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Whether laws intend to limit the offensive power of a minority or protect a minority from attacks, either way rights are lost. In the words of Roger Baldwin, founder of the civil liberties union, “In order to defend the people you like, you have to defend the people you hate.” Roger Baldwin’s statement indicates that if we limit the free speech of one group we ultimately limit our own freedoms. The first Amendment clearly states the limiting of any groups right is unconstitutional, “make no law … abridging the freedom of speech.” The basis behind not allowing the government to define free speech allows Americans to create their own social order and among themselves determine what is acceptable.
In Robin Lakoff’s “Hate Speech”, Lakoff claims that not everyone is able to understand hate speech because not everyone goes through it, or they don't find it a big deal because it doesn't happen to them. Someone might claim that they know that hate speech doesn't happen that often but, what is hate speech? Hate speech is to “promote violence” and it is “created by people who are a majority of the population; directed toward people who are a part of a minority population.” (bsu.edu). The First Amendment allows people to speak what they want, and express themselves.
The 1st Amendment guarantees the individual the freedom of religion, speech, press, to assemble, and to petition the government. Freedom of speech allows for people to partake in the democratic process by allowing them to speak their beliefs and political ideals. Without the freedom, there couldn’t be a democracy (Ginsberg, 2014). Though there are different forms of speech, some that are protected and some that are not. There are different ways of looking at the 1st Amendment.
What distinguishes a hate crime from any other crime is motive. In order for a crime to be considered a hate crime, it must be motivated by the group membership of the victim. Critics of hate crime laws have argued that they are unconstitutional and violate First Amendment protections of free speech, association, and freedom of thought. Opponents of hate crime laws refer to the Supreme Court decision in R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul (1992) in which freedom of thought was determined to be implied by the First Amendment.
Freedom of speech allows individuals to publicly decipher whatever words they wish to speak. It is a reasonable concept of a coherent argument with combative or comparative in speech for which it can be mistaken for hate speech. The forms of the inabilities between hate and free speech to imagine a new world. The difference between two speeches as a powerful movement towards changing the attitudes about limiting speech for individuals. The characterizing of this controversy is that hate speech regulations are not beyond our grasp, but theatrical and legal if society does not take a stand and bring on to change.
Many people believe that the First Amendment gives the people right to say whatever they want but it’s not true. There is no hate speech exception to First Amendment. There are some kind of words which are not protected especially the fighting or insulting words or speech in which a person threatens to commit a crime that would result in death, serious injury, or damage is not protected by the First Amendment, instead First Amendment gives the right to fight against injustice, inequality and unfairness. For example Black Lives Matter movement, this movement has every right to express their feelings. The ways they are protesting are protected under the First Amendment.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines a hate crime as, "a traditional offense like murder, arson, or vandalism with an added element of bias. For the purposes of collecting statistics, the FBI has defined a hate crime as a "criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity." Hate itself is not a crime-and the FBI is mindful of protecting freedom of speech and other civil liberties" (FBI). When reading this definition, it is clear to understand why so many are against hate crimes. Hate crimes are a direct stab, whether that be literally or metaphorical, at a group of human beings.
From the speeches proclaimed in Nazi Germany, to the words spoken by Stalin, that were utilized for nothing more than power gain in the world stage, no hate speech was factually driven and meant to not create a detrimental impact on those it was personally
Hate crime What distinguishes a hate crime from other crimes is an underlying motivation based on the victim’s group membership. There has been much debate over the constitutionality of hate crime laws and which groups (if any) should be protected by such legislation. Those against hate crime laws argue that it is a violation of First Amendment protections of free, association, and freedom of thought. The Supreme Court confirmed that freedom of thought is implied by the First Amendment in R.A.V. v. St. Paul which those against hate crime laws argue makes such laws unconstitutional.
By definition there is a significant difference between free speech and hate speech, but what people consider to be either varies and the lack of differentiating the two is the root of many recent debates. The freedom of speech is known as “the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or sanction.” While hate speech is recognized as “speech that attacks a person or group on the basis of attributes such as race, religion, ethnic origin, national origin, gender, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity.” What is considered offensive can be very subjective. While it is reasonable to ban or censor hate speech because of its nature, banning speech that is simply offensive to some is not reasonable because anything can be offensive to anyone if they choose to take offense.
Speaking of the First Amendment, we should all remember what the actual documentation says: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Based on the first amendment, there is no "Hate Speech" to it as seen in some Colleges[1]. College students defined Hate Speech as "ideas and opinions that run afoul of progressive pieties" (Davidson). Basically, whatever that is against the Liberal point of view is viewed as hate speech; however, such a thing as "Hate Speech" does not exist; there are only different opinions and point of views[1].
Free speech and hate speech can be classified as different topics and when arguing for one, we can also criticize the other. Free expression and free speech on campuses are crucial for sparking important conversations about equality and social justice, and the suspension of free speech and expression may have dire consequences on college campuses. First, freedom of expression allows students to show their own political, social, and cultural views, while also allowing students with common beliefs to align. Free speech and the call for free speech allows those who have been historically systematically oppressed to use their voice.
We can’t misuse the freedom of speech, saying words that can cause serious harm (bullying). This form of speech will cause depression, suicide, and stunted social development. When freedom of speech hurts others, then it is not just an opinion anymore; it is a form of hate
The grey area can be seen between two different sectors: one of which is free speech and the other being unconstitutional with the question being what is the best way to deal with it. On one side, there are thinkers like James Bank, Sheffield Hallam University department of Law, who argued in “Regulating Hate Speech Online” that while the entire subject of hate speech is condemnable, it is nearly impossible to regulate. He believes this because, “The multi-jurisdictionality of the Internet has undermined states efforts to place geographical demarcations onto cyberspace … [as] European efforts to harmonise national laws have been undermined by the USA’s commitment to the First Amendment” (Banks 238). It is understandable that with the internet, no single group can assume responsibility or ownership over it, but then people still try to do so. An example that illustrates Bank’s point is the case Yahoo!,
The time in which we live is the age of communication and the speech or talking one of the important ways of communication and expression. There are different types of Speech and communicate, one of them hate speech. Hate speech means attacking a person or group based on different basis such as gander, religion, race, ethnic origin or nationality and disability. In the other hand, some of human rights treaties agree with freedom of speech or freedom of expression it could offend or disturb others so government of Countries placed laws of hate speech to avoid harms, troubles and problems. Over years Hate speech law became one of the most known laws in international law.