Expert: Michael Troy - 4/16/2005

Question
I have some questions i would like to ask

1.  What is your definition of hate speech ?



2. In your opinion, is hate speech protected under the first amendment ?




3.  What is the difference between hate speech and "fighting words" ?


4.  Should hate speech be punished?


5.  In your opinion, is there a lack of tolerance for hate speech on college campuses and in the public forum?

6.  Is there a lack of tolerance for hate speech in the U.S today? Why?



7.  Does hate speech impose on others rights?



Thank you so much

Answer
1. What is your definition of hate speech ?

Hate speech is any expression that expresses hate for another person or group.  Typically, in mondern day parlance, it is applied to any speech critical of various minority groups.

2. In your opinion, is hate speech protected under the first amendment ?

Yes, the Courts have consistently held that banning the expression of an opinion, no matter how offensive that opinion may be, violates the First Amendment.

3. What is the difference between hate speech and "fighting words" ?

The "fighting words" doctrine invented by the courts several decades ago, focuses more on the context of the speech.  It has to be something that would trigger an immidiate violent response.  Sometimes hate speech could be fighting words, like shouting racial epithets at a group of angry minorities in order to provoke them.  But hate speech can also be written down or broadcast over TV or radio where it is impossible to trigger that immediate violence.

4. Should hate speech be punished?

Not by government.  In my view, stupid and even hateful ideas should be protected so the debate can remain open and robust.  That does not mean that private citizens should not react appropriately to someone who expresses anti-social ideas.

5. In your opinion, is there a lack of tolerance for hate speech on college campuses and in the public forum?

Yes, there is a lack of tolerance.  When colleges try to punish certain speakers for being "offensive" they skew the public debate.  College especially is a place where students should be exposed to new ideas, even bad ones.  In doing so, they learn how to deal with such ideas.  I'll give you a good example.  When I was in college, some group brought to campus someone who denied the Holocaust ever happened.  The University allowed the speech to go forward.  But the debate brought forward so many people who discussed what really happened during the Holocaust that the net effect was that students learned more about it and had a better understanding of why Holocaust denial is simply a lie of some radical right wing groups.  Had the speaker never come, that debate never would have happened and the students would not have had the learning experience at all.

6. Is there a lack of tolerance for hate speech in the U.S today? Why?

I suppose for some, there is a fear that the hateful ideas will somehow become excepted by a majority and bring back all sorts of horrible racist laws.  Others, however, simply have a desire to protect people from being offended.  Hate speech can lead to uncomfortable situations and upset people.  Unfortunately, many school adminstrators are more interested in entertaining their students than in challenging them.

7. Does hate speech impose on others rights?

Hate speech can sometimes expose people to ideas they do not want to hear.  But that is the price for living in a free society.

I hope this helps!
- Mike