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In reply to the discussion: Can we finally kill the meme about shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theatre? [View all]intaglio
(8,170 posts)95. Ok, so you are talking about current law
Which is based upon the judgment of the USSC that used that idiom
But my contention was that the use of that idiom provided a false prop to the decision ...
And I was wrong there are 2 cases which may have been used to justify Holmes' tale
The Surrey Gardens Disaster in 1856
And the Italian Hall disaster in 1913
I'll be posting more detail below.
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Can we finally kill the meme about shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theatre? [View all]
intaglio
Dec 2013
OP
So you are saying that it SHOULD be okay to go into a crowded theater and announce
VanillaRhapsody
Dec 2013
#51
Actually YES you can....you can even be arresteprosecuted for assault just for threatening someone
VanillaRhapsody
Dec 2013
#93
I don't have to....that would be you...I agree that if you pull the fire alarm...
VanillaRhapsody
Dec 2013
#109
The pulling the Fire Alarm in the next building you enter and see if there is a law against it!
VanillaRhapsody
Dec 2013
#103
So, according to you, if you falsely shout "fire" in a crowded theater
Fortinbras Armstrong
Dec 2013
#115
I agree that you have not shown that a shout of "fire" will not cause a panic
Fortinbras Armstrong
Dec 2013
#119
Proof - if fire alarms caused panics, why are they used to alert occupants of buildings?
intaglio
Dec 2013
#121
So you are claiming that falsely shouting "fire" in a crowded theater and causing a panic is now OK?
Fortinbras Armstrong
Dec 2013
#116
Just what is the difference between falsely crying "fire" and falsely pulling a fire alarm?
Fortinbras Armstrong
Dec 2013
#125
So you cannot give me a specific difference, just some narrowly drawn laws.
Fortinbras Armstrong
Dec 2013
#127
But false claims of fire do not induce panic any more than actual claims of the ceiling falling
intaglio
Dec 2013
#6
If the shouter had had the presence of mind to be more explicit, people might have responded.
Denzil_DC
Dec 2013
#16
He seems to be forgetting what happened at that fire in the venue that Great White
VanillaRhapsody
Dec 2013
#57
Look its about being held responsible for the aftermath of shouting "FIRE"....
VanillaRhapsody
Dec 2013
#55
but it CAN....its not JUST about yelling FIRE...there are any number of words...
VanillaRhapsody
Dec 2013
#77
Back when the most buildings were made of wood, did not have sprinklers or smoke detectors...
Tigress DEM
Dec 2013
#27
It just shows that even as smart as most people are these days, we take some things for granted.
Tigress DEM
Dec 2013
#131
For which? The word "FIRE" causing fear in people at that time or current mob panic?
Tigress DEM
Dec 2013
#130
So a post about a false equivalence used to justify restrictions on free speech is clutter
intaglio
Dec 2013
#10
But Holmes based his decision regarding rights not upon the actual for harm from a claim
intaglio
Dec 2013
#17
The argument you are using here presupposes that you can read the intent of the speaker
intaglio
Dec 2013
#30
it worked better in the gaslight era when theaters regularly caught fire.
Warren Stupidity
Dec 2013
#32
You are claiming that Holmes was correct in his assumption that the audience would panic
intaglio
Dec 2013
#64
Nope, it was upheld by the Supreme Court under Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in 1919
intaglio
Dec 2013
#24
Yes, it was overturned. They threw out Schenck's very broad "clear and present danger"
NYC Liberal
Dec 2013
#50
No, you have ASSERTED that the assumption that the crowd will panic is false.
Fortinbras Armstrong
Dec 2013
#124