This prompt came timely because I just finished seeing a movie that showed the power of words, especially the hurtful ones said out of the random or minimal information. If there is one thing I have learned the hard way, it is using words that I don't mean but spending a much longer time trying to take it back, the impossible.
Words are powerful but most of the time, it's not even the exact words we say that carry the weight but how it lands on the person it is said to. Words can make or break someone and people have slowly not bother to care about what they say, especially in the context that we all have right to our speech but it's still not an excuse.
One thing I have learned about words is, they have powers and if mine won't save or help the hearers, I'd rather keep shut even if it means I'm not exercising my right to free speech. Because most of the time, staying quiet is better than saying what would hurt another. And let's be honest, we may not know when we hurt others.
We could just be saying some words out of random, no real intention or we could be saying them from false or small information and someone else gets so offended by it that they take actions you may never had imagined them to do. But that's by the way, what about those hate speech that didn't really cause harm to any?
Well, from the angle the prompt is coming from, I don't think a hate speech as such can be said and not harm anyone even though not directly. Words have a way of affecting the hearers even if they are not the target of the words made. So if we really want to talk about if a hate speech should be punished, it's quite a good suggestion.
But considering that we as humans tend to say words we don't mean a lot of times, I really don't think people should be punished for the words they say but their actions and maybe their real intention if it's found. Deciding to punish someone for giving a hate speech is kind of like punishing for the wrong reason, and not the root.
Well, I've not had much experience with hate speeches that do not harm people and still deserve punishment somehow. But I do know words have power and action speaks louder than what is said. Even the intention or motive behind a word can be found out when it is said out.
By the way, who really decides if a speech counts as "hate"? I mean, one may say it's a hate speech and another will say it's the truth or a good opinion that even deserve a reward. Free speech should continue but there should be clear rules that will guide the speeches spoken by people, and I know it's not an easy thing to achieve.
Image used is AI generated.
