Warbler said:
free speech doesn't seem to stop laws suits for slander.
CP3S, did you look at this video?
You Can't Make This Up. Oh Wait, YOU CAN!
Alex Jones is completely nuts. If he seriously believes the stuff is he is spewing, he is truly insane. Even though we have free speech, we institutionalize the extremely insane for their own protection.
I listen to Alex Jones sometimes when I am road tripping and bored, I find it entertaining and amusing. So yes, I know what he is all about and how ridiculous he is, and that some people take him completely seriously.
But don't you realize how dangerous your line of thinking is here? You disagree with what he is saying, so you say he is "truly insane" and needs to be locked up for his own safety. You could apply that in so many cases to snuff out freedom.
Sometimes radicalism can be revolutionary in a positive way. Imagine if prior to the civil war you had someone in the south hammering on to people about how black people should be free, allowed to vote, own property, and have every single right that any other person in the United States has. You can imagine a lot of people back then would have been saying that he is truly insane and needs to be locked up for his own safety and those around him.
I'm more than content to have guys like Alex Jones on the air, he is harmless. Yes, some nutjobs will cling to him and hang on his words, but the majority of people know it is nuts. That would really suck if every time someone didn't meet the status quo in their teachings, beliefs, ramblings, whatever, they were at risk of being tossed in a padded room with a straight jacket. This has happened plenty throughout history, let's not even entertain that kind of thinking on this soil.
Don't worry, Warb, I am pretty sure Alex Jones will be okay and doesn't need us to protect him from himself by having him institutionalized.