• stopthatgirl7@kbin.social
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    11 months ago

    On the day of the killings, Veltman denied that he went out on the day with the intention of conducting murders despite the fact he had written a manifesto, put on a military helmet, a bulletproof vest, and a white shirt with a cross on it that was a reference to an online meme about crusaders killing Muslims.

    Dude is just trying to save his skin and pass the blame for what he did elsewhere.

    • fiat_lux@kbin.social
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      11 months ago

      You’re right, but the blame does lie with multiple people too. Yeah, his only chance of saving his skin is if other’s responsibility somehow diminishes his own culpability, but he will soon find out this is not a zero-sum game.

      But shouting “fire!” In a crowded theater isn’t free speech and will get you a jail sentence if it creates a disaster. Infowars (and Alex Jones specifically), and other organisations (they identify libertarian and mainstream conservative content plus youtube algorithm) also need to be held to account for inflammatory speech that encourages violence; provided that it can be demonstrated that they’re pushing dangerous misinformation. Especially if they are making money doing it.

      I won’t hold my breath waiting to see that happen though.

        • fiat_lux@kbin.social
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          11 months ago

          But falsely shouting “fire!” In a crowded theater isn’t free speech if it creates a disaster and/or summons emergency services in various US jurisdictions

          FTFYFMFY

          My point was more around the idea that you are/can be held responsible for the things you say rather than exact implementation requirements though.

      • tallwookie@lemm.ee
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        11 months ago

        is inflammatory speech really at fault here? anyone can say anything they want on the internet - only people that are already fucking nuts actually pay attention - or those that want to play off their actions as “not actually guilty due to insanity”.

        • fiat_lux@kbin.social
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          11 months ago

          Does shouting “Fire!” In a crowded place cause people to panic and stampede?

          People who legitimately have a disability that affects their cognition are at increased risk of being abused and scammed. They are also more likely to not be able to afford help, especially when they need it most. Exploiting people’s disabilities for personal gain is not only unethical, but arguably already illegal financial exploitation.

          If a person provides a steady supply of lies and manipulation with the intention of stirring up xenophobic outrage to fill their wallet, then… yes. They do hold some responsibility for the foreseeable risk that promoting outrage inspires outrage. At best, the liar believe their own lies, in which case they still need to show their math when claiming very specific things like “crime by Muslims is being systemically under-reported”. That’s not just an opinion like “i don’t trust Muslims” anymore, it’s a quantifiable and verifiable or falsifiable claim. There are multiple laws around fraud, libel, etc. that deal with these sorts of arguments daily.

          Just like we condemn phone scammers for preying on grandparents with dementia, it is very much not ok to steal from people who are ill and need real genuine help.

            • fiat_lux@kbin.social
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              11 months ago

              The part where they would need to prove “imminent” danger (without it being defined) and the Supreme Court overturned its previous decisions in making that ruling? Sure, it’s not a clear cut crime and would need to be its own case. That’s also why I originally qualified it with “if it creates a disaster”. I’m not suggesting immediate conviction without trial(s).

              I also think the media landscape is very different from 1969 when that ruling was made, and I disagree that calling for “revenge” against non-white people on the day of a specific rally is “abstract” like the ruling said, but that’s a topic for a different day.

              • atzanteol@sh.itjust.works
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                11 months ago

                The part where they would need to prove “imminent” danger (without it being defined)

                It’s been defined in case-law.

                If a person provides a steady supply of lies and manipulation with the intention of stirring up xenophobic outrage to fill their wallet

                From what I can tell this typically falls under political speech and is very much protected unless there is fraud or some other crime involved.

          • tallwookie@lemm.ee
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            11 months ago

            how do we know they’re ill/need psychiatric counselling/medication if they refuse to seek help or wait to get arrested for doing crazy things?

            • fiat_lux@kbin.social
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              11 months ago

              The same way we know who is going to commit what crime now. There are no guaranteed signs, just clues and maybe even historical patterns of behaviour. So ultimately, you don’t and can’t know for certain.

              But you do assume a portion of the population (currently estimated at 15-20%) may have medical problems that affect their daily life and provide enough accessible public welfare systems that try to help people experiencing those problems, and you also foster a culture where getting help isn’t a declaration that you’re broken or weak. You also keep an eye out for your friends and family who might have been behaving unusually or… you know, radicalising. Normal collaborative society stuff.

              None of us know when we might experience illness of any variety, including ones that affect our brains. Biology and chemistry often do weird shit, organic creatures have significant construction variation.

              Society and community is a large part of how humans have prevented unexpected problems from killing humans unnecessarily. It is also how we should be preventing people from exploiting others.

    • Everythingispenguins@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      He didn’t intend to do any murdering, he just was fully prepared just in case the opportunity for some murdering came up. You know how one might pack a few snacks just in case they get peckish between meals.

    • jarfil@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      denied that he went out on the day with the intention of conducting murders

      What did he expect, that they would respawn?

    • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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      11 months ago

      I’m pretty sure you can’t claim a crime of passion if you put on a bulletproof vest, it’s not exactly normal attire even for NRA idiots.