Thursday, July 19, 2007

Hail Blogdonia, pt 2

Bill O'Reilly has attacked DailyKos,specifically the YearlyKos convention. That isn't surprising, but what interests me is how various comments on DailyKos are being quoted as "hate speech" and compared to nazis.

What is your definition of "hate speech"? I've seen various conversations regarding religion, politics, transgendered people, referred to as "hate speech"--and this confuses me. How can we discuss these things in depth, if any strong or especially controversial opinion is instantly labeled "hate speech"?

Is O'Reilly's constant anti-immigrant speechifying also "hate speech"? Why does he exempt himself? (He obviously feels he is "upholding the law" and that's the difference.)

Also, what about the commentariat? Is every blogger responsible for the comments on their blog? To what extent?

Where do you personally draw the line?