Christopher Hitchens -- Free Speech Part 1

Christopher Hitchens gives a talk in Canada on Free Speech in November 2006. This is the end of the twenty minute speech originally from One Good Move: http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive...

Hitchens makes some great points that usually are overlooked, and should be fully and completely remembered (or, in worst cases, realized).

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[mush01]

I keep coming back to this speech and thinking that long after he's gone, this might be Hitch's most important contribution to the world.

Let us hope that we are not looking back at it from a time when all speech is limited and the idea of its freedom has become an obscure point of philosophical history.

[MindfulFuture]

grow up you uneducated twit. Thank science for everything you have, end of story. We are not returning to the dark ages. Period.

[RecursiveProphet]

Hitch has long been one of my heroes, right up there with Chomsky. I think his video on Mother Teresa is even more informative though. Hard to single out just a few-so many were true gems.

[mosti1987]

me too. This is one of my first encounters with Hitch. We have our differences, being somewhat leftwing, but I will always admire his journalism and his determination throught his progresses of thought

[randall2020]

Hitchens gave this speech in Toronto precisely against such stupid laws. It is not the job of a government to decree an official history. So, you don't have free speech in Canada. Your view about "dealing with nazism accordingly" is just your view and you don't want anyone to express a different one. Well screw you fascist. The holocaust was not more important than other massacres in history. Why should it get special attention? See the whole speech. Canada can kiss Hitchens's ass

[Felix Hansson]

this is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo true

[Zerg121]

It seems this speech will continue to be relevant for a long time.

[Sean Knight]

Lets hope we aren't watching it on bootlegs, hiding it from the governemt in fear of arrest and imprisonment.

RIP Hitchens.

[beidlgsicht]

well, you can talk about the nazi crimes openly, but under the prohibition act of 1947 it is not allowed to praise or belittle them. what irving did was publicly saying that the holocaust never happened and that it was just a myth. i would say that the prohibition act, in fact, IS dealing with nazism accordingly to our historic experiences and our constitution. i also want to add that even canada has a law prohibiting "spreading false news" under which another nazi, ernst zündel, was sentenced.

[Benjamin Schlichter]

If you can't talk about it openly, then how will your country's populace remember what actually happened?

As an American, we talk about slavery often. It helps us keep the tragic memory of what happened in the forefront. I feel that the Germans and Austrians, by banning speech about Nazism, are doing more to foster its existence than dealing with it.

[beidlgsicht]

i am austrian and i was a little upset by this :D austria has forbidden by law to publicly praise or belittle the crimes of the nazis. irving was imprisoned because he publicly denied the existence of gas chambers. now given austria's historic responsibilities i don't see anything wrong with that. waldheim was an embarrassment and so was haider, but explaining why many were voting for them would lead to an essay about austria's political landscape and her entire history after the war.

[WalterLiddy]

Canada has no reppealed these laws.