The Controversy Of Banning Hate Speech

Can you imagine any American having the temerity to think they have a right to be critical of the Islamic religion, or of muslim terrorism. The outstanding conservative intellectual William F. Buckley once said, “Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views.” Any politically active college student should be familiar with this sentiment. Liberals preach inclusivity and diversity of all kinds, but not the diversity of thought. Opposing views are problematic wrong-thoughts that need to be ignored, or, better yet, purged. Liberals often claim that this is a misrepresentation of their views, and that they only care about banning “hate speech” and other forms of

This intolerance of other opinions can also be seen in the concept of “microagressions”, supposedly small, everyday instances or offensive speech. To some, saying things such as, “I think the most qualified person should get the job” count as microagressions. Clearly, the motivation here is not to ban speech that may harm someone, but to ban speech that may present an opposing view. Those who advocate for speech suppression never seem to address the issue of enforcement, which makes sense, as when it is more closely considered, this issue reveals a major flaw in anti-speech arguments. How can liberals guarantee that the government will restrict speech in the manner that they desire? A good rule of thumb to determine the effectiveness of any proposed law is to imagine how it would be implemented were the opposing party in power. In this case, it would appear that the laws meant to protect liberals would instead be used against them. Putting aside the practical implications of banning speech, there is a more salient question here: that of