The 1984 argument is completely absurd. Banning hate speech doesn't lead the government to control your thoughts, actions and spy on you all the time, the Patriot Act does that. As for the argument that banning hate speech would lead to banning the expression of opinions that is equally absurd. We're talking about hate speech; speech that is openly bigoted and disrupts domestic tranquility. This doesn't lead to the censorship of unpopular opinions it leads t the censorship of things that specifically disrupt domestic tranquility. The KKK parading down main street and then ending it with a "******s are inferior and deserved to be lynched" for instance. Or for a more recent example take what the Westboro Baptist Church does on a regular basis. They "assemble peacefully" at soldier's funerals and tell the family and friends of the dead soldier he died because them and they're country are too "secular" and "godless." Those kind of assemblies are considered criminal offenses in many countries, countries that most people would consider free. This isn't a case of give the government an inch they'll take a mile. You don't see Canada or Sweden telling you "Freedom is Slavery" or "Big Brother is Watching You" do you?
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