Wisdom from Oliver Wendell Holmes

My views on the limits that should be placed on individual rights can be almost entirely summed up in a single quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes(1809-1894).

"The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins."

As a metaphor, this quote is surprisingly versatile and as such is equally surprisingly pertinent, despite the fact that the author was born almost 200 years ago. My views on hate speech, gay marriage and gun control among others are based on this simple statement.

The right to free speech is important. Authoritarian governments as rule supress it. Liberal democracies tend to allow it as much as possible, but there are always limits. The classic example is that of yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theatre. Similarly, if I posted here that I was going to kill US president Bush, the RCMP would knock on my door tomorrow. Both of these are prime examples of the swinging fist banging square into the schnauze.

In the US hate speech is protected under the first amendment (though the above examples oddly are not). Recently the University of Louisville in Kentucky has been embroiled in a debate concerning whether the Klu Klux Klan should be allowed on campus. These people preach racial hatred and violence and at least in my opinion their message is no less dangerous than my first examples. In Canada hate speech is banned. The KKK would not, under any circumstances be allowed on the campus of my school. There would be no debate.

Free speech is precious and needs to be defended. Insults and objectionable opinions may be unpleasant, and the fist may be invading personal space, but that must be tolerated. Hate speech tramples the rights of others. Hate speech is the squarely impacting the nose.

Gay marriage is a hot issue right now. I really don't understand the fuss. If two men or two women want to get married this doesn't effect me or other straight people in the slightest. My nose is fine. No fist is anywhere near it.

Right wing religious groups in particular are vehemently opposed to it. I just saw a preacher from a prominent Canadian television ministry promise to "defend traditional marriage" for the rest of his life. I fail to see how "traditional marriage" has been threatened. Gay marriage has been legal in Ontario since June 10th of this year. I don't feel that the "traditional" marriage of my parents has been deminished by this. Nor have the marriages of any other "traditional" couples I know of.

The only reasoning I've seen to justify this opposition is based either on "traditional" families being threatened (which, as we've discussed, I feel is bunk) or a quote from Leviticus, otherwise known as the crazy part of the Bible.
(18:22 - Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.) Once the people using this argument start following every single other line of Leviticus, then their argument may hold a little water. Have a read and let me know how likely you think that is... Leviticus

In the meantime,there are no fists within visual range of my nose.

Gun control is a bit trickier. Most of the time, gun collectors are pretty harmless and not a threat to my nose. If Bob Smith (made up generic name) wants to keep a grenade launcher in his basement, odds are I'll never know and if I deprive him of his grenade launcher am I bopping his nose?

The potential problems with Bob's toy are when something goes wrong. If Bob blows a gasket, problems. If Bob's teenaged son take his toy for a spin, problems. If Bob's house is broken into and a criminal steals his grenade launcher, problems.

These are a lot of problems. Problems where I don't so much have to worry about a fist in my nose, as my nose being blown into little tiny nose pieces.

So, we have to weigh the benefits of the grenade launcher against the possible harm. Grenade launchers are cool. Blowing stuff up is a great hobby. If a bandit breaks in while Bob is home, instead of calling the police, Bob has the option of engaging him in a gun battle. In fact, if Bob brings it everywhere he goes, then he can engage in wild west style gun battles (but with more explosions!) everywhere he goes... But I think at this point we've left the benefits column...

So... Really we've got a lot of potential harm to my nose, with wild west style personal defense and "it's cool" being the biggest benefits.

Ixnay on the enade launchergay.

And while that may be an extreme example, I believe the same thing really goes for firearms in general.

All that from one simple little phrase... Neat, eh?