The Harm In Hate Speech By Natasha Trethewey

In his book, The Harm in Hate Speech, Jeremy Waldron defines the concept of dignity as an individual’s “social standing, the fundamentals of basic reputation that entitle them to be treated as equals in the ordinary operations of society” (Waldron, 5). It is an essential part of maintaining the ability to be an active member of society. Hate speech is designed to get rid of it. Dignity is incredibly malleable and easily taken away through language. Without dignity, one loses what Waldron describes as assurance, or confirmation of secure social standing. The relationship between dignity, assurance, and language can also be seen in Natasha Trethewey’s Native Guard, where Trethewey writes several poems based on hate speech she and her family faced

She is haunted and scared by the words that will be used to define her child and hurt her. Trethewey brings up the concept of maternal impression in the poem as well. She explains that because her mother is so overwhelmed, she worries that this will “imprint” on Trethewey when she is born and cause her harm. It is clear to see how much Trethewey’s mother fears for her child’s dignity because she herself cannot escape the hate speech that has followed her throughout her life. Her child is being born into a world designed to tear her down. The goal of hate speech is something that Waldron also discusses in chapters 3 and 4 of The Harm in Hate Speech. He explains that hate speech “amounts to assault upon the dignity of the person affected – “dignity,” in the sense of their basic social standing, the basis of their recognition as social equals and as bearers of human rights and constitutional entitlements” (Waldron, 59). The methodology behind hate speech is crucial to understanding how effective it truly