Should America ban 'offensive' licence plates?

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royalscot

royalscot

Banned
#1
Jan 27, 2013
4,769
18
0
#1
Should America ban 'offensive' licence plates? - BBC News

A licence plate displaying the Confederate Flag has sparked a US Supreme Court battle over the right to free speech. Have "novelty" plates gone too far?

For visitors it can be fascinating and bizarre to discover the range of niche interests that proud motorists identify themselves with.
 
J

jennymae

Guest
#2
#2
Well, seems like some folks are failing to acknowledge a substantial part of American history by turning Sons of Confederate Veterans down. I sure wonder when saying the word "Confederate" out loud will be considered a felony...First Amendment and freedom of speech is once again threatened by PC...
 
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V

Viligant_Warrior

Guest
#3
#3
We've got a a potential terrorist attack in France that has killed 150 people on board a deliberately crashed plane, and Saudi Arabia may be getting ready to lead a Mideast coalition against ISIS-inspired terror-tribesmen in Yemen, and we're debating "offensive" license plates??

Somehow that seems a bit out of touch with reality, Royal. No offense.
 
p_rehbein

p_rehbein

Senior Member
#4
Sep 4, 2013
30,663
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#4
royalscot said:
Should America ban 'offensive' licence plates? - BBC News

A licence plate displaying the Confederate Flag has sparked a US Supreme Court battle over the right to free speech. Have "novelty" plates gone too far?

For visitors it can be fascinating and bizarre to discover the range of niche interests that proud motorists identify themselves with.
Click to expand...

What is "offensive" to one, is not necessarily offensive to everyone. What I find offensive, others see as no biggie.......the question comes to be: "Who determines what is and what is not offensive?"
 
p_rehbein

p_rehbein

Senior Member
#5
Sep 4, 2013
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#5
Viligant_Warrior said:
We've got a a potential terrorist attack in France that has killed 150 people on board a deliberately crashed plane, and Saudi Arabia may be getting ready to lead a Mideast coalition against ISIS-inspired terror-tribesmen in Yemen, and we're debating "offensive" license plates??

Somehow that seems a bit out of touch with reality, Royal. No offense.
Click to expand...
We can "multi-post" so no biggie :)

I'm more concerned about the thousands of women and children here in the US who are abused on a daily basis, and the National Media doesn't even bother to report it. Now, bless the families of those folks on that plane, but reality is an ugly thing...........
 
tourist

tourist

Senior Member
#6
Mar 13, 2014
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Tennessee
#6
Who would be the one to decide what is offensive or not? In this country we have freedom of speech, or at least we used to.
 
p_rehbein

p_rehbein

Senior Member
#7
Sep 4, 2013
30,663
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#7
tourist said:
Who would be the one to decide what is offensive or not? In this country we have freedom of speech, or at least we used to.
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Free speech SOMETIMES...............that's our new motto apparently.............the "Sometimes" being defined as: "If you AGREE with us, then speak away, if not, shut up!"

:)
 
tourist

tourist

Senior Member
#8
Mar 13, 2014
42,550
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Tennessee
#8
p_rehbein said:
Free speech SOMETIMES...............that's our new motto apparently.............the "Sometimes" being defined as: "If you AGREE with us, then speak away, if not, shut up!"

:)
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You can't put that motto on a license plate because it may be considered offensive.
 
G

gb9

Senior Member
#9
Jan 18, 2011
12,284
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#9
right. freedom of speech until someone says something that is disagreed with. then they get called racist, ignorant, bigoted, etc.. then they have to apologize for normally not agreeing with the left-wing media. not all the time, but most of the time.
 
p_rehbein

p_rehbein

Senior Member
#10
Sep 4, 2013
30,663
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#10
So, I'm guessing if about 35 or so States allowed "IMPEACH OBAMA" License Plates to be made, that would just be ohhhh soooo offensive?
 
royalscot

royalscot

Banned
#11
Jan 27, 2013
4,769
18
0
#11
Viligant_Warrior said:
We've got a a potential terrorist attack in France that has killed 150 people on board a deliberately crashed plane, and Saudi Arabia may be getting ready to lead a Mideast coalition against ISIS-inspired terror-tribesmen in Yemen, and we're debating "offensive" license plates??

Somehow that seems a bit out of touch with reality, Royal. No offense.
Click to expand...
sorry but this is the uk, i know some of the history, surrounding some things, but with all due respect, we have no clue in scotland, what all the fuss is about. so in short we are clueless. to the bigotry involved. surrounding some things,
or how it affects usa, in different parts, ie in the uk we cant carry a gun, we cant even carry a knife, we could get 2years in jail, if caught with a knife, on your person. we dont have the death penalty. i some time wonder why you american think, we think the same as americans, the closed we get to see is films and tv, in short we are really naive in a lot of thing.
the closest we get to bigotry, in scotland is catholic v prodescent

For visitors it can be fascinating and bizarre to discover the range of niche interests that proud motorists identify themselves with.


 
W

wwjd_kilden

Guest
#12
#12
Well, I see a potential problem

On one hand, it's really bad if people start making license plate saying / suggesting racism or threat to others,
on the other hand: what if someone suddenly decides that the "Jesus fish" is offensive?
 
L

lumberjack

Guest
#13
#13
royalscot said:
Should America ban 'offensive' licence plates? - BBC News

A licence plate displaying the Confederate Flag has sparked a US Supreme Court battle over the right to free speech. Have "novelty" plates gone too far?

For visitors it can be fascinating and bizarre to discover the range of niche interests that proud motorists identify themselves with.
Click to expand...
There's nothing offensive about that rebel flag, as long as it isn't on the license plate. ;)

[video=youtube;zAKksqKR3pI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAKksqKR3pI[/video]
 
royalscot

royalscot

Banned
#14
Jan 27, 2013
4,769
18
0
#14
p_rehbein said:
We can "multi-post" so no biggie :)

I'm more concerned about the thousands of women and children here in the US who are abused on a daily basis, and the National Media doesn't even bother to report it. Now, bless the families of those folks on that plane, but reality is an ugly thing...........
Click to expand...
this is scotland, uk, we are not american , you seem to think, we should know, all that you know. when you understand, we have, no idea , except what we see in the news, or a film, or tv. just an other talking point for people in the uk.
we have no interest about the north and the south, or american other ideas about things, ware bigotry is involved.

i hope now, you americans will understand, i have conveyed , with many post on here, i am not interested in religion, taboo, dogmas, that involve bigotry, in any shape or form. but am interested in what the bible means regardless of religions, taboos and dogmas. to all religions. christian or others. i am interested in the truth of the scriptures. and what can be prove from them. not speculated from them.
 
maxwel

maxwel

Senior Member
#15
Apr 18, 2013
9,526
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#15
Viligant_Warrior;1969009[B said:
][/B]We've got a a potential terrorist attack in France that has killed 150 people on board a deliberately crashed plane, and Saudi Arabia may be getting ready to lead a Mideast coalition against ISIS-inspired terror-tribesmen in Yemen, and we're debating "offensive" license plates??

Somehow that seems a bit out of touch with reality, Royal. No offense.
Click to expand...
If the issue is really license plates, then we all need to find a new topic.

If the issue is freedom of speech, well...
even the most cursory study of history will show "speaking your mind" has caused millions of deaths,
from current history all the way back to the beginning of history.

It's not a minor issue.

For those in other countries who don't understand our problem with the license plates... it really isn't about license plates.
It's about the specifics of free speech, and how and where it can be limited.
These kinds of stupid issues create huge legal precedents that either curtail speech, or protect speech, in countless ways throughout the nation.

Personally, I don't care about license plates either.
 
royalscot

royalscot

Banned
#16
Jan 27, 2013
4,769
18
0
#16
wwjd_kilden said:
Well, I see a potential problem

On one hand, it's really bad if people start making license plate saying / suggesting racism or threat to others,
on the other hand: what if someone suddenly decides that the "Jesus fish" is offensive?
Click to expand...
sometimes it make we wonder, what offensive is, naive is different to being stupid. and standing up for a bible principle or fact, is fruitless and rude. the joys of life. lol
 
V

Viligant_Warrior

Guest
#17
#17
maxwel said:
If the issue is really license plates, then we all need to find a new topic.

If the issue is freedom of speech, well...
even the most cursory study of history will show "speaking your mind" has caused millions of deaths,
from current history all the way back to the beginning of history.

It's not a minor issue.

For those in other countries who don't understand our problem with the license plates... it really isn't about license plates.
It's about the specifics of free speech, and how and where it can be limited.
These kinds of stupid issues create huge legal precedents that either curtail speech, or protect speech, in countless ways throughout the nation.

Personally, I don't care about license plates either.
Click to expand...
It's a non-story. Looks like the BBC needed a "strange Americans" story that day.

DMVs have been censoring vanity plates for years. They don't allow plays on foul language, racial slurs, or other offensive language. Now they're rejecting plate designs for the same reason. So what?

I have no problem with the Confederate flag, for example, but many of my friends and acquaintances do. So, apparently, do a lot of civil rights industry slogs. So be it. There are other ways to express myself. If I want to put a Confederate flag sticker on my tailgate, whose going to stop me? I don't need a vanity plate design to express myself to the point of being borderline offensive.
 
maxwel

maxwel

Senior Member
#18
Apr 18, 2013
9,526
2,608
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#18
I don't care in the least about license plates.

I'm also unfamiliar with this whole supreme court case.

If some prior legislation has to be reinterpreted, then it might be an actual "free speech" issue, and that's serious.
If not... then it's a non story.

I think vanity plates are completely irrelevant in EVERY WAY, unless their existence is pinned to some legal interpretation that we need to protect.
 
royalscot

royalscot

Banned
#19
Jan 27, 2013
4,769
18
0
#19
maxwel said:
If the issue is really license plates, then we all need to find a new topic.

If the issue is freedom of speech, well...
even the most cursory study of history will show "speaking your mind" has caused millions of deaths,
from current history all the way back to the beginning of history.

It's not a minor issue.

For those in other countries who don't understand our problem with the license plates... it really isn't about license plates.
It's about the specifics of free speech, and how and where it can be limited.
These kinds of stupid issues create huge legal precedents that either curtail speech, or protect speech, in countless ways throughout the nation.

Personally, I don't care about license plates either.
Click to expand...
even the reporter , quotes For visitors it can be fascinating and bizarre to discover the range of niche interests that proud motorists identify themselves with.
Personally, I don't care about license plates either. i though some of them, were strange and some funny.
 
V

Viligant_Warrior

Guest
#20
#20
royalscot said:
Personally, I don't care about license plates either. i though some of them, were strange and some funny.
Click to expand...
We do weird things over here, Royal. I once followed a cute blonde in a Mercedes 350SL with the vanity plate "10N01" on it. Took me six miles to realize she was saying, "I owe no one."


Have to admit, my first thought was "You say so."

I mean, if she felt the need to say it, was she feeling guilty? :cool:
 
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