Need to clear something up on racialy charged content

Peggy, in case you misunderstood my meaning - I was merely wondering how far Americans are willing to take their freedom of speech thing. Calling that ignorance is... interesting.



Seems like there is a bit of a cultural border in the way because i don't get that. How is black people protesting against racist comments (backed up by a lot of court rulings) ridiculous?

(Sorry, I promised to shut up, I know. Will do so now.)

I think you know how far we Americans will take it. And I'll stand on the ignorance thing.......because it is.

The Oldest Known Symbol

The swastika is an ancient symbol that has been used for over 3,000 years. (That even predates the ancient Egyptian symbol, the Ankh!) Artifacts such as pottery and coins from ancient Troy show that the swastika was a commonly used symbol as far back as 1000 BCE.
During the following thousand years, the image of the swastika was used by many cultures around the world, including in China, Japan, India, and southern Europe. By the Middle Ages, the swastika was a well known, if not commonly used, symbol but was called by many different names:

* China - wan
* England - fylfot
* Germany - Hakenkreuz
* Greece - tetraskelion and gammadion
* India - swastika

Though it is not known for exactly how long, Native Americans also have long used the symbol of the swastika.
The Original Meaning

The word "swastika" comes from the Sanskrit svastika - "su" meaning "good," "asti" meaning "to be," and "ka" as a suffix.

Until the Nazis used this symbol, the swastika was used by many cultures throughout the past 3,000 years to represent life, sun, power, strength, and good luck.

Even in the early twentieth century, the swastika was still a symbol with positive connotations. For instance, the swastika was a common decoration that often adorned cigarette cases, postcards, coins, and buildings. During World War I, the swastika could even be found on the shoulder patches of the American 45th Division and on the Finnish air force until after World War II.

A Change in Meaning

In the 1800s, countries around Germany were growing much larger, forming empires; yet Germany was not a unified country until 1871. To counter the feeling of vulnerability and the stigma of youth, German nationalists in the mid-nineteenth century began to use the swastika, because it had ancient Aryan/Indian origins, to represent a long Germanic/Aryan history.

By the end of the nineteenth century, the swastika could be found on nationalist German volkisch periodicals and was the official emblem of the German Gymnasts' League.

In the beginning of the twentieth century, the swastika was a common symbol of German nationalism and could be found in a multitude of places such as the emblem for the Wandervogel, a German youth movement; on Joerg Lanz von Liebenfels' antisemitic periodical Ostara; on various Freikorps units; and as an emblem of the Thule Society.

Hitler and the Nazis

In 1920, Adolf Hitler decided that the Nazi Party needed its own insignia and flag. For Hitler, the new flag had to be "a symbol of our own struggle" as well as "highly effective as a poster." (Mein Kampf, pg. 495)

On August 7, 1920, at the Salzburg Congress, this flag became the official emblem of the Nazi Party.

Sadly, I do. *thinks of Jerry Falwell and a certain gay boy's funeral*



It is certainly your right to voice your opinion and insult people. Doesn't mean you're right. *shrugs*

It would be good to know how the suffix modifies the meaning.


And it has been used by Nazi sympathisers ever since, which is the problem with any display of Nazi regalia outside of a museum these days.

We can only hope Kiera follows your lead.


.

Amity,
You are very correct. The first amendment protection of free speech is a protection against government interference or limitation.

The LL TOS is a contract between the user and LL. It is not government action. If you agree with LL that you will not say "horse" then you may not say "horse" no matter what your rights against the government action are and no matter how stupid such a prohibition would be.

That said, if it were up to me I would not prohibit such objectionable material if it were in one's own home and was not viewable by those outside the home. But that is just my opinion, not LL's.

It's not so much the protesting against racist comments that I'm talking about, it's the 'You can't say that' attitude, where racism against whites (And many other races) is often considered far more acceptable.

Yes, there was slavery. There has been slavery since long before the USA was even conceived of, and just about every race has been, at some point, enslaved, whether it be because of race or social status.

Just because in the US this enslavement of blacks is most recent in our minds, that's no reason to say that racism of other sorts is more acceptable than racism against blacks.

I don't think racism is a good thing, in any context, but I don't believe any specific race should get any special treatment when it comes to racism.

You don't see white people saying 'You can't say that', at least not nearly so much as you see blacks doing it, because of this perceived bias. (At least in the US) It's my opinion that you can spout your beliefs about absolutely any race, and you don't deserve any punishment for feeling that way. If you kick someone's ass because of it, then you should be jailed, but just saying your stance is not wrong, to me. Neither is protesting against them, but in the end, you're free to state your opinion without the law coming down on you for believing it.

And now, I'm done, because I have a trip to start. Have fun!

ETA::

Sorry, but I respond when spoken to, and when I have something to say, and so will continue to until I do not, or until I cannot, which does happen to be after this, for the time being.

as a native american Apache i can relate to the hate of that symbol..
my family ended up in tennessee after they were shipped on trains to the east then placed in camps all over the south and survived orders from the president of the U.S to make the Apache extinct..trust me .it's not racists hate here..
i live 12 miles from where the KKK was born..

me and my father have had run in's with people wearing that tag on their necks in a walmart..
one decided he was going to brush up against me to bump me out of his way practically knocking me over...
My father told the man to say he was sorry..

him and his friends turned and one said..listen boy you need to tell your bitch she needs to stay out of my way..
my father got in his face grabbed his shirt collar pulled him real close and told him..listen little man!!
I come from a line of Apache that held off your government for 28 year..35 of us kicking thousands of your tiny little asses for 28 years..you want to see how those odds are still holding up today? because right now at those odds you are out numbered..now say you are sorry before i bring back the good old days..

He said he was sorry..

i don't care what a haters rights are..let them wear those tags and hang that crap in their house..it only lets us know who they are and where they are so we can avoid them..

sorry if i took this a little to personal but that symbol turns my stomach and all who stand behind it's meaning..

Ceka excellent ^.^

There was a neo-Nazi rally awhile back in my state capitol. It was a big deal. The government allowed them to hold it though, and even provided security to keep them safe from those who disagreed with them. A large number of peopled showed up to protest the rally, but that was their right too (as long as they didn't get violent).

Your response seems to insinuate that the U.S. would condone Nazi propaganda but disallow sexually deviant speech. If that's wrong, I apologize, but that's what it sounds like you are saying.

The thing to keep in mind is that laws don't necessarily control people. The law is definitely on the side of someone speaking about sexually deviant things, but it can't keep people from reacting negatively (or violently). Someone may very likely get assaulted for such speech, which is actually fairly common when people encounter Neo-Nazis. I don't think there is any sort of double standard.

Your dad is awesome. Lol... I would have liked to see that.

This is very true, and I agree... In your own home, in sl or rl.. displaying these thing is your business... As is displaying a cross.. If I were not christian and I did not believe I could be offended by that... now you have a cross in your home, I happen to glance in the window and see it and I am protesting that cross you display..because I do not believe...

If it harms none, and there will be MANY thing displayed in SL that many wont agree with. You get into a huge battlement over so many little things no one will be able to display anything but bunny pictures...

and I seriouslly do not like those nazi types.... they are rude to everyone.

I don't know what I would do in my sim, but if I knew it offended someone what was displayed, I would try to have them keep their blinds closed.

You would have to weigh the time they had been there... until the complaints started... money in etc..

BUT if sim owner say he must take em down...... there it is.

as does Buddhism....

my opinion.. if the estate owner doesnt like it on his estate.. thats his prerogutive..

as to whether its wrong to have XYZ in a private home.. no it isnt.

to quote someone

I have a swastika right in the middle of my RL livingroom. It's on my statue of the Buddha and I see it every time I do my chanting and prayers.

No laws against cannibalism, if I'm right.

Just against desecration of a corpse & murder, both which have to be achieved to get to the cannibal part.

Altho.... if you cook one up for me, I'll eat it


And odds are it tastes like pork.

If I'm right, most countries like Germany, Australia, Britain, etc, have some odd rules regarding video games. Mostly censorship stuff.

But then again... it's good to have the goverment & politicians make decisions for you.

It certainly smells like bacon. I was unfortunate enough to witness an accidental electrocution when I was twelve. Strangely, it didn't put me off crispy rashers.

Lack of affect, I suppose.

i would think that a human would be the foulest meat on the planet next to the buzzard..
i mean look at all the crap humans eat..we have to taste just terrible..
if i was a lion and took down a human and it landed next to a freshly killed zebra..i bet i would spit out my kill and slide a step or two over loving some zebra steaks

I've heard that sharks find humans very distasteful. That's why you'll hear stories of people dying from shark bites, but don't hear of people actually being eaten by one.

lol it's probably like biting into a Meth tablet to them..

I sat my nephews down and we watched America on Meth..they showed the things they use to make that stuff..
humans were not meant to be mixing drainO and every known harsh cleaning chemical and put it in their bodies..how do they not die after the first use of that death mix?

it's a wonder sharks don't go off and die themselves after biting a human lol

crocodiles on the other hand are very partial to human meat..
their secret is to cure the meat by stuffing it under some underwater tree roots and leaving it until it is ripe..

the moral of the story might be that although green bananas taste bitter and unpalatable.. if you wait a while, you will be rewarded with a sweet, delectable fruit.

sharks are in way too much of a hurry... and they have also been known to eat things like licence plates and surfboards... just shows, there is no accounting for taste.

Regardless of the content, as long as it doesn't violate law in the country/state where the server is hosted, I will defend the right of the idiot to display it.

There are caveats, however: Second Life is NOT the United States, and the residents therein are not automatically conferred all the rights stipulated in the United States Constitution. Therefore the right to free speech is not applicable in Second Life. Linden Labs can make any policy it wants or deems necessary irrespective of the United States Constitution.

Secondly, the oft-misquoted First Amendment does NOT give anyone the right to say whatever they want or express themselves however they feel. The First Amendment specifically states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." These prohibitions apply to the Government; not to private entities. Further, exceptions to the First Amendment apply when words or gestures used that "by their very nature, involve danger to the public peace and to the security of the state."

Linden Labs is not compelled to extend First Amendment rights to anyone in-world. Neither are any in-world land or estate owners.

See also anti-defamation laws, slander, and libel laws, and criminal sanctions against the proverbial yelling of "fire" in a crowded theater when no such danger exists for more on limitations and exceptions to the First Amendment. See also exceptions applied to obscenity as defined by the Miller test, hate speech, the "fighting words" doctrine (Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 1942) for more examples of what is not protected by the First Amendment.

But isn't it the case that SL, being hosted on servers in California, is subject to Californian State Law?

I only ask because I have seen the point made in several different threads and, while I don't necessarily agree with the premise, I have to say it does make sense.

Thats why I say just eat the Vegetarians & Vegans

God help 'em if we're stranded in the mountains after a plane crash.

Vegetarian..... The Other White Meat

I'll be the 1st to say it: The Servers that SL is hosted on, reside in California, USA. So yea, it IS the United States.

BUT- being a private company, they can rule as they see fit.