Tell me more. I live here and have never encountered a situation where I was not allowed to express my opinions in a systematic way. So I don't know but would be delighted to
Are we counting the UK? Because that one's really easy to find examples of - just google "UK arresting protestors", maybe throw in "Queen" or "Royal". They really, really don't like the anti-monarchists.
You might also look into things like the French ban on hijab in sporting events, and how that played out at the 2024 Olympics.
There's a lot of results concerned with religion - Germany has been using it's anti-semitism laws to crack down on anyone that's pro-Palestine, the French hijab thing I just mentioned, etc..
The UK also has some remarkable issues with libel laws.
This is just off the top of my mind - I'm not trying to say any particular issue is super important, just threads you can investigate. But I think even a few examples like that should make it clear that there's something systemic going on.
It might simply mean your opinions fall in the narrow band of views that are permitted to be expressed. It proves nothing about freedom of speech in general.
Even in North Korea, people are allowed to freely express their love for their Dear Leader. Those who express a different view are swiftly disposed of. If you love Dear Leader you could live your entire life believing that you and everyone else has free speech, simply because you have never encountered evidence to the contrary.
AfD is a Nazi party, and nobody's silencing them, despite overwhelming opposition in all EU countries. If you listen to EU parliament speeches, there's all kinds of radical political views being shared during debates. Vance came to Europe to peddle US culture wars and got laughed out.
That's great and all, but last time I checked I didn't live in a country with a grand leader. Germany's chancellor is looking at loosing an election in less than a week. So I ask again, and I'm actually serious about this question: What opinion am I not allowed to express? (Except insults and denying the death of 6 million Jews)
handoflixue|1 year ago
You might also look into things like the French ban on hijab in sporting events, and how that played out at the 2024 Olympics.
There's a lot of results concerned with religion - Germany has been using it's anti-semitism laws to crack down on anyone that's pro-Palestine, the French hijab thing I just mentioned, etc..
The UK also has some remarkable issues with libel laws.
This is just off the top of my mind - I'm not trying to say any particular issue is super important, just threads you can investigate. But I think even a few examples like that should make it clear that there's something systemic going on.
unknown|1 year ago
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sltkr|1 year ago
Even in North Korea, people are allowed to freely express their love for their Dear Leader. Those who express a different view are swiftly disposed of. If you love Dear Leader you could live your entire life believing that you and everyone else has free speech, simply because you have never encountered evidence to the contrary.
torlok|1 year ago
ruune|1 year ago
account42|1 year ago
genewitch|1 year ago
I think the French might have some quibbles about how free their speech is.