Is ‘Hate Speech’ Dangerous?
by H K Rivera, The American Thinker:
As a concept, freedom of speech arguably dates back to Socrates. He said to his prosecutors, “If you offered to let me off this time on condition I am not any longer to speak my mind… I should say to you, ‘Men of Athens, I shall obey the Gods rather than you.'” While Plato was busy writing dialogues and showing us that Socrates was advocating for free speech more than 2000 years ago, freedom of speech as a legal right did not actually exist until the 17th century.
The people of both the United States and Britain were ensured certain rights. Both countries grant freedom of speech, although in modern society, speech considered “harmful, hurtful, or hateful” has been deemed, “hate speech” in much of Europe and in Britain.
This new worldview on dangerous words has made its way to the United States. “Progressive” activists such as Antifa and the 3rd wave feminist movement, would see freedom of speech hampered to end speech they find offensive.
Online “hate speech” is currently an arrestable and jailable offense in the United Kingdom. There is an entire branch of law enforcement devoted to policing words on the internet. Many have received jail time over tweets and Facebook posts others did not agree with. How did this happen? Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 made this policing of words and subsequent punishment possible.
An article published by the Independent claims “According to the Register, a total of 2,500 Londoners have been arrested over the past five years for allegedly sending “offensive” messages via social media. In 2015, 857 people were detained, up 37 per cent increase since 2010.”
Related Posts
Tags
Share This
