Essay On Banning Hate Speech

Hate speech is a global issue that can show up in people’s lives almost everyday. There are so many platforms in which hate speech can be present. With hate crimes rising worldwide, this brings the dangers of hate speech further into question. Should laws be in place banning hate speech? and What is the role of hate speech? Hate speech is “speech that offends, threatens, or insults groups, based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or other traits.” So, should speech of this kind be banned? Hate speech should not be banned because freedom of speech is a liberty treasured all around the world, and the right to speak freely must be protected. One reason hate speech laws should not be in place is that the

Government imposed silence is threatening because the government is able to pick sides on different topics, and therefore silence people and ideas of their choosing. If one does not agree with ideas the government deems to be acceptable, then the government has the power to censor their thoughts. One example of this is in 2011, when Scottish football fan Stephen Birrell used Facebook to insult Celtic fans, Catholics, and the Pope. Birrell received 8 months in prison for this incident as it was said by Sheriff Bill Totten to not be tolerated by “the right-thinking people of Glasgow and Scotland.” This is an example of the government censoring opinions that do not correlate with government’s values. Another example of questionable government censorship was in 2008, when film star Brigitte Bardot posted complaints online about the Islamic practice of ritual animal slaughter, and was later found guilty of hate speech by French authorities. There many more examples just like these ones in which the government abuses their ability to censor their citizens. By enacting hate speech laws, governments are given too much power to censor their