Freedom of Speech?

Ok, so this is a controversial issue and I'm going to stick my neck out on this one. If a person advocates or promotes violence, this is a crime and cannot be defended by “freedom of speech” as this “freedom” is going to impinge on someone else’s “freedom” to live in security. However, if someone says something which is simply nasty, rude or false, however offensive it may be, that person has a right to say it and shouldn’t be locked up for doing so, as long as he isn’t going to incite anyone to violence by what he says.

Hence, David Irving, however odious a person he may be, really shouldn’t be sent to the slammer for Holocaust denial. Yes, it’s a repugnant opinion to hold and disseminate and yes its thinly veiled anti-Semitism but if we started jailing everyone who hates Jews, prisons worldwide would face critical overcrowding, not to mention the depopulation of much of the Middle East and Bradford (a.k.a. Bradistan).

As Deborah Lipstadt, the American academic who won a libel suit against Irving (and bankrupted him), said “I am not happy when censorship wins, and I don't believe in winning battles via censorship... The way of fighting Holocaust deniers is with history and with truth”.

If we defend freedom of speech for Danish cartoonists then David Irving too has to be extended the same right.

Comments welcome.