Should Racist Speech be Tolerated?
Should speech endorsing or condoning racism be tolerated? This includes expression of racist views in any kind of speech such as blogs, newspapers, films and TV and social media. I firmly believe that such views should not be censored or shunned because:
If it offends you, tough shit. If you don't want to offend anybody, then don't say or do anything. ISIS will get offended because you don't fit their idea of a Muslim. Westboro Baptist Church will get offended if you don't fit their idea of a Christian. You can't win. There are things that some people on this forum say that I don't like, but I support their right to say whatever they want. We all see things that offend us. It's being able to accept them and move on that makes us tolerant.
Banning it shows that we're intolerant. Like I said above, the true meaning of tolerance is being able to accept what you don't like and move on with your life. Take for example the forum user @Kenny/Lee, a member who I have a lot of respect for despite how differently we see things. Kenny/Lee has made it known on this forum that he does not approve of homosexuality. There are people out there that would call him intolerant and bigoted for those views. These people completely miss the idea of tolerance. It's not tolerance if you don't disapprove or dislike it. I'm not tolerant of gay rights, because gay rights doesn't bother me. I see homosexual relationships as no different to heterosexual relationships. Tolerance is the ability to accept the things that you don't approve of or condone or like, and just move on with your own life. That's what makes Kenny/Lee one of the most tolerant people on this forum, because he's willing to show respect and courtesy to others regardless of how they look at things.
So, what do you think about the expression of racist, sexist, or homophobic views in public? Please try to keep it civil.
Comments
No, people have a freedom to express themselves. If they are being racist, they'll be punished by society either way.
What he implied about homosexuals in that one thread that he was banned for was far from being respectful. I forget the details, but I remember Flog explaining and I was shocked.
If we accept racism and racist speech, then it will just continue to exist until the end of times, instead of being stopped. And tolerance, while an important thing, should only exist to a certain extent. If we tolerate the views of ISIS and Westboro Baptist Church, which I find absolutely horrible, then the world will be full of intolerance instead.
I, for one, believe that if we don't like something or have problems with it, we should try to change it instead of just moving on with our lives, or the world and people's views will forever remain the same and problems like homophobia, sexism and racism will too.
I knew he was banned, but not what for. Maybe we can get Kenny and Flog here to explain. Either way, it's his opinion and his right to express it.
I might be reading your comment wrong, but that seems kinda contradictory. You say no, which I'm guessing means that those views shouldn't be tolerated. Then you say that people have a freedom to express themselves. What exactly do you mean?
There's a quote by Voltaire saying something along the lines of "I do not agree with what you have to say but I'll defend to the death your right to say it". If you ban one thing, where's the line? It's a slippery slope. I believe that people should have the right to speak their mind, but I don't know where the line should be drawn.
ISIS and Westboro go beyond free speech. Picketing funerals and beheading war journalists is a big step over the line and action should be taken to prevent that. But what I'm talking about is simply saying what you believe, no matter how unpopular it is. What I mean by "things we don't like" is that we sometimes to agree with or like that some people hold certain views.
I believe the only real way to end intolerance and discrimination is to teach future generations that all people are equal and to stop portraying people of other races, religions, genders or sexual orientations as different to "normal" people. It's for this reason that I don't agree with Black History Month, because I believe giving a celebration to a certain group of people helps to segregate them from the rest of society in the eyes of the next generation.
Depends,I think it can be tolerated as long as they don't shout death threat,harassing,or terrorize them.
I think the line should be drawn at the point where it starts to harm others. Don't get me wrong, I despise everything Westboro stands for, but I think they should be aloud to say what they want. But I do NOT believe that they should be allowed to wave their signs around when people are trying to mourn their loved ones. Everyone should be aloud to say whatever the fuck they want, because if we censor unpopular opinions, then we're no more tolerant than Westboro.
I fully agree. If it's not hurting anyone else, then it's not a problem.
Yes.
However, I think that events that are sponsored by verified hate groups should not receive police protection. If you want to make racism and hate a hobby, you should be prepared for the heat that comes with it. It's offensive that I, as a taxpayer am required to bankroll their (usually extensive) security needs.
I think that's a fair compromise. It allows for free speech and combats hate speech at the same time.
Okay, I see your point now. I do believe people should have the right to express their opinions, as long as they don't do it with the intent of harming others (like some racism) and understand that other people have different opinions than theirs.
I meant that they should not be censored, because people are free to express themselves. If someone is racist or vulgar or offends someone, he'll pay the price by having to deal with those he offended. No censorship.
I love that quote, it sums up freedom of speech in one sentence.
But we can't know when someone is doing it with a harmful intent and when it's merely a joke :P
But almost anything will hurt some person. If you say "cunt" - it will offend some people. If you say the n word - it'll offend another group of people. If you tell a holocaust joke there will always be this one furious jew who's grandpa is a holocaust survivor (same with 9/11) and when you say you got cancer from a comment there will be a cancer survivor out there, frowning.
There's no way to filter between what's offensive and what's not offensive, everything's "offensive" to an extent - offensiveness can't be measured and it's very subjective, so we should just teach people to not take this shit seriously instead of censor every little shit someone spews.
I think if people worried more about themselves, and less about the opinions of others, we would be in a better place. Personally it just makes the person look ignorant, it doesn't bother me.
However, i can understand women's frustration when it comes to sexism.
i'm generally all for freedom of speech, even for neonazi
there should be of course limits to avoid people using freedom of speech to promote unwarranted violence, slander or complete lies, but VERY defined limits that don't boil down to "your rights end where my feelings begin"
also, comedy gets a free pass.
I think all speech should be allowed for if ignorance is never shown people can never face criticism and learn from it
I believe in free speech myself people are too easily offended nowadays let people share their views
Suppressing people's views is dangerous and can lead to them coming out in far more serious ways. I think, the best way to tackle it is to let people say what they want and fight them head on. Question why they think this, why they feel more entitled, do they genuinely believe what they're saying or is it ignorance or triggered by something effecting them emotionally? Is this is just a cry for attention and help in their own lives?
This can be applied to many things in life and not just racism.
Racism and sexism will always exist and it's going to be extremely hard to try to ban it. That however isn't the reason to not ban it, the real reason is freedom of speech.
ok so pretty much everyone's for freedom of speech
consider the following:
I have no problem with that, I'm Jewish and I can genuinely laugh at this: because tragedy is ok to be joked about just as anything is ok to be joked about :P
I think you can also get fined here in Israel if you call someone Nazi, it's obnoxious how freedom of speech is just not the same anymore.
In the interest of freedom of speech, these degenerates should be allowed to state their views, whatever they are or how sickening they may be. However, any attempts to incite violence or actual harm against anyone using the excuse "Freedom of speech" shouldn't stand.
Okay, I get it now. Thanks.
When it comes to just offending someone, I think we should allow it. It's very difficult not to offend people these days.
Damn right.
Comedy has no boundaries
Definitely cannot ban speech if it does not directly influence the well being of others (e.g. death threats and harassment). A person can be wrong, and if they are wrong they should be called out as wrong, but "my feels" can't be reason to ban something. Everything will always offend someone somewhere. Freedom of speech applies to everyone, regardless of how bigoted and asinine they are.
Ahem.
You know what I mean.
Sure thing I do, but doesn't that avatar of yours mean something?
So long as they do not do it either in public or towards an audience of those of whom they speak, I can TOLERATE it. That, alas, does not make it fine.
Indeed it does not.
Yeah :P
In general, the government should not ban speech. Unless it's a call for violence. "Blacks are gross" should be legal, "Let's burn down the Black Church on 5th and 9th tomorrow at midnight" should be illegal. For grey areas, I would tend to favor free speech over a ban.
That being said, newspapers and the media should not be giving racists an equally big platform. It's one thing to report on a racist rally, but don't give the racist an unfiltered column. If there's a big enough demand for racist speech (I hope there isn't), the racists can start their own paper. One of the problems with the media is that they tend to give both sides of an argument equal weight, even when they shouldn't. Like, every time I see a discussion about Climate Change on TV, they always have on a denier and a supporter. That implies that equal numbers of experts favor both sides, when in fact the vast majority of climate scientists believe in human caused Climate Change.
No, it should not be tolerated.
Why? Well, racism, sexism, homophobia and other ideas will continue if not stopped. Yeah, we can teach future generations that all people are as equal as the "normal" people, but racists, sexists and homophobic people (etc.) will also teach their views of the world to future generations. The important concept is not the "freedom to have hatred speech", but "freedom from hatred speech". You should not simply hate a group without being criticized.
"I have no problem with that, I'm Jewish and I can genuinely laugh at this: because tragedy is ok to be joked about just as anything is ok to be joked about :P"
Lol you are Jewish? smh...
Let this be a joke...please.
Let it be a joke that he is Jewish, or let it be a joke that he can laugh at a joke?....