Hate Speech, Part One
Did you know that “hate speech” is not illegal? To the contrary, it is protected by the Free Speech clause of the First Amendment. The ABA defines “hate speech” as “speech that offends, threatens, or insults groups, based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or other traits.” It may be offensive and unethical and immoral for nazis to march in Skokie, but it is not illegal. It may be unkind and immoral for Christians to offend the LGBTQ community by calling them sinners and worse, but it is not illegal. It may be tasteless and immoral for Donald Trump to make gross generalizations about immigrants and Muslims on the campaign trail, but it is not illegal. It may be distasteful and disrespectful for protesters to burn an American flag, but it is not illegal (nor can Donald Trump make it so).
Freedom of speech is one of our most treasured rights, and yet, it is a right that causes an enormous amount of conflict. It is not an absolute right, there are some limitations: fighting (or inciting) words, real threats, slander/libel (although satire/parody is allowed), false advertising, obscenity, and child pornography, but it’s notable that the limitations that are allowed under US law are much less stringent than in any other western democracy (PCMB, p. 932), even Canada and France. No doubt this contributes to the high potential for conflict.
It is illegal under Civil Rights laws to discriminate against the protected classes of age, disability, marital status, race, sex/gender, sexual orientation, and income level (PCMB, pp. 1353-1511), but individuals can express themselves pretty much any way they see fit, regardless of who they offend.
There are, of course, other constraints on free speech. Cultural and societal norms of courtesy and kindness, as well as common religious beliefs provide avenues for self-regulation of the propensity towards conflict. I will discuss “constraints that civilize” in my next blog post. In the meantime, ponder this: Are you willing to defend the same free speech rights for those you disagree with as those you cherish for yourself?
Resources
The Constitution of the Unites States, Paulsen/Calabrese/McConnell/Bray (PCMB), Thomson Reuters/Foundation Press, 2010.
American Bar Association, https://www.americanbar.org/aba.html