Government shouldn't get involved much at all in group politics, but if it should, it shouldn't just be to protect minorities from the majority, but also to protect the majority or other minorities from minorities.
You shouldn't have it only your way, if you want government to protect minorities from 'unreasonable' criticism, than government should also protect the majority from 'unreasonable' criticism, if you want want government to promote and orient its policy around 'reasonable' criticize of the majority, than it should promote and orient its policy around reasonable criticism of minorities.
You are unfortunately missing one basic fundamental point. In a democracy, YOU control the government, you can change it, that's what the vote is all about and how Trump got in. You can never let individuals take control and decide what is acceptable as criticism, because those with the biggest fists, knives or guns will wrest the control from the weaker individuals and shout down and intimidate all opposition. Look at ISIS if you want to see a modern example.
Roger
It's not that I missed your point about democracy, it's that I wasn't sure what point you were making, it sounded like you were saying we should just trust the 'experts' and let them decide everything, and not even have a democracy, or that a democracy was only right insofar as it trusted the experts.
Ideally we're a democracy, but really our government is often out of our control.
For example are you sure most people think you shouldn't be able to question the 'holocaust', or that most people want immigration, period, let alone millions of 'refugees', if that's even what they are?
If we're not allowed to criticize certain religions, like Islam, and the people who take it seriously (AKA extremists), as they grow in popularity in certain regions of the west, these people will run amok, change and flout our laws, and one day in the not so distant future they may even vote in a tyrannical government or stage a coup.
And then they'll be limiting our freedom of speech, and a whole lot more.
Lastly, I think there's a reason why freedom of speech is the first amendment in the US constitution, in a democracy it's perhaps the most fundamental freedom.
You see if you forbid people to speak for or against x, then to even suggesting that law be lifted, could itself be interpreted as speaking for or against x, and so we run the risk of banning some speech for all time, for setting something in stone.
I think having openly dialogue is really essential to what it means to be a democracy, you start limiting that, and you're basically saying citizens can't be trusted, or if it's only a few 'fools', if that's really what they are, that can't be trusted, you're still giving up the most important freedoms in a democracy, the freedom to come together, honestly and openly debate and discuss policy and the issues.
Nobody is saying you can't question things, but if you are unhappy about immigration, or various government policies then take the various democratic routes available to you to change the government and the people that have been voted in to represent you. Rabble rousing is how non democratic societies operate, in a democracy, the MAJORITY gets the say which is how it should be. That should follow balanced and reasonable discussion, not spewing out hate and threats anonymously across the internet.
I'm afraid that Holocaust denial has absolutely nothing to do with democracy or freedom of speech and everything to do with Racism and anti sematism. If you want to question the holocaust then research it properly and talk to some of the now ageing servicemen or their families, that found the concentration camps and thousands of piled corpses awaiting burning or burial. My Father was one of those soldiers and was too disgusted and horrified to discuss it with even decades later. Talk to the survivors and descendants of some of the millions of Jews, Gypsies and mentally ill people who were slaughtered because they were despised because of the propaganda spouted out about them.
You want to talk about the immigration of the thousands of refugees and foreigners coming to the US, but America is almost completely built on immigration, Trump's family were German, where did your family come from? You're worried about Muslim immigrants taking your way of life, but I don't see you getting upset about the native American Indians being slaughtered, lands stolen off of them and forced into a Christian way of life. What about you standing up for the rights of millions of Black people in the US? Their ancestors were kidnapped from Africa and forced into slavery in the US at the hands of wealthy white people, are you standing up for their freedom of speech and the right to the same freedoms you have? The Ku Klux Klan had freedom of speech and white folks turned their backs while the rapes and murders were being carried out.
You really ought to look in your own backyard and research your own country's history and moral standards to really get your head around democracy and free speech and what place minority views have in your interpretation of it.
Roger