With the recent group who came to the college to speak on their view of "Christianity" and the free speech panel I listened to, it's made me really think about our rights to free speech. It's said that hate speech should not be allowed but the speakers at the campus last week were full of plenty of hate. They even claimed that their space was a "judgement free zone" but the majority of what they were saying was just judging the students on campus. I believe that every person has a right to free speech, but that does not mean that the right to free speech gives you the right to bring oppression upon others. These group of "Jesus Preachers" deeply saddened me because as a strong Christian who is also a homosexual, they were proclaiming that I would be sent to hell. They also claimed love but preached hate therefore giving Christians a bad name. These men who thought they were doing something good really just turned people away from Christianity and most likely made a handful of people want to not go to church ever. I am a strong advocate of free speech even if I may not agree with someone else's speech, but I am not an advocate for hate and that is where a line should be drawn.
I reluctantly have to disagree with stopping hate speech; free speech should encapsulate all speech, regardless of the negativity it brings with it. I believe the best thing to do is to ignore the hateful subject matter and then respond with why one believes them to be wrong.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with you that oppression should never be brought onto others, we must also acknowledge that people have very different interpretations of what is considered blatantly oppressive and hateful, and it's important not to encroach upon our rights for the sake of using broad terms like "hate." There are certain limits set in place legally for speech that is considered a harassment or threat, but legally prohibiting someone's right to say "I hate you" is a bit overbearing.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. Hate speech and harassment have no place on our campus. There are laws that support this view against harassment.
ReplyDelete(H3) This si where I get to be a bit idealistic. I think you should be able to say whatever you want as long as you are not seeking to incite violence. However I do not think you should say whatever you want even if it doesn't do that. There are ways to express even the most radical views in an civil and non confrontational way, it is unfortunate that mot people are apparently incapable of that level of intelligence.
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