Woman with autistic son gets hate mail from neighbor - free speech ramifications.

[jdmyprez_deo_vindice]

A story about a woman getting a nasty, hate filled letter from a neighbor regarding her autistic son is starting to go viral. You can see the copy of the letter at the following link:

http://gawker.com/shockingly-hateful-letter-targets-family-with-autistic-1167792605?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_facebook&utm_source=gawker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

Many people on social media are cheering that there is a neighborhood witch hunt on for the person who wrote it and that the police are investigating so they can file criminal charges against the author. I can certainly sympathize with the mother who got this. My middle son has a mental disorder which can make him a bit much to handle at times but I just feel like potential criminal charges against the author is a bit ridiculous and an assault on the 1st amendment. Am I wrong here? Was there anything here that crossed the line enough to warrant criminal charges?

[jdmyprez_deo_vindice]

Just found out this is in Canada so I guess that removes the 1st amendment issue but I still think it is wrong but Canada can do what they want.

[KingRobbStark]

Why would anyone do that? As a people we agree that doing something like this is wrong, and if so, why should there be a law stating the obvious?

[DamianTV]

Freedom means Responsibility. No Responsibility results in No Freedom for ANYONE.

[jkob]

It happened in Canada and from my understanding of their laws I don't think it would be stretch for them go after someone criminally for this.

[Danke]

Petar shouldn't be allowed to go out unsupervised around normal folks.

[BlackTerrel]

I would much rather these sorts of people be publicly shamed than have the government involved in anyway.

That said I agree with you - Canada different set of ruls.

[fr33]

Fake?

[Philhelm]

There should be absolutely no limit to free speech.

My guess is that the father wrote the letter.

[MRK]

Fake?

I think this may be the case. That, or there was another mentally ill person who wrote this letter. A sane person wouldn't write that.

At the end of the letter it says that the person who lived at the address should euthanize the kid. I think this may be what triggered the police to act - this is basically encouraging the mother to kill her kid. I don't know Canadian law but I could see where this crossed the line. From a purely free speech aspect I don't see the violation even from that, but I could see how the Canadian police would.

[heavenlyboy34]

Petar shouldn't be allowed to go out unsupervised around normal folks.
Who is normal? How can one tell?

[GunnyFreedom]

Excepting legitimate death threats and threats of serious bodily harm, the neighbor should be free to write whatever they like. The people likewise should be free to humiliate and shame the neighbor for doing it so badly they are afraid to show their face in polite company. Government should not get involved unless there is something like death threats, and even then to a lesser extent than government already does for such things.

[fr33]

I think this may be the case. That, or there was another mentally ill person who wrote this letter. A sane person wouldn't write that.

At the end of the letter it says that the person who lived at the address should euthanize the kid. I think this may be what triggered the police to act - this is basically encouraging the mother to kill her kid. I don't know Canadian law but I could see where this crossed the line. From a purely free speech aspect I don't see the violation even from that, but I could see how the Canadian police would.

I was thinking the child's mother would like some attention and might have a touch of paranoia; so she typed up what she thinks others are saying behind her back. I have no proof of course.

[heavenlyboy34]

n/m

[QueenB4Liberty]

Excepting legitimate death threats and threats of serious bodily harm, the neighbor should be free to write whatever they like. The people likewise should be free to humiliate and shame the neighbor for doing it so badly they are afraid to show their face in polite company. Government should not get involved unless there is something like death threats, and even then to a lesser extent than government already does for such things.

Yeah I agree with Gunny.

[presence]

Political agitation, by the passions it arouses or the convictions it engenders,
may in fact stimulate men to the violation of the law.
Detestation of existing policies is easily transformed into forcible resistance of the authority which puts them in execution,
and it would be folly to disregard the causal relation between the two.
Yet to assimilate agitation, legitimate as such, with direct incitement to violent resistance,
is to disregard the tolerance of all methods of political agitation which in normal times is a safeguard of free government.




Masses Publishing Co. v. Patten (1917).

..

Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Reports) 444 (https://supreme.justia.com/us/395/444/case.html) (1969), was a landmark United States Supreme Court (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States) case based on the First Amendment (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution) to the U.S. Constitution (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution). The Court held that government cannot punish inflammatory speech unless that speech is directed to inciting, and is likely to incite, imminent lawless action (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imminent_lawless_action).


October 6, 2009.[8] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Stevens#cite_note-8) Stevens' attorney, Washington, D.C. lawyer Patricia Millett (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Millett), has written:


“
The notion that Congress can suddenly strip a broad swath of never-before-regulated speech of First Amendment protection and send its creators to federal prison, based on nothing more than an ad hoc balancing of the 'expressive value' of the speech against its 'societal costs' is entirely alien to constitutional jurisprudence and a dangerous threat to liberty.[9]




(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Stevens#cite_note-CSM8509-9)

[Danke]

Who is normal? How can one tell?

You are not normal. There, I just told ya.

[Pericles]

You are not normal. There, I just told ya.

I confirm this.

[Kodaddy]

Is anyone else wondering why the kid is howling and wailing?...

[heavenlyboy34]

I confirm this.
As can I. Normal is incredibly lame, so I avoid it as often as possible. Danke didn't answer my questions though. :(

Who is normal? How can one tell?

[otherone]

Excepting legitimate death threats and threats of serious bodily harm, the neighbor should be free to write whatever they like. The people likewise should be free to humiliate and shame the neighbor for doing it so badly they are afraid to show their face in polite company. Government should not get involved unless there is something like death threats, and even then to a lesser extent than government already does for such things.

If it was just yet-another-facebook-fight, no one would bat an eye. Since it's on paper, people don't know what to do....

[presence]

Who is normal? How can one tell?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJfBZxUlzhY



This ain't a nightmare... but I'm gonna pinch you real good to make sure

[Philhelm]

Is anyone else wondering why the kid is howling and wailing?...

Maybe he's Eddie Munster?

[jdmyprez_deo_vindice]

Is anyone else wondering why the kid is howling and wailing?...

It is not uncommon for people with severe autism to make a lot of noise in an attempt to block out other noises which bother them.

[Ender]

It is not uncommon for people with severe autism to make a lot of noise in an attempt to block out other noises which bother them.

Some autistic kids also have high piercing voices which can drown out almost anything.

I think autism is the new genius- have seen some incredible things accomplished by these kids. One boy I work with has just completed 4 theatre productions and has always been the first out of script. He can hardly read, but when he gets his lines down, he understands every word that he is saying. It has been amazing to see the growth.

[redmod79]

Breaking news: someone's neighbor is an asshole. Meanwhile...

[Noob]

A story about a woman getting a nasty, hate filled letter from a neighbor regarding her autistic son is starting to go viral. You can see the copy of the letter at the following link:

http://gawker.com/shockingly-hateful-letter-targets-family-with-autistic-1167792605?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_facebook&utm_source=gawker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

Many people on social media are cheering that there is a neighborhood witch hunt on for the person who wrote it and that the police are investigating so they can file criminal charges against the author. I can certainly sympathize with the mother who got this. My middle son has a mental disorder which can make him a bit much to handle at times but I just feel like potential criminal charges against the author is a bit ridiculous and an assault on the 1st amendment. Am I wrong here? Was there anything here that crossed the line enough to warrant criminal charges?

Listen to the this is that report, the two selfish people should move to China.