Title: Why Hate Speech is Not Free Speech « George Lakoff
Headings: Why Hate Speech is Not Free Speech
Why Hate Speech is Not Free Speech
Share this:
Post navigation

Content: That’s why hate speech imposes on the freedom of those targeted by the hate. Since being free in a free society requires not imposing on the freedom of others, hate speech does not fall under the category of free speech. Hate speech can also change the brains of those with mild prejudice, moving it towards hate and threatening action. When hate is physically in your brain, then you think hate and feel hate, you are moved to act to carry out what you physically, in your neural system, think and feel. That is why hate speech in not “mere” speech. And since it imposes on the freedom of others, it is not an instance of freedom. The long–term, often crippling physical effects of hate speech on the neural systems of those hated does not have status in law, since our neural systems do not have status in our legal system — at least not yet. This is a gap between the law and the truth. Share this: Like this: