Comments on: Should religious or cultural sensibilities ever limit free expression? http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2013/03/should-religious-or-cultural-sensibilities-ever-limit-free-expression/ for free expression Fri, 17 May 2013 18:22:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: GordonHide http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2013/03/should-religious-or-cultural-sensibilities-ever-limit-free-expression/#comment-22998 GordonHide Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:39:43 +0000 http://www.indexoncensorship.org/?p=44950#comment-22998 Not mentioned above is the fundamental necessity of free speech if a healthy democracy is to be maintained. It’s not a luxury but fundamental to Western style democracy.

]]> By: Georgina http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2013/03/should-religious-or-cultural-sensibilities-ever-limit-free-expression/#comment-22989 Georgina Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:42:01 +0000 http://www.indexoncensorship.org/?p=44950#comment-22989 “if people are to occupy the same political space without conflict,”

But unfortunately, there are many people who do not value this lack of conflict.
Whenever we are silenced to avoid conflict or violence, there will be those willing to blackmail us, to use this fear of conflict as a wonderful chance to further limit our freedom of speech.
It is a spiral, the more we are silenced the more powerful they become.

There can be no limits to Free speech.

]]> By: Michael J Freeman http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2013/03/should-religious-or-cultural-sensibilities-ever-limit-free-expression/#comment-22984 Michael J Freeman Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:31:25 +0000 http://www.indexoncensorship.org/?p=44950#comment-22984 Authoritarian governments thrive on secrecy and in recent history have committed crimes against humanity without the people knowing. I am thinking of the lies of Bush and Blair here when they illegally invaded the sovereign country of Iraq.Then came Wikileaks and their evil deeds were made public and things were never the same again. At the moment the US and UK governments are desperate to censor the internet and stifle freedom of expression.
Religious or cultural sensibilities are used as an excuse for state censorship censorship.
Religions are divisive and in a secular society like my country the UK and should never limit freedom of expression as it is a quintessential part of democracy. Cultural sensibilities too are often the result of religious conditioning and these should be seen in the same light.
Self censorship is practiced by many artists today especially in the erotic genre because of the sanctions and restrictions placed upon their work by the state that would render their work nonviable unless they obeyed the rules that treat sex and naked human body as inherently obscene while conversely explicit images of horrific violence and pseudo snuff films are seen as popular entertainment.

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