Discerning Hate Speech From Opinion: What's the Difference?
As citizens of America exercise their right to free speech, most specifically through the form of protests, it poses a question for everyone involved: when does someone's matter of opinion become hate speech to another individual? Currently in the news, University of California, Berkley, is under fire from the media due to this exact issue.
At the Berkley, administration had issued a rule that prohibited conservatives from publicly speaking on campus. The public retaliated, arguing that this decision was a direct act of infringement on the students' first amendment rights. University of Wisconsin even addressed the complication by issuing their own rule, essentially giving disruptive students three chances before they are expelled. Many conservatives commend University of Wisonsin, declaring that it is unjust to have only conservatives be penalized for speaking their mind. (CLICK HERE to read further)
Do we as Americans tend to quickly alienize people without hesitation when they are against our own beliefs? How do our biases further seperate us as a nation? Who justifies whether or not a comment is "hate speech" or not? To what extent is censorship okay, or is it not okay?
At the Berkley, administration had issued a rule that prohibited conservatives from publicly speaking on campus. The public retaliated, arguing that this decision was a direct act of infringement on the students' first amendment rights. University of Wisconsin even addressed the complication by issuing their own rule, essentially giving disruptive students three chances before they are expelled. Many conservatives commend University of Wisonsin, declaring that it is unjust to have only conservatives be penalized for speaking their mind. (CLICK HERE to read further)
Do we as Americans tend to quickly alienize people without hesitation when they are against our own beliefs? How do our biases further seperate us as a nation? Who justifies whether or not a comment is "hate speech" or not? To what extent is censorship okay, or is it not okay?
Great post, Emma! My answer to your first question is most definitely "yes!" There's such an interesting constitutional angle here, too. We have protected speech in our country, but it's not protected in all situations, so the big question is when is speech dangerous to the public? CAN speech ever be deemed dangerous to the public?
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