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Debates over free speech and hate speech
Hate speech in schools essay
Hate speech in schools essay
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Throughout history, the United States Constitution has been put to the test over the issue of free speech. The First Amendment states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Even though free speech is one of the core American values proudly embedded in each citizen, some poopAmericans find themselves torn between whether or not to limit the freedom of speech on behalf of hate speech. Most law-abiding citizens disagree with hate speech, but must realize even speech that promotes hate, racism, and even crime is still protected by the Constitution of the United States. Free speech should not be limited, because it would infringe on one of the basic rights of Americans and would prevent students in public universities from practicing their freedom to learn. Many moralpoop, law-abiding American citizens find themselves divided between the balance of hate speech and free speech. The Oxford English Dictionary defines hate speech: "speech expressing hatred or intolerance of other social groups, especially on the basis of race or sexuality; hostile verbal abuse." Americans are proud to have the right of freedom of speech, but when it comes to hate speech, many wonder whether the First Amendment should protect speech that expresses hatred towards groups of people. Some argue that free speech should limit hate speech in order to protect certain American citizens. David van Mi... ... middle of paper ... ...d be constitutional or not is a growing controversy not only in public universities of America, but throughout the entire country as well. American citizens take pride in their freedom, but those values are put to the test when a speaker offends their morality by inciting hate. Ethical citizens must understand that hate speech falls under the same constitutional protection as any other speech. The right of free speech is undividable; when one citizen is denied this right, all citizens are denied. It is important that America upholds its founding principles so that citizens may continue to live in freedom. As the Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas once said, "Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us."
In the following essay, Charles R. Lawrence encompasses a number of reasons that racist speech should not be protected by the First Amendment. In this document, he exhibits his views on the subject and what he feels the society should confront these problems. In this well- written article, he provides strong evidence to prove his point and to allow the reader to see all aspects of the issue.
Freedom of speech has been a controversial issue throughout the world. Our ability to say whatever we want is very important to us as individuals and communities. Although freedom of speech and expression may sometimes be offensive to other people, it is still everyone’s right to express his/her opinion under the American constitution which states that “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press”. Although this amendment gave people the right express thier opinions, it still rests in one’s own hands as how far they will go to exercise that right of freedom of speech.
Should the First Amendment stop protecting hate speech? In Derek Bok’s “Protecting Freedom of Expression on the Campus”, he argues that hate speech should be protected as censorship would be against the First Amendment. He declares “One reason why the power of censorship is so dangerous is that it is extremely difficult to decide when a particular communications is offensive enough to warrant prohibition or to weigh the degree is offensiveness against the potential value of communication.... if we were to forbid flags, it is only a short step to prohibiting offensive speakers” (Bok 67) What Bok is attempting to say is that we can technically declare anything as offensive. The idea of hate speech is varying on the opinion of a person rather than law.
Free speech at public universities and colleges is the most clear and the most contradictory of constitutional pr...
Since this country was founded, we have had a set of unalienable rights that our constitution guarantees us to as Americans. One of the most important rights that is mentioned in our constitution is the right to free speech. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the
And even though the First Amendment grants us the freedom of speech, including such hate speech, there are limits. The federal and all state governments, including public colleges and universities and private schools that accept federal financial aid, cannot unnecessarily regulate speech, with the following exceptions: “obscenity, figh...
Living in the United States we enjoy many wonderful freedoms and liberties. Even though most of these freedoms seem innate to our lives, most have been earned though sacrifice and hard work. Out of all of our rights, freedom of speech is perhaps our most cherished, and one of the most controversial. Hate speech is one of the prices we all endure to ensure our speech stays free. But with hate speeches becoming increasingly common, many wonder if it is too great of a price to pay, or one that we should have to pay at all.
When the topic of hate and bias crime legislation is brought up two justifications commonly come to mind. In her article entitled “Why Liberals Should Hate ‘Hate Crime Legislation” author Heidi M. Hurd discusses the courts and states views that those who commit hate and bias crimes ought to be more severely punished. She takes into consideration both sides of the argument to determine the validity of each but ultimately ends the article in hopes to have persuaded the reader into understanding and agreeing with her view that laws concerning the punishment of hate and bias laws should not be codified. Hate crime is described as a violent, prejudice crime that occurs when a victim is targeted because of their membership in a specific group. The types of crime can vary from physical assault, vandalism, harassment or hate speech. Throughout the article Hurd tried to defend her view and explain why there should be no difference of punishment for similar crimes no matter the reason behind it. Her reason behind her article came from the law that President Obama signed in 2009 declaring that crimes committed with hatred or prejudice should have more sever punishments. While the court has their own views to justify their reasoning behind such decisions, in the article Hurd brings up points and facts to prove the wrongfulness of creating such a law. However, though Hurd has made her views clear in the following essay I will discuss reasons why the penalties are justifiable, why they should receive the same degree of punishment, less punishment and my personal view on the topic.
"Protecting Freedom of Expression on the Campus” by Derek Bok, published in Boston Globe in 1991, is an essay about what we should do when we are faced with expressions that are offensive to some people. The author discusses that although the First Amendment may protect our speech, but that does not mean it protects our speech if we use it immorally and inappropriately. The author claims that when people do things such as hanging the Confederate flag, “they would upset many fellow students and ignore the decent regard for the feelings of others” (70). The author discusses how this issue has approached Supreme Court and how the Supreme Court backs up the First Amendment and if it offends any groups, it does not affect the fact that everyone has his or her own freedom of speech. The author discusses how censorship may not be the way to go, because it might bring unwanted attention that would only make more devastating situations. The author believes the best solutions to these kind of situations would be to
In the United States, free speech is protected by the First Amendment in which it states, “Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion … or abridging the freedom of speech.” Now, nearly 250 years into the future, the exact thing that the Founding Fathers were afraid of is starting to happen. Today, our freedom of speech is being threatened through different forces, such as the tyranny of the majority, the protection of the minority, and the stability of the society. Now, colleges and universities in the United States today are also trying to institute a code upon its students that would bar them from exercising their right to speak freely in the name of protecting minorities from getting bullied. This brings us into
America is a free a nation with a Bill of Rights that provides every citizen of this country the freedom and protection of the inalienable rights granted to them. However, there are certain actions that have stirred controversy as to how far those protections and freedoms can be stretched. Throughout history there have been numerous cases involving the Bill of Rights and the amount of freedom and or protection granted by each one. The First Amendment, the protection of free speech, has garnered much attention due to the increasingly negative and violent expressions America has come to know. The morality and public decency that Americans used to hold dear has been lost. In a world of constant input, Americans have becom...
Challenges to hate crime laws have been based on the First Amendment of the Constitution the right to free speech. The first major Supreme Court ruling on this issue was R. A. V. v. City...
College campuses have always been the sites where students can express their opinions without fear. There have been many debates about the merits of allowing free speech on campus. Some students and faculties support allowing free speech on campus, while others believe that colleges should restrict free speech to make the college’s environment safer for every student. Free speeches are endangered on college campuses because of trigger warning, increasing policing of free speech, and the hypersensitivity of college students.
Freedom of speech in United states are usually protected by the constitution, the only things that are not protected are cases of obscenity, defamation, war words and any form of incitement to start of riots. The other exceptions to the protection of the bill of rights on freedom of speech are harassment, privileged communications, trade secrets and any classified materials belonging to a business establishment or a company (Lieberman, 1999, p. 35). The protections and limitations to freedom of speech also extend to hate speech that is spread through commercial speech. Prior restrain is the point where the government issues a restrain to a speech before it is made. However, the government should be in a position to explain to the Supreme Court the need to restrict such speech. Defamation describes any words used by another party to spread false-hood with an intention of harming their reputation in public. Seduction is a protection act that protects citizens from abusive language that can be used in speeches to cause harm to the public. The Supreme Court needs to have a definite explanation on the need to have restrictions.
Topic: Do you believe that free speech as proscribed under the first amendment of the constitution should be limited?