Saturday, September 15, 2012

September 10-16 (Discussion #2)


I learned that hate speech is defined as any type of communication that is used to threaten or induce prejudice upon others. Anyone can engage in it but it is prominent in protest type groups that join for a commonality like race, gender, or religion. It has been difficult to regulate hate speech because some fight to protect it under the constitutional right of free speech. I think hate speech should be more harshly regulated especially on the web. Now that social networking sites are so commonly used they have become an easy avenue for people to use hate speech to target others. It is often hard to keep track of and prosecute as the laws have not caught up with the technologies of today. Although I believe in the right to freedom of speech, I think hate speech should be the exception. Hate speech does nothing but build animosity and ruin the quality of life around us. There are less formal ways like education. I think implementing anti-bullying programs in schools to teach kids the foundation and basics of hate crime would be the first step.

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