It's very telling when people think that insulting their beliefs is illegal. Telling a person he's an idiot for believing in Bigfoot is no worse, but with no legal recourse.

http://www.centerforinquiry.net/blogs/s ... d_junkies/

Stories like this make my blood boil. While I am a huge advocate of not insulting the ideas and beliefs of others, and pointing out offensive speech for what it is, the last thing that a free society needs are laws or government sanctions against opinions.

What often disturbs me is that when I talk to some folks who profess to love freedom and claim to agree with the concept of freedom of speech, they will flip on dime when confronted by speech that they disagree with. These folks are then all for censorship or similar laws as described in the article.

Criticism of religion often provokes this response. At least here in the USA, I often find that speech that some deem to be "unpatriotic" will provoke a similar reaction.

Religious stupidity strikes again.

*sigh*

Good example of religion being exempt from criticism. On the other hand those who are willing to challenge such a stupid law brings it to the spotlight where it can be openly mocked.

"Even a superstitious man has certain inalienable rights," but he "has no right to be protected against the free criticism of those who do not hold them. He has no right to demand that they be treated as sacred. ... The meaning of religious freedom, I fear, is sometimes greatly misapprehended. It is taken to be a sort of immunity, not merely from governmental control but also from public opinion."

The God of the Gaps is losing footing every day.

"Please don't scare away our sky-daddy with your non-stop discoveries!"

http://chronicle.com/article/The-New-Wa ... ence/65400