Why is it illegal to say Sieg Heil in Germany?

[Man of Harveys]

There is a group of neo-nazi fascists parading the streets. You hold up a sign showing someone throwing a Swastika in a bin, or a sign with a Swastika with a big red cross through it, and you stand liable for arrest and upto 3 years in prision.. I think thats well worth a debate. It should be banned by being used for the wrong things, not banned from being used in a demonstration about all thats wrong.

No it's not. They're banned for the best reasons in the world - sorry to make this sound like the deja vue thread - and if they're banned for one group with one particular set of motives, you can't unban them and put the the police of speculating as to what the person carrying it might be thinking, say. Banned is banned.

 

[Biscuit]

No it's not. They're banned for the best reasons in the world - sorry to make this sound like the deja vue thread - and if they're banned for one group with one particular set of motives, you can't unban them and put the the police of speculating as to what the person carrying it might be thinking, say. Banned is banned.

Fair point. So you agree a certain degree of common sense should be used? I realise its a very sensitive issue, but I did wonder, if something like this was used for a positive cause whether it might lose its stigma. Although, as someone has said, I think it might be too close to the event to consider that yet.

 

[Chesney Christ]

Re: Re: Re: Why is it illegal to say Sieg Heil in Germany?

Why not allow the World to forget about recent history and a dreadful war that our fathers won at great loss, by preventing people from reviving it like an open sore?

Was it politically correct that Hitler's Germany killed millions upon millions of innocents? Racist murdering and torturing in the name of politics?

Errr, I was taking the p*ss out of the Little Englander gang on this site who brandish anything that disagrees with their right wing agenda as "Political correctness gone mad". I thought that was fairly obvious.....

 

[Man of Harveys]

Fair point. So you agree a certain degree of common sense should be used?

Yes I do. By banning it and continuing to do so. Free speech for everyone really is not always the most important thing.

Of course, the people who set these things up were the Allies, as well as de-Nazified German politicians back then. I'd say the Basic Law of 1949 is a crucially-important milestone in European history, a brilliant concept whose federalism, for example, has been copied in Spain. Plus we really have don't have something other than judiciary which enshrines basic human rights in the same way here - I imagine that some of Blair's recent planned anti-terrorism legislation would have fallen well foul of it, for example.

 

[Biscuit]

Yes I do. By banning it and continuing to do so. Free speech for everyone really is not always the most important thing.

Of course, the people who set these things up were the Allies, as well as de-Nazified German politicians back then. I'd say the Basic Law of 1949 is a crucially-important milestone in European history, a brilliant concept whose federalism, for example, has been copied in Spain.

So you don't think it was a knee jerk reaction of a post war Government?

(Devils adovcate here)

EDIT: I should just add that of course I agree restrictions should be made on the use and avaliability of the Swastica, I just don't agree with an all out ban.

 

[Man of Harveys]

So you don't think it was a knee jerk reaction of a post war Government?

(Devils adovcate here)

EDIT: I should just add that of course I agree restrictions should be made on the use and avaliability of the Swastica, I just don't agree with an all out ban.

I do - why change it? Other than a few Looneys, the Germans don't want to. I'd suggest having a quick read of this, especially the introduction. http://www.bundestag.de/htdocs_e/parliament/function/legal/germanbasiclaw.pdf

The Basic Law is a fantastic piece of history that the Allies and the German politicians who wrote it should be proud of. "Knee-jerk" my arse - the ideals behind it and later the burgeoning EU/EEC has kept western Europe war-free for 60 years. That'll do.

 

[edna krabappel]

I too agree that the Daily Mail represents all that is small minded and bigoted in the British Psyche, but it is Hardly representative of general British opinion.

Don't forget the Daily Mail's all-time favourite headline

"Hail To The Blackshirts".



Incidentally, it might not be entirely representative of British opinion, but it is read by a huge number of people. Who need help to know what to think each day

 

[Biscuit]

Don't forget the Daily Mail's all-time favourite headline

"Hail To The Blackshirts".



Incidentally, it might not be entirely representative of British opinion, but it is read by a huge number of people. Who need help to know what to think each day

That's generalising..

My nan doesn't need any help generating opinions.. she does however need help chosing what to what on TV and her Daily Mail pull out does just that!

Hurrah!