Hate
Why we should resist it with free speech, not censorship
Strossen, Nadine
creator
author.
text
bibliography
nyu
2018
monographic
eng
xxv, 199 pages ; 22 cm.
We live in an era in which offensive speech is on the rise. The emergence of the alt-right alone has fueled a marked increase in racist and anti-Semitic speech. Given its potential for harm, should this speech be banned? Nadine Strossen's HATE dispels the many misunderstandings that have clouded the perpetual debates about "hate speech vs. free speech." She argues that an expansive approach to the First Amendment is most effective at promoting democracy, equality, and societal harmony. Proponents of anti-hate speech laws stress the harms that they fear such speech might lead to: discrimination, violence, and psychic injuries. However, there has been no rigorous analysis to date of whether the laws effectively counter the feared harms. This book fills that gap, examining our actual experience with such laws. It shows that they are not effective in reducing the feared harms, and worse yet, are likely counterproductive. Even in established democracies, enforcement officials use the power these laws give them to suppress vital expression and target minority viewpoints, as was the case in earlier periods of U.S. history. The solution instead, as Strossen shows, is to promote equality and societal harmony through the increasingly vibrant "counterspeech" activism that has been flourishing on U.S. college campuses and in some global human rights movements. Strossen's powerful argument on behalf of free expression promises to shift the debate around this perennially contentious topic. --
"Dispelling rampant confusion about "hate speech," this book explains how U.S. law appropriately distinguishes between punishable and protected discriminatory speech. It shows that more speech-restrictive laws consistently have suppressed vital expression about public issues, targeting minority viewpoints and speakers; and that "counterspeech" has more effectively promoted equality and societal harmony"--
Machine generated contents note: -- GLOSSARY -- INTRODUCTION -- CHAPTER 1 -- CHAPTER 2 -- CHAPTER 3 -- CHAPTER 4 -- CHAPTER 5 -- CHAPTER 6 -- CHAPTER 7 -- CHAPTER 8 -- APPEN DIX A -- APPENDIX B -- Conclusion: looking back - and forward.
Nadine Strossen.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
n-us---
Hate speech
Law and legislation
United States
Freedom of speech
United States
LAW / Constitutional
LAW / Government / General
LAW / Discrimination
KF9345 .S77 2018
342.730853 STR
LAW018000 LAW109000 LAW094000
Inalienable rights series
9780190859121 (hardback)
2017054213
DLC
171109
20191230134452.0
20136009
eng