fucking contempt, kid. I can be anywhere, anytime, and I can drag this case out in over seven hundred ways, and that's just with this pen. Not only am I extensively trained in litigation, but I have access to the entire arsenal of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and I will use it to its full extent to wipe your miserable ass off the face of the docket, you little shit. If only you could have known what unholy retribution your little "clever" comment was about to bring down upon you, maybe you would have held your fucking tongue. But you couldn't, you didn't, and now you're paying the price, you goddamn idiot. I will file suit all over you and you will drown in it. I refer you to the reply given in the case of Arkell v. Pressdram, kiddo!

    It's the middle ground between threat and hyperbole (or in this post, the line between barratry and comedy) that things get hairy. And that is precisely what the Supreme Court is dealing with in this case.

  36. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

    There's very little the SC puts up with nowadays.

    "The Obama administration says requiring proof that a speaker intended to be threatening would undermine the law's protective purpose."

    And Obama is supposedly a "constitutional law professor". Well, yes, Obama, that statement is technically true. And that has what to do with its constitutionality?

    Oh, you were talking about its meme value as a political. populist narrative power vector.

    --
    (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
  37. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, it just means the Supreme Court was correct in that instance. My argument is still 100% correct and only authoritarians disagree. Keep being illogical, fool.

  38. Yuh Huh by Greyfox · · Score: 1

    Everyone gets all bent out of shape about their freedom of speech getting stepped on. You can say anything you want to, but you might also have to live with the consequences of that speech. The first amendment does not absolve you of that.

    --

    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

    1. Re:Yuh Huh by dryeo · · Score: 1

      The first amendment basically says the government can't interfere with speech and punishing speech is interference. Or perhaps you think that as long as the government doesn't actually gag you it's fine? Making it illegal to say anything negative about the government is fine as you're still free to speak but due to the consequences of criticizing the government, going to jail for your speech is fine?
      Usually the consequence argument is along the line that you're free to make false speech but then no-one will believe you or listen and similar consequences.

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
    2. Re:Yuh Huh by Greyfox · · Score: 1

      If your speech shows you might be mentally unbalanced, no one's likely to complain if someone checks up on that. Well, except maybe the mentally unbalanced person. But no one really cares what they think. They're mentally unbalanced. That's probably why they'd think their speech was in some what protected by the first amendment.

      --

      I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

    3. Re:Yuh Huh by DutchUncle · · Score: 1

      Go walk into a biker bar, walk up to the guy with the most tattoos and chains, and insult his mother. Go ahead, exercise your free speech. See what happens.

    4. Re:Yuh Huh by JesseMcDonald · · Score: 1

      Speech should absolutely be protected—even threatening speech. However, if you say (credibly) that you're going to do something, other people should also be able to take you at your word and respond accordingly. That isn't punishment for the speech, it's a reasonable preemptive response to the action you claimed to be planning.

      The usual rules for preemptive responses apply: there must be a reasonable expectation that the action is imminent and would result in irreversible harm.

      --
      "The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat
    5. Re:Yuh Huh by dryeo · · Score: 1

      Those consequences are independent of the government.

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
  39. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The part where it upheld an a law, made by Congress, infringing the freedom of speech, despite the fact the first amendment specifically forbids exactly that?
    You know, the unconstitutional part of the ruling.

  40. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 3, Funny

    That's the very argument GP is arguing against. What's the retort to that point?

    The founding fathers were wrong when they thought their descendents wouldn't turn into absolute morons within three centuries.

    --
    If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
  41. Tricky! by ramriot · · Score: 2

    This is a tricky one.

    The old adage is that you have free speech only in so far as that is not used intentionally to cause harm i.e. Willfully shouting FIRE in a crowded theatre is well known. The key aspect here is willful speech, just shouting something like FIRE without willful intent is not enough and has occurred in differing circumstances because of illness or being miss-heard.

    In this case the perpetrator has posted in a semi-public forum speech that could be construed as a manifesto of illegal action. If there were evidence that the actions were being planned or that there were a conspiracy in progress then that would be a convictable charge. But, the act of speaking of an illegal action you wish to do (especially in public) even if there is intention is still protected, but only in so far as that society may take that intention into account in restricting your movements by legal torte.

    In Summary, you can declare you full and willful intention to 'Kill' your enemy. But if you do, don't be surprised if they are forewarned and take restrictive legal action against you. Conversely, any reasonable person would not do such if they did intend to perform the act as speaking out would mark them clearly as the perpetrator. Unless they feared no prosecution.

  42. Re:Free speech is dead. by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

    Think of the chi---er, sheep, won't you?

    --
    Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  43. A Reasonable Person by ememisya · · Score: 2

    The government says it does not matter what Elonis intended, and that the true test of a threat is whether his words make a reasonable person feel threatened.

    A reasonable person. Like Snoop Dogg or Katie Couric? I have a feeling that Snoop will believe at least the guy was trying to rhyme, Katie would probably feel extremely threatened. I personally don't think this guy would even be in front of a judge if he kept his amazing rhyming skills to himself when drawing upon the memories of meeting an FBI agent. There is this thing called context one must ask for before assuming anything I think, but maybe not? This case is going to be setting an interesting precedent for online speech in general, lets just hope the judge listens to rap in his free time. An interesting question is, are we under oath when posting on Facebook? If I posted, "I killed that bitch, ripped her head off with her spine through her torso." A reasonable person might believe I've committed murder, unless they asked, "What do you mean?", at which time I would reply, "I was playing Mortal Kombat against Sheeva using Sub-Zero, got the Fatality just in time."

    1. Re:A Reasonable Person by sound+vision · · Score: 1

      "I killed that bitch, ripped her head off with her spine through her torso." would be a lie or a fantasy, unless you actually did it, in which case you would be charged with murder. It is not a threat.

    2. Re:A Reasonable Person by ZombieBraintrust · · Score: 2

      Neither Snoop Dog or Katie Couric. The guy choose a specific audience. He was posting these for his wife to see. He wasn't posting these in a rap forum. He wasn't on the today show. He was posting these to his ex-wife. (I think, it was also possible he was posting to his public facebook. If so then that is different.) The jury just had to decide what that meant.

  44. Re: And this is how perverted our system has gotte by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

    Flooding in an attempt to dissuade rebuttal?

    Time for Slashdot Meme #23: You're about 12 years old, right?

    --
    Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  45. Kill Doug Szathkey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I saw the slashdot title and immediately thought of this skit from the Ben Stiller Show back in the 90s:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs8kBgaZAAM

  46. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In case you haven't figured it out already:

    Microscopic Gov. = brand new account created by Pablew Nopl after he hit his posting limit, logged out, and then hit his posting limit as an AC.

    Mods, please nuke both personæ from orbit--it's the only way to be sure.

  47. Clear threat or criminal act? by davidwr · · Score: 1

    There are some things that clearly disturb the general public to the point where the police are justified in stopping as it is happening due to the specifics of the situation but which should not be criminal offenses thanks to the First Amendment. In other words, the speech should be "partially protected" - if the police tell you to stop saying such and such in a particular situation, and you refuse to comply, then a charge of disorderly conduct may be in order, but if you do comply and go and say the same exact words in a different environment where a reasonable person wouldn't foresee that those hearing your words would react in a way that is criminal, the police shouldn't be allowed to touch you.

    A hypothetical (I hope) example would be a person bent on inciting mischief (or even a person with no such motive but a huge lack of awareness of human behavior) going to a large, not-all-that-well-organized protest against the recent events in Ferguson, Missouri and saying quite loudly that "poor people should be allowed to walk into any store and take what they want" while not saying anything that sounds like "let's go raid the store across the street now" (that would be inciting others to commit a crime, which is likely already in the "not protected" category).

    The police should rightly be able to order the person "cease and desist" as a reasonable person would view the words said in that specific context where the crowd is both large and not following a single leader as likely to incite at least one protester to commit a criminal act (note that this assumption that the words plus the situation would likely result in a criminal act likely wouldn't hold if the crowd was small or the number of people not respecting the protest's leader's instructions were small). If the same person then wrote those exact same words in a newspaper column or a blog, and took no specific actions to make sure that his words were seen by the protesters, then the police should leave him alone, he's just stating his opinion.

    Now, we as a society have to be very careful about this. When in doubt, leave people alone to say what they want. If the end result is violence or other criminal acts, then the next time someone says something similar in a similar situation, the police will be able to rightly claim "history has taught us that if we don't get this person to pick a better time and place to speak his peace, criminal acts are likely to occur."

    A similar situation exists with speech that is directly threatening:
    * Does it actually cause someone to fear for their life or safety?
    * Would a reasonable person see that the person's words, delivered in the manner in which they were delivered, cause a person to fear for their life or safety?
    * Given the entire situation, is it crystal clear after the fact that there was a clear, actual, intentional, credible threat?

    If the first two questions are yes and the 3rd is no, then the proper police response is to shut the guy down and tell him to find a different way of communicating the same message. Of course, if all 3 are true then that's already covered by existing statutes and case law.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  48. MyCleanPC nuke by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Damn, look at all those sleeper accounts. At least one even has excellent karma.

    1. Re:MyCleanPC nuke by Culture20 · · Score: 1

      Damn, look at all those sleeper accounts. At least one even has excellent karma.

      Yes. Blech. I enjoy reading at score:-1 so that I can see the occasional undeserved down-mod, but I'd really like a feature that takes posts that are 99.999% the same and only displays the diffs or maybe an account feature where certain phrases (edited per user) trigger an entire post to be blanked out in that user's view. This page is currently very hard to read with all the pointless MyCleanPC spam.

  49. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    Actually, as an amendment, the1st overrides copyright law. It is absolutely absolute. The court is wrong, but they have the bullets, so that make them right.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  50. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And there are actually a few! Copyright law as mentioned in Article 1 section 8, for instance.

    Actually, the first amendment comes after the copyright clause. Amendments change the constitution, so any ability of the government to restrict speech was overridden by the first amendment.

  51. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by joocemann · · Score: 1

    I agree. I don't see a problem with maintaining our rights and then busting murderers, rapists, thieves, etc, when they actually are caught doing the crime or afterward. We can't all be so scared about the possibility of bad things that we give up the great things we have (rights/freedoms). Are we seriously trying to move into thoughtcrime and massive nanny-state/big-brother living where we need the government to PREVENT anything bad from happening? Please... Life is too short, even when it goes well, to shut it all down in fear.

  52. Brandenburg v. Ohio by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg_v._Ohio

    KKK member was given reprieve from criminal consequences of his hate speech which included "kill all the Jews and Niggers!"

    It established the "imminent lawless action" test that overrides the "can't yell fire in a theater" test. (clear and present danger)

    Despite setting a KKK person free for calling for the extermination of various minorities, the ruling has been widely held as in the best interests of the country by liberals. Namely, it stopped the ability of the government to crack down on anti-war protesters. What? How?

    Turns out that if you call for people to destroy their draft cards, or otherwise refuse the draft, you're presenting a clear and present danger to the military readiness of the US government... and as such, these anti-war protesters were imprisoned regularly...

  53. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by fustakrakich · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If speech can incite violence (it doesn't ), then provocative clothing can incite rape (it doesn't), and we have to cover our women head to toe.. Let's all try to be a bit consistent here. Otherwise you're inciting the imposition of Islamic law.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  54. Re: And this is how perverted our system has gotte by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    Words and deeds are not the same thing. Do not treat them like they are. If you want actually legal restrictions, you must modify the constitution. And you better put in something about skimpy clothing too. Because if any speech can cause me to involuntarily respond negatively, then so can anything. *The devil made me so it* is a legitimate defense.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  55. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by sanchom · · Score: 1

    That is simply restating that you disagree with the outcome. That is too broad to be able to have a discussion about. What part of the opinion that led to that outcome do you disagree with? Where in their line of reasoning did they err?

  56. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If free speech were absolute, someone could construct a 30 foot billboard in your neighborhood showing porn videos 24x7. People could post lies about you and members of your family online, with no fear of consequences to themselves, saying you were neo-Nazi, was busted several times for meth, worked as a prostitute. They could phone in death threats to airplanes and businesses on a daily basis. It's pretty obvious that society can't function under those conditions.

  57. Re: And this is how perverted our system has gotte by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    To bad all your lucid points are being lost in your spam. Or maybe you're sending a different message?

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  58. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by fustakrakich · · Score: 0

    If that's the way it has to be, Then I insist that short skirts and exposed cleavage incite rape, and we can just accept that free will does not exist, that we are compelled to act by one's words or appearance. Some pigs will just have to be a little less equal.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  59. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It should have absolutely no influence in a court case between two individuals.

    Incorrect. The individuals may not be bound by the constitution but the court is. The courts are one arm of the government, their powers derive from the constitution and they have no authority to act outside of what it permits.

  60. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If free speech were absolute, someone could construct a 30 foot billboard in your neighborhood showing porn videos 24x7.

    Yes, and? Only puritans would even care about that.

    People could post lies about you and members of your family online, with no fear of consequences to themselves, saying you were neo-Nazi, was busted several times for meth, worked as a prostitute. They could phone in death threats to airplanes and businesses on a daily basis.

    So?

    It's pretty obvious that society can't function under those conditions.

    No, it isn't. Society hasn't collapsed under actual police states in many places. Society wouldn't collapse if people had actual free speech.

    I also like how you say "Well, if the government followed the constitution, it would lead to things I don't like!" as if that means the government is following the constitution by ignoring it.

  61. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    You... do realize the case you're talking about is a case where government thugs decided to completely violate the first amendment by prohibiting "offensive" (absolutely, 100% subjective) speech in public places, yes? You do realize that that is absolutely indefensible? This isn't even a case where people supposedly caused a panic with their speech; this is just government thugs forbidding speech that they don't like.

    What you advocate is for the majority to be able to destroy speech of minorities that they don't like by claiming it is offensive. That's unconstitutional (first amendment), morally repugnant, and absolutely dangerous.

    Where in their line of reasoning did they err?

    How about the part where they modified the first amendment instead of just interpreting it as they're supposed to? The government has no power to prohibit "offensive" speech.

  62. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The first amendment - like anything written in the Constitution is absolute. It has to be.

    So, even when the constitution was written, there were different viewpoints on how to interpret it. Your approach was that taken by Jefferson. He said, "anything not written in the constitution is not allowed."

    The viewpoint kind of died when it turned out to not be practical. Jefferson tried, but when it came time for the Louisiana purchase, he realized the constitution didn't authorize him to purchase the land. Also, there wasn't enough time to modify the constitution. So he bought the land anyway, without modifying the constitution.

    Jefferson was the prime proponent of that viewpoint. If he couldn't do it, then it was doubted that anyone could do it. So now we have three defenses of democracy: the soapbox, the ballot box.....

    It's shit heads like you that are ruining the constitution.

  63. Re: And this is how perverted our system has gotte by sconeu · · Score: 1

    How did this spammer manage to post all those spammy posts in less than one minute, while we all have to wait anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes to post a second comment?

    Methinks there is a hole somewhere in slashcode. Not that Dice gives a damn.

    --
    General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
  64. Compare with the Second Amendment by mi · · Score: 0

    If we were applying the same standards to the First Amendment, that Illiberals want us to apply to the Second, the only Constitution-protected speech would be that of petitioning the government — and only for redress of grievances.

    The petitioner would also have to register and undergo a background check, wait for a certain "waiting period" to end before petitioning, and only use the methods available in the 18th century — such as personal speech, newspapers, books or pamphlets — but not TV, radio, or the Internet.

    The question of whether or not threats can be made explicitly illegal, would not even have arisen...

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    1. Re:Compare with the Second Amendment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That would be because the first amendment is significantly more important than the second, especially now that guns are completely unable to serve as a check upon government power.

    2. Re:Compare with the Second Amendment by mi · · Score: 1

      That would be because the first amendment is significantly more important than the second

      I don't see the perceived "importance" of a law as germane to whether it should be consistently interpreted...

      especially now that guns are completely unable to serve as a check upon government power.

      Well, not completely ...

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
  65. A threat is a threat by msobkow · · Score: 1

    A threat is a threat, no matter how "nicely" you try to wrap it up.

    --
    I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
  66. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 2

    That statement is not consistent with Supreme Court jurisprudence.

    Correct. The point is that SCOTUS jurisprudence often has fsck-all to do with the Constitution.

    For example, the first amendment has been held *not* to give you the right to incite violence. (See Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire.)

    A perfect example. Chaplinsky was engaging in exactly the sort of political speech that most requires protection and was in no way inciting violence. He called somebody a nasty name, that's all. The Court's absurd and immoral decision had neither law (i.e., the text of the Constitution) nor reason on its side.

    --
    Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
    You cannot wash away blood with blood
  67. And this is how perverted our system has gotten... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Freedom of speech ends when you are harming someone. Calling fire in a full theater is a crime, saying you have a bomb while on a plane is illegal (or at least gets you in trouble), calling a school saying there is a bomb is not protected, Putting a statement on Facebook that you are going to kill kids/police/girlfriend is not, and should not be protected.

    The first amendment was written to protect the people against from the government punishing someone for political reasons.

    We can't ignore the laws we don't like, only Obama dose that, we should not follow his example.

  68. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by diamondmagic · · Score: 1

    I can't say I've heard this position before, and it doesn't really make sense. Laws are interpreted by most specific supersedes most general; not most recent supersedes oldest. This is called lex specialis , it's a mainstay of parliamentary procedure as used in common law settings like the US.

    When laws are repealed, it's because they're specifically removed, e.g. "The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed." (When SCOTUS finds a law unconstitutional, it remains "on the books" as do all laws, but common law prohibits other courts from being able to enforce it since an unconstitutional law is no law at all.)

    The Bill of Rights wasn't supposed to introduce new "rights" but merely codify the ones that already existed. To be clear: There's no law permitting Congress to restrict the freedom of speech, therefore the law is unconstitutional. The First Amendment is unnecessary in this case.

    In some cases, the First Amendment might add additional protections where the law is otherwise more generic and would allow it. Primarily, this means state constitutions. The Consititution was expanded so the Bill of Rights guarantees apply to state-level actions, too. In these cases where state-level actions are curbed, the First Amendment (via the Fourteenth Amendment) is to credit.

  69. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 1

    Things that were illegal didn't suddenly become legal just because they weren't explicitly mentioned in the Constitution.

    No, but unless they fell under the Constitutional powers of the feds, they remained state crimes, not federal ones.

    OTOH, some things that were illegal in the states did suddenly become legal when the 14th Amendment was passed. Any laws restricting free speech, religious liberty, etc., as well as any provisions creating unequal protection, were null and void from that point on.

    Of course, the state often operates under unconstitutional, null and void laws anyway, as much as it can get away with. Jim Crow was illegal, marriage inequality is illegal, much of the War on Drugs and the War on Guns and the War on Copying is illegal, but they've got the guns.

    --
    Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
    You cannot wash away blood with blood
  70. Re:He should have done it. by Skidborg · · Score: 0

    Did your girlfriend just dump you because her parents found out?

    --
    Supporter of the +1 Over Dramatic mod option. In memory of apk.
  71. Re: And this is how perverted our system has gotte by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    I'm convinced they have priority. Take a glance at the journal section. I haven't checked recently, but the spam ratio appears to have stabilized around 400:1...

    Despite all this, I sincerely hope that it does not provoke deletions by the editors. Censorship would be much offensive than the spam.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  72. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Learn how the amendment process works. Amendments change how the constitution works. Whether intentionally or not, the whole "congress shall pass no law" thing overrides copyright. In fact, that *is* explicit. It might not specifically name copyright, but it doesn't *need* to, because logically, it has the same effect.

    When laws are repealed, it's because they're specifically removed

    Nope. If the constitution had said that it was okay for the government to prohibit criticisms of the government, and then along came the first amendment which said that congress may not pass laws forbidding speech, then logically, the previous related powers given to the government would be nullified. That's how amendments work: They change the constitution. They don't need to explicitly mention which parts they're in direct contradiction with, although they can; it has the same effect either way.

    You're taking the prohibition amendment and saying that all amendments need to be like that in order to override anything. That's nonsense. Just because it was done that way that time, doesn't mean it has to be that way every time. Nowhere does the constitution say that.

  73. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Theaetetus · · Score: 1

    If that's the way it has to be, Then I insist that short skirts and exposed cleavage incite rape, and we can just accept that free will does not exist, that we are compelled to act by one's words or appearance. Some pigs will just have to be a little less equal.

    Would you like to try again, but with a comment that makes sense and is in some way relevant to the thread, rather than just ranting about biatches accusing you of harassment?

  74. Re:I SAID by pouar · · Score: 1

    And this is why just 5 mod points aren't going to cut it.

    --
    while :;do if windows sucks;then mv windows /dev/null;pacman -Sy linux;fi;done
  75. Crime as Expressive Art? by MarkvW · · Score: 2

    If I make a threat to kill
    The whole world must relax and chill
    Because I define the things I say
    And you must take them just that way

    And when I act offensively
    You must accept my artistry
    Because my right to have my say
    Trumps your right to a peaceful day.

  76. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You're incorrect. The rights were absolute, until the Supreme Court established their power of judicial review, and began punching exceptions into them.

  77. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by AthanasiusKircher · · Score: 2

    Actually, the first amendment comes after the copyright clause. Amendments change the constitution, so any ability of the government to restrict speech was overridden by the first amendment.

    Wow. This must be one of the looniest arguments I've heard in a while.

    Look, the Constitution was ratified and enacted in 1789. The first Congress began meeting on March 4, 1789. The Bill of Rights was debated and passed by Congress to be sent to the states for approval on September 25, 1789. The first Copyright Act (i.e., the very first time Congress decided to exercise its power to create a federal copyright system) was approved by Congress on May 25, 1790.

    So, what you're telling me is that Congress approved a Bill of Rights in September, and then a few months later Congress (composed of THE SAME PEOPLE) voted to approve a copyright act that went against the very principles they had voted for in the Bill of Rights just a few months before?

    WHY? Explain that. WHY? Why would Congress vote away power in proposed amendments and then assert it -- without comment -- just a few months later?

    The only RATIONAL conclusion is that the people who actually voted to enact the First Amendment did NOT think they had invalidated the copyright clause of their brand-new Constitution.

  78. Re:Huh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is this software potent enough to erase election results?

  79. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by diamondmagic · · Score: 1

    Nothing in the entire Federalist, so-called Anti-Federalist papers, or drafts of the Bill of Rights support this theory. Major citation needed. If you can find this, great! But I can't.

    I don't like intellectual property any more than the next guy on /., but the First Amendment was not written to intentionally or unintentionally supersede Congress' copyright law-making ability, which is more specific than the First amendment.

    The order of the provisions don't matter. The Constitution is a single, cohesive work spread across something like a dozen sheets of paper (two for the unamended Constitution; one for the Bill of Rights and 27th amendment and including one proposed amendment not (yet) part of the Constitution; and whatever the rest of the amendments are written on).

    Like all common law works, the order of the statutes doesn't matter, and the dates in which they were passed doesn't matter. Hence why laws repealed specifically mention the sections of the Code to modify, or which previous laws are null and void. It is called lex specialis and instead of refuting my point, you just reiterated your point without managing to explain the hard reality of common law away.

    Another example:

    The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

    Before this amendment, Congress already had no power to search and seize property (unless maybe they could work it into "necessary and proper", because it's generally agreed there needs to be some warrant system in order to serve justice).

    After the amendment, now there's an exception! Now all of a sudden, the ability to search and seize property is in (very narrow) cases, actually permitted. For better or worse.

    Regardless, now "necessary and proper" no longer applies to search warrants, the more specific Fourth Amendment is the exclusive statute on what's lawful.

  80. What about metalheads by ogdenk · · Score: 1

    And what about thrash/death metal bands? Are their lyrics a crime too? Like Exodus, Slayer, Cannibal Corpse, Kreator, etc? Are metalheads and punk rockers now all retroactively now considered terrorists?

    This is seriously f**ked up. The Supreme Court better inject some sanity here or things are about to get stupid.

    1. Re:What about metalheads by meerling · · Score: 1

      With the various TLA (3 letter agencies) guidelines for terrorists, yes, yes they are. Also, so are you for questioning it, and posting in public, and participating in a geek site, and probably a hundred other things.

    2. Re:What about metalheads by meta-monkey · · Score: 1

      Probably not. Whether or not this is a true threat depends on the speaker, the platform, the audience and a host of other factors. The law is not like a computer program where there is an exact outcome for exact inputs. The real world is shades of gray, and that's what judges and juries do. They take the facts of this specific case into advisement and render a verdict. What happens to Slayer et al. is immaterial.

      I would be curious to know more about the extent and subject diversity of the defendant's rap lyric catalog. Does he rap a lot? About what? How often and where does he perform? How specific are the threats?

      In the case of something like Public Enemy's "Cop Killer," people were upset, but the artists didn't make specific threats. They talked about wanting to kill cops in general, but they didn't single out Officer Johnson of 123 Meadowbrook lane and his children John, 5 and Gracie, 6 and his wife of 9 years Rebecca. One could not take that as a serious threat.

      Eminem's song "Kim" was really pushing it. He was talking in great detail about torturing and killing a specific person, his ex-wife Kim. If I were Kim the thought would have crossed my mind that he actually intended to kill me, and I should watch out. I can believe that maybe it's just an artistic performance because he had an extensive history of rapping in both amateur and professional settings and had an extensive catalog of material. It wasn't just about killing this one person. Still, would anybody have been incredibly surprised if Marshall killed Kim? "Gosh, I never saw that coming!"

      So if you're going to play the "no, it's just artistic expression" card, I'd like to know more about your art. Does the defendant write other rap songs? What are they about? Does he perform them anywhere? Can we find some witnesses who'll say he shows up to the biweekly slam poetry group at the civic center and raps about controversial subjects? Or was his catalog solely rhymes about killing specific people and his audience his Facebook page? And did those who saw these lyrics find them to be credible threats?

      If I were his ex-wife I'd think they were credible. He also wrote about wanting to make a name for himself shooting up a school and that there were so many near him to choose from. If my kids went to school near him I'd be worried about their safety. After all, if he killed his wife and shot up a school, would anybody be that surprised? Would the headline be "Man Kills Wife and Shoots Up School After Rhyming on FaceBook About Killing His Wife and Shooting Up a School?" I'd think people would like to know why something wasn't done.

      It's not the same as a 12-year-old making death threats because he got stomped in COD. Nobody believes that's credible. That would be a hell of a headline. "Area Man Killed by 12-Year-Old Who Hunted Him Down After Making Death Threats on XBox Live. Perpetrator Also Proceeded to Rape Victim's Mother, Father, and Dog, as Threatened."

      You have the right to free speech, but making credible death threats is (and should be) illegal. You have the right to say what you want. You don't have the right to make me fear for my life. And making it rhyme doesn't make it okay. "Special Agent Johnson! Somebody mailed a death threat to the president!" "Hmmm, no, no don't worry about it Agent Johnson (no relation). See here? He rhymed 'I'm going to kill the President' with 'It's evident.' Just a case of artistic expression. Call of the man hunt." That doesn't fly.

      --
      We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
    3. Re:What about metalheads by ogdenk · · Score: 1

      People say they are going to kill people all the time and normally, it doesn't happen. Murder is a crime. Why not focus on that? If speech isn't followed by actual action or credible evidence of conspiracy, it's just someone blowing off steam.

      And the success of an artist and where they perform typically has no bearing on whether they are really an artist. I play guitar, bass and write music but I don't play out anywhere or expose people to it much. That doesn't mean I'm not an artist and that doesn't mean a song I write about violent revolution and gutting DHS is a "threat" and not art.

      In fact "You" is a very general target of violent threats in metal music. Should all the bands be locked up for millions of counts of terroristic threats?

      This was a kid blowing off some steam artistically, I doubt he even had the means to carry out what he was rapping about. This is an assault on free speech. Point blank. And letting this pass *WILL* be a severe slippery slope that will kill artistic expression in America.

    4. Re:What about metalheads by meta-monkey · · Score: 1

      Well, first, are you saying that it shouldn't be illegal to make credible death threats? It is, and always has been, and for good reason. Free speech is pretty damn free in this country, but there are a few limits. Your speech calling in a bomb threat to your school is not protected speech. You terrorize people, they have to close everything down, bring in the bomb squad. It doesn't matter if you really intended to do it or not. All that matters if you make them believe you did. The fact that you didn't actually plant a bomb in the library is not going to get you out of jail. It's same thing with making a credible threat against an individual. You're not allowed to make someone live in genuine fear for their life and spend time and money protecting themselves from you. If you don't think that should be illegal, then that's a completely different discussion and you may well be a sociopath.

      The standard is, "would a reasonable person find this threat credible?" Well, citizens found his threats credible enough to call the cops, the cops found his threats credible enough to arrest, the prosecutor found his threats credible enough to prosecute, a grand jury found his threats credible enough to indict, and a jury of his peers found them credible enough to convict.

      I already told you that general targets of violent threats in music are not credible. Slayer can say they're going to kill you all they want in their music and no one is going to call the cops because that's obviously not a credible threat. No one is genuinely concerned that Slayer is going to show up at their house and murder them. Now, if you are genuinely threatened by their lyrics, feel free to ring the police. But I doubt the cops are going to do anything more than laugh.

      Your friend ties your shoelaces together when you're not looking and you trip. "Oh, I'm going to kill you!" Not a credible threat. Not a crime.
      Beat somebody's ass at Call of Duty. "I'm going to hunt you down and kill you IRL!" Not a credible threat. No one believes that's going to actually happen. Not a crime.
      "We should kill all the jews!" on your racist newsletter. You're not threatening specific people with any sort of immediacy. Not a crime.
      "Shoot the cops, yo!" on your rap song. Not a specific threat. Clearly not credible. Not a crime.
      Describing in detail how you are going to kill someone you genuinely hate in a manner convincing enough to make people call the police: that could very well be a crime.

      So the question is, were Elonis's threats credible, or was it artistic expression and merely metaphor for how much he hates this woman? Was it really just "artistic expression," or is he just saying that so he can make his ex-wife fear for her life but skirt legal responsibility by making it rhyme? How do you tell the difference? That's what the judges have to decide.

      One thing that would go a long way towards making me think it's just artistic expression would be by demonstrating a pattern of artistic expression. Show me your other songs. Put on a show for me. Find some witnesses that say you frequently engage in such "artistic expression." Otherwise, no, you're just a dirt bag making death threats and trying to dodge responsibility by making them rhyme. My money's on the later, that he was genuinely trying to terrorize his ex-wife, and "I made it rhyme!" is not a get out of jail free card.

      --
      We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
  81. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Phronesis · · Score: 1

    The first amendment - like anything written in the Constitution is absolute. It has to be.

    If it's absolute, then we have to interpret the second amendment as permitting individuals to possess weapons of mass destruction. If we don't allow the government to restrict me from keeping nuclear bombs, large amounts of nerve gas, and big vats of anthrax in my garage, we've reached the kind of reductio ad absurdum of Constitutional construction that Justice Jackson criticized in his dissent in Terminiello : "There is danger that, if the Court does not temper its doctrinaire logic with a little practical wisdom, it will convert the constitutional Bill of Rights into a suicide pact."

  82. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    It's perfectly relevant. You have no more right to restrict what a person says any more than you have to dictate fashion (though the censors are trying to do that also). Their dogma is no better than Sharia law. All you are doing is validating *The devil made me do it* defense. That's not a good idea, but it does keep the slaves from rebelling, so maybe it is good idea, huh? Who wants a bunch of unruly untouchables around?

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  83. better hope the us supreme court agrees by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because why should you be put into prison for someone else's perceptions, responses, and feelings?

    Why not require an actual crime be committed that has a demonstrated injury or damage occur, that isn't merely in peoples heads.

    I also think this amounts to a parody or flaunting of his right to free speech, and the dipshits who read his messages only had to unfriend or block the messages. He should have been free to say what he wanted even to scare and induce anxiety in others, as long as it was just speech and expression. Kind of like how speech can be freely used to manipulate others, sell garbage and mass program the population, make them laugh or feel happy, having emotional responses to people's speech is normal.

    Myron May's.com

    1. Re:better hope the us supreme court agrees by meerling · · Score: 1

      There have been people convicted of Armed robbery despite them being verifiably UNarmed at the time. It's just that the victims thought the person was armed, so they got prosecuted on that misperception, and convicted. o.O

  84. Re: And this is how perverted our system has gotte by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The works of those two professors cannot be so easily dismissed.

  85. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...and the Jury box.

  86. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But heaven forbid you even insinuate there should be some limits to the second....all of you are hypocrites.

  87. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Show me the weaponry restrictions in the second!

  88. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And there is no law restricting my arms, I WANT MY ICBM!

  89. Threats are... by meerling · · Score: 1

    A threat is a threat, even if it's on key and has a backbeat.

    1. Re:Threats are... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm not understanding this. All comments here seem to say that you cannot make a threat, that making a threat is wrong and punishable. Why is it wrong to make a threat? Who gets to decide if something is a threat? Some people just look threatening but might be super nice. Suppose someone feels threatened by the way that someone looks at them, are they entitled to have that person locked up? None of this makes any sense.

  90. Re: And this is how perverted our system has gotte by Uskanakle · · Score: 1

    What matters here is the constitution, which is available to all.

  91. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and the ammo box! Nowhere in the second amendment will you find where it says I can't have an ICBM. I want mah nuke and I wannher now!

  92. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And I want mah nuke! The second specifically says they can't tell me I can't have an ICBM, but I'll be damned if I have one. They're all hypocrites!

  93. Re: And this is how perverted our system has gotte by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Holy fuck dude! Thanks for the link! I've been looking for an Air Force Signet Ring and now I know I can find one at Military Ring Express! I don't know what I'd do without you, guy. Also, fuck Seniorship!

  94. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Theaetetus · · Score: 1

    It's perfectly relevant. You have no more right to restrict what a person says any more than you have to dictate fashion (though the censors are trying to do that also). Their dogma is no better than Sharia law. All you are doing is validating *The devil made me do it* defense. That's not a good idea, but it does keep the slaves from rebelling, so maybe it is good idea, huh? Who wants a bunch of unruly untouchables around?

    Yes, that's exactly it: preventing someone from making threats is no better than Sharia law.

    Anyway, since we're in Crazytown and you're clearly the Mayor, there's no need to keep discussing this.

  95. Re: And this is how perverted our system has gotte by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I do believe /. is also stripping spam links out. I can't tell you guys about Air Force Signet Rings on Military Ring Express! That's http: //militaryringexpress.com /product /nafsigrng

  96. Re:Huh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is this software potent enough to erase election results?

    It's powerful enough to erase erection results!

  97. fool ... by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 1

    If only he'd made the threats while dancing naked, he would clearly be protected by the first amendment.

    1. Re:fool ... by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 1
      And now I am reminded of this George Carlin quote:

      And I distinguish between maniacs and crazy people. A maniac will beat nine people to death with a steel dildo. A crazy person will beat nine people to death with a steel dildo, but he'll be wearing a Bugs Bunny suit at the time.

      --
      Time to offend someone
  98. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    No, it goes beyond the written law. If you can tell me what to say, I can tell you what to wear. Clothing is no less provocative than the word. It sends a message, whether you agree or not. Unfortunately various governments are into regulating clothing also... Maybe we should declare miniskirts and tight tops as gang clothing. Censorship is vile and its enforcers and supporters are despicable little dictators. But 98% of the world disagrees. Authoritarianism is very popular. It enables a kind of personal feudalism.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  99. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    ...there's no need to keep discussing this.

    Absolutely right! It is much better to develop a means of circumventing censorship entirely. Then the little dictators can cry alone.

    That's too bad that you, too, have such difficulty separating word from deed. The only possible threat is the act of doing, not speaking.

    You make sloppy interpretations of written law and call me crazy. Eh, whatever. Just don't expect any respect for any of it.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  100. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Culture20 · · Score: 1

    If speech can incite violence (it doesn't ), then provocative clothing can incite rape (it doesn't), and we have to cover our women head to toe..

    Covering women head to toe incites Ferengis to imagine undressing them. Do you really want that?

  101. I have heard this story before... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's been almost 25 years, but this video is still relevant today.

  102. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    Well, knowing what I do about Ferengis, they would probably keep their fantasies to themselves unless they could get a good price and merchandising and distribution rights.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  103. Re: I SAID by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Your gay

  104. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    All the 1st Amendment says is "Congress shall make no law...".

    Supreme Court rulings about limits to free speech don't infringe that. Simple as.

    If you think the Supreme Court is bound by an amendment that, by the explicit language of the text, applies to Congress and Congress alone, then that's you interpreting the constitution. And guess what? - there are at least nine people in the country who are, by any law, definition or metric you care to name, better qualified to do that than you are. And they disagree with you.

  105. What if he was from Britain? by jennatalia · · Score: 0

    Would we still care about this?

  106. The Weakest Ninny by JimSadler · · Score: 1

    So some Casper Milk Toast wets his pants over lyrics that many other people find funny. It seems to me Casper is the one to be punished for being such an over sensitive freak, A minister that complains that a person will burn in eternal hell if they are not a baptized and repentant Christian could be considered as menacing and threatening. These restraints on speech need to stop. A rap singer is says I'm going to eat your baby does it for comic effect. And I suppose that some listeners to rap music salivate over a day in which cops will be gunned down. But most sane people very much realize that the notion of fighting a well trained police force is foolish. And the notion that citizens with hand guns and rifles can put down the military is just plain stupid. There is no city anywhere that the military can not crush with ease. It is only because one goal is to avoid killing innocents that clearing a city of combatants is difficult at all.

  107. Re: And this is how perverted our system has gotte by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A specific threat against a fictional character using a psuedonym. I don't see how the threat was against any real person at all. Certainly his ex wife would have no reason to be threatened by some random person on the the internet writing such lyrics.

  108. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Accordion+Noir · · Score: 1

    A difference here is that you seem to be proposing that others' rights should be restricted to prevent you from committing a crime. i.e. Clothes (or lack of clothes) might make you want to rape people.

    The case in question (way up above all the curious "stop talking about free speech" spam) seems to be one where a person was threatening to break the law by hurting people himself, not provoking some crime in others.

    I'm no constitutional lawyer, but I do see a difference between concern about this person's threats and your concern about your susceptibility to raping people.

    I'd suggest perhaps closing your eyes all the time and imagining people dressed in calming clothes. This might be a less restrictive solution for everyone. You won't commit a crime based on your lack of self control, and the rest of us can get on with life.

    Will there be more spam now?

    --
    "Ruthlessly pursuing the idea that the accordion is just another instrument."
  109. Drawling the line between free speech and threats. by policiesnotparties · · Score: 1

    In this case you need to draw a line by carefully looking at the what we do know for sure. Yes his estranged wife did feel threaten but, their was a disclaimer on his Facebook page that said all his songs were fictitious. That fact alone changes the context of the messages expressed. Threatening the FBI agent was stupid but, it was an artistic expression rather than just a threatening post on Facebook. That means that the court is jailing freedom of artistic expression. So in essence their ruling should be deemed unconstitutional. Now let us compare the threats made by Anthony to the threat that Ted Nugent made against Obama that caused the secret service to pay him a visit. Ted made a direct threat to the U.S. President and the secret service felt that it was threatening enough to investigate him. Anthony made a song on his Facebook page with threatening lyrics directed toward his ex and an FBI agent. His Facebook had a disclaimer. He gets 44 months in jail and yet Ted is walking free. I make this comparison because why is it that the line is differently in these two instances? The final point I want to make is that if we don't press against court rulings that are unconstitutional then how far can they go in taking away our freedom of speech?

  110. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Issarlk · · Score: 1

    Freedom of speech doesn't mean speech without consequences. See: slander. How is that different? If the first amendment is absolute, then we should let people lie and destroy other's reputation at will.

  111. No by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's sad how many people simultaneously try to share information online and treat the same exact service as if it was a 100% private diary. (Or, at the least, that only their small group of friends could ever see it.). No matter how private the message, you should always treat it as if it will spread to everyone.

    That position is stupid and ignores a person's fundamental right to privacy. Privacy does not die because someone owns a computer.

  112. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    You are wrong. The threats are lies until the attempt is made, and even then only the actual attempt is actionable. Words are NOT deeds, and they can compel nothing. Please don't even try to convince me otherwise. I know the difference.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  113. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

    You are over simplifying. It's actually quite well understood that seeing endless images of scantily clad women who are often there just to be sex objects does create an atmosphere where rape becomes more acceptable. If she dresses like those other women who are there for your gratification, and you "pay" her with a date and an a few drinks, she owes you, right? A little more alcohol for encourage perhaps... So, there is a very powerful argument for limiting the availability of images like that, at least to minors and in public spaces.

    It's also well understood that a lot of the British people currently fighting and murdering in Syria and Iraq were incited to go there by preaching and videos seen online, so clearly speech can encourage people to violence.

    The freedom to say and do whatever you like has to be balanced against the freedom of others to not live in fear of murder or rape. Freedom is not just negative, i.e. freedom from interference. Freedom can be positive, the freedom to live some kind of reasonable life. If your neighbour decided to stand outside his house screaming political slogans all night would that be okay because it's his right to speak freely? Clearly there is some consideration of the consequences of speech, as well as the content.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  114. Re: And this is how perverted our system has gotte by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

    This isn't about your speech causing someone to react violently and then claiming that your speech made them do it.

    This is about someone saying "I'm going to kill you and your child" and then saying "well, that's a rap lyric so it's protected speech." Death threats don't count as freedom of speech and never have. We have quite a bit of leeway when it comes to freedom of speech (and rightly so), but there is still a boundary. Making unsubstantiated allegations about someone can get you in legal trouble (albeit via a civil suit, not a criminal one) and making death threats against a person or group of people can get you in trouble.

    If this guy said offensive things about his wife, the kindergarten class, and the FBI agent, he'd have been fine. Being offensive is completely within your free speech rights. But making death threats is not.

    --
    My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
  115. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    You are over simplifying. It's actually quite well understood that seeing endless images of scantily clad women who are often there just to be sex objects does create an atmosphere where rape becomes more acceptable. If she dresses like those other women who are there for your gratification, and you "pay" her with a date and an a few drinks, she owes you, right? A little more alcohol for encourage perhaps... So, there is a very powerful argument for limiting the availability of images like that, at least to minors and in public spaces.

    Get off my lawn! You're only make a case against free will. If that is what you believe, then say it, so the discussion can move forward. Words and pictures only merit words and pictures in response. Only action merits counteraction.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  116. Re: And this is how perverted our system has gotte by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    Threats are lies. And liars make them all the time. I will not tolerate censorship just so you can feel comfortable. Find another way to deal with obnoxious people. First of all, learn how to tune out the noise.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  117. Re:Drawling the line between free speech and threa by GrumpyPolarBear · · Score: 1

    Interesting twist on the topic! Is it still free speech if one is drawling

  118. Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists by neoshroom · · Score: 1
    --
    Big apple, new Yorik, undig it, something's unrotting in Edenmark.
    1. Re:Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      ...convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.

      Whoops!! don't care for that giant loophole, no matter the good intentions of the idea. No one has has any duties to a tyrannical society.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  119. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 1

    The founding fathers were wrong when they thought their descendents wouldn't turn into absolute morons within three centuries.

    Yes they were. They thought it would only take about 20.

    --
    Time to offend someone
  120. Absolutions & Repair-ations by neoshroom · · Score: 1

    If I were to publish an article in a newspaper claiming that you embezzled millions of dollars with no proof whatsoever

    What?! You are going to publish an article in a newspaper claiming I embezzled millions of dollars with no proof whatsoever?!?! How dare you, sir!

    If I read your comment as a threat to publish just such an article about me and then sue you, I only need to convince others that you meant it that way regardless of the truth -- even if the truth is you didn't mean it as a threat. Systems that don't uphold the truth as one of the principle values which are sought after in their systems of justice are not just systems. Such systems do not achieve justice, but instead enforce a false opinion. The justice system should be a just system.

    --
    Big apple, new Yorik, undig it, something's unrotting in Edenmark.
  121. Four years in prison by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The guy is going away for FOUR YEARS for saying something stupid online that no one for a second thinks he was going to act on.
    This is the sad part. If he got 6 months community service, it would be proportional to what he did. But this? Everyone seems to have grown incredibly complacent with the ridiculous (and rather inconsistent) sentencing.

  122. Activate Maximum Empathy Laser by TangoMargarine · · Score: 1

    A federal appeals court rejected his claim that his comments were protected by the First Amendment. The Obama administration says requiring proof that a speaker intended to be threatening would undermine the law's protective purpose.

    I'm so sorry to hear that having to actually prove motive is such a burden to catching people. By this rationale, isn't every Internet punk threatening anything committing a direct crime?

    ...Oh wait, I just remembered all that Sarkeesian stuff. Never mind.

    --
    Unity? Screw that: XFCE. Slashdot Beta? Screw that: SoylentNews. Australis? Screw that: Pale Moon. UX developers DIAF
  123. Re:Drawling the line between free speech and threa by policiesnotparties · · Score: 1

    In this context "draw the line" was meant to be a legal one between free speech and threats. http://dictionary.reference.co...

  124. Barbarians at the eGates. by FreedomFirstThenPeac · · Score: 1
    Civilization and civilized behavior has always been more about the social contracts (as in implied) than the legal contracts (as in laws). What makes my small town more comfortable, than the big town I winter in, is the social contract we all share and impose primarily through shame and shun. The Internet and global culture have revealed the weakness in social normative pressures when anonymity meets cultural relativism. The copy-paste examples are more noteworthy for the fact that copy-paste mentality overridesany social normative pressures we might exert. Yes, copy-paste examples abound, but do I just copy them and claim immunity from social pressures? I could copy-paste one word and a time and stand "immune" because I did not pen them myself?

    We are in a dark cave, the wumpus is loose, and the only people with lights are lying religious fanatics whose reason is their sacred writings and whose swords are, more rapidly than we might wish, the actual swords they raise against the unbelievers. Chop. Chop.

    (Footnote: I believe in the 2nd amendment not because I can expect to win but rather because I can expect to make it a little more expensive for the eventual winners.)

    --
    "There is no god but allah" - well, they got it half right.
  125. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by david_thornley · · Score: 1

    Before that amendment, the Federal government still had power to search and seize, as necessary and proper to enforce provisions of the Constitution and laws enacted under it. For example, the Federal government has the power to regulate bankruptcies across the country (not that I know why that provision is in there, but it is), so the Federal government could do things like search for evidence and seize property when relevant to bankruptcy, or counterfeiting, or copyright infringement, etc.

    The Fourth Amendment did not permit anything. Its language is purely negative as far as government actions are concerned. It specifies things the government may not do.

    --
    "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  126. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by david_thornley · · Score: 1

    It's actually quite well understood that seeing endless images of scantily clad women who are often there just to be sex objects does create an atmosphere where rape becomes more acceptable.

    It is? I haven't seen evidence. Since we started seeing such images and videos (often of unclothed women performing various sex acts), we've had violent crime (including rape) declining. During the period of scantily clad female images, the de facto rights of rape victims have increased. "She was asking for it" or "She provoked it by wearing that" are, as far as I can tell, less acceptable than when I was young. The idea that "she owed me" was present before these images, and there are much better protections now for a rape victim in court.

    If one of my neighbors screams political slogans outdoors all night, said neighbor would be in violation of city noise ordinances. If he or she does so all day, it may be annoying but it's legal. The display of political signs is allowed 24/7.

    --
    "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  127. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by werepants · · Score: 1

    If speech can incite violence (it doesn't ), then provocative clothing can incite rape (it doesn't), and we have to cover our women head to toe.. Let's all try to be a bit consistent here. Otherwise you're inciting the imposition of Islamic law.

    This is entirely stupid. As long as you believe that words can influence the actions of people (and the entire advertising industry is based on this belief) then it follows that the right kind of speech can incite violence - stirring up a group of protesters, telling a drunk husband about a cheating wife, racist propaganda to ensure that soldiers kill the opposition, etc, etc. Of course, it doesn't absolve the violent offenders of guilt. But it can add a guilty party as a contributor.

    Clothing is usually not speech (although you could think of examples where it ought to qualify). A person dressing provocatively is no more "inciting rape" than a person without a bulletproof vest is "inciting a bullet wound". There are situations where the respective choices might be risky because of the unfortunate reality that there are people out there prone to violent behavior, but people are not required to choose the less risky option.

    The thing is, people act like this rape thing is complicated, but there really isn't any question about it. If someone says they don't want to have sex, regardless of what prior signs they have given to the contrary, you don't have sex with them. Even if you are actively having sex, you still must stop if they ask you to, otherwise it is rape.

    It's like the difference between boxing and assault. The only difference between the two is that both parties have provided consent. As soon as consent is revoked, it becomes assault. Is that so difficult?

  128. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You said it! believe!.. If words can compel involuntary action, then so can the dress, especially due to its more primal appeal. You want to control thought. You can respond to speech with more speech, nothing more. You can defend yourself against physical assault however you see fit. I would never get in the way there. But you approve of assaulting a man to silence him, you already know who's side I will take.

  129. Re:Arrest me for quoting rap lyrics... by DocSavage64109 · · Score: 1

    Wasn't Tupac shot to death? At least the jail time this guy is doing will get him some street cred.

  130. Re: And this is how perverted our system has gotte by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

    If the person making the threat has all intentions of carrying it out, then the threat is not a lie. Even if it was a lie, if it was made in the hopes of intimidating the person into submission, it should be illegal. For example, if someone were to walk up to you and "If you don't pay me $100 right now, I'll break your kneecaps", you would probably feel threatened (assuming they looked like they might do it and/or had people with them who could back up the threat). You may or may not pay the $100, but you certainly would feel threatened. If the police arrived with these folks still there with you, no pleadings of "It was just free speech" would excuse their threatening remarks. They would still be taken into custody.

    There is a difference between obnoxious and threatening. The first, I agree, you need to just deal with or find a way to ignore. It's tempting to try to legislate out obnoxious or offensive people, but we can't if we want to preserve free speech. Full-on threats of bodily violence, though, should never be tolerated. As the saying goes, your right to swing your fist ends at my face. You can't say that you have the "free speech right" to threaten my right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

    --
    My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
  131. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  132. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  133. 3 letters ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think 3 letter agents should have to drive 3 letter Cadillacs or Lincolns only. On or off duty. Why not make so ? NASA should be stuck with Rocket 88s too.

  134. Re:And this is how perverted our system has gotten by diamondmagic · · Score: 1

    To be fair, a decade later they also passed the Alien and Sedition Acts.

  135. Re:why just 5 mod points aren't going to cut it by TaoPhoenix · · Score: 1

    "And this is why just 5 mod points aren't going to cut it."

    Weird - this story?!

    And there are over 130 of those spam posts... that's far more than I've seen in a *long* time!

    They need to downmod those at the admin level with a script so you can save your legit mod points for good things!

    --
    My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
  136. Re: And this is how perverted our system has gotte by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If the person making the threat has all intentions of carrying it out, then the threat is not a lie...

    What kind of bullshit is that??? You can't prove anything until the attempt is actually made. You all are so full of shit. Just admit you all are a bunch a little fucking dictators that want to rule the world. You all can go fuck yourselves! I am hoping for technology to smash your censorship into dust!

    -f