We all have free will and freedom of speech then should hate speech be subject to criminal prosecution? Like it's not harming someone physically but the hate is so much that it makes someone unwell mentally. So, should such things still be protected under free speech? Well, it's very complicated and to talk about it we have to think cautiously. I think the question itself is harder than the answer. What does free speech means? It means we will have the privilege to speak our mind. People would be allowed to say anything they want. But there's a "if" so if someone is abusing verbally and ruining someone's mental health shouldn't that be considered as a crime? At the same time, I don't think every hateful or offensive sentence should automatically become a crime.
Have you noticed that hate speech does not require an obvious victim to stand Infront of us to exist. Like when someone is leaving a hate speech or comment they do not get to see the face of the person reading it. They may not have any knowledge about the expression or feelings of the reader. So can we point out something is wrong here like we do when a window is broken or a physical injury? Umm, "no" we can't do that with this one. Because there's no immediate damage that we can point at. Yet something can still change. Sometimes hate speech slowly changes the way people look at someone or a group.
For an example, if you keep seeing a hate speech video against someone you don't know and you only hear bad things about them then you will eventually start to hate them too and feel normal about it because of the repeated practice. A person who once thought a statement was extreme might eventually stop noticing it. I feel this is one of the scariest part more than one angry sentence. The danger may not always be in the words themselves but in what repeated words can make people accept.
Moreover, if governments are given too much power to decide what counts as hate speech, then it could be misused. These rules could just immediately silence the public for criticism or anything that goes against their favour. A rule created to protect people could turn against themselves because they wouldn't let you carry the unpopular opinions or uncomfortable questions. And I don't believe that if something is offensive then it automatically means it should be illegal.
For me, I would try to find the line between speech that simply hurts someone's feelings and speech that creates a serious threat or encourages people to harm others but it would be really difficult to decide on that. I am not a judge and who am I to say those things about someone that's what came into my mind, hehe. But I feel we all should know the difference between these two.
Have you seen online bullies they always get away. If a music band is doing something they like then the fans would go crazy and give hate speech. Many idols had to give up their life for this kind of pressure and it's not acceptable at all. Maybe the real question is not whether hate speech should always be protected or always punished. We should start asking ourselves that "what happens after those words are spoken?" Like do they encourage others to treat someone as a less human being?
Free speech is there to give people freedom to not always agree or question something that should be questioned. But this free speech can comes with a price as everything has consequences. So, the challenge is making sure those consequences are based on real harm rather than simply on whether someone disliked what was said.
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Thanks for reading 🌷
