Quote:
Originally Posted by Worldwalker
Murder is a worse crime than child molestation. You can live after being molested; you can't live after being killed. It's the irremediable crime. Yet it isn't a crime to fantasize about murder (if it was, most of us would be in jail, especially those who have dealt with Dell). It isn't a crime to write about murder (there are not only books but whole series in bookstores). It isn't a crime to visually depict murder (Dexter, anyone?). It's only a crime to commit murder. And that is as it should be.
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Late to the party as always, but your well written explanation and telling example to me have encapsulated the power of the pure free-speech argument.
In practice, free speech will always have exceptions - in Canada they include hate speech, child pornography, and "seditious" literature. Tah - mustn't try to overthrow Her Majesty, now.
I'm not sure what the current CP standards are in Canada - at one time, fictional stories, presumed to some, however small, "artistic merit" were exempt. And although age of consent in Canada ranges from 14-16, the age of consent in exploitive relationships, including pornography and prostitution, is 18.
In many other countries, the big bug-a-boo is obscenity, seeings how it's a totally subjective standard.