Hate speech, free speech

Hate speech is defined as oral or written communication designed to intimidate, harass, ridicule, terrorize, or degrade the person or group it describes. It can be a strong motivating force when used by powerful or influential people.

Our public airwaves belong to the American people. While I realize that the First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects most speech, there is little doubt that it does not protect all speech. While I am hardly a constitutional law attorney, I do know that slander and libel are forms of speech that are outlawed.

But the reason slander and libel are outlawed is because they are false. That is really not the issue I want to address.

There are other forms of speech that are not allowed such as the classic example of yelling “fire” in a crowded theater when there is no fire. The speech in this example might result in injury to moviegoers, expense for the theater owner, and unnecessary costs to local government in using valuable human and other resources when they are not needed.

There is also the example made famous in the movie, “The Accused”, starring Jodi Foster in which a successful prosecution was brought against bar patrons who verbally encouraged rapists as they attacked a woman on a pool table.

Despite these restrictions, previous court rulings have proven to favor a liberal interpretation of the First Amendment, allowing certain hateful speech to be protected. The Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacy groups have their verbal and written materials protected under the law. That is the law in our country. We are supposed to be able to have opinions without fear of retribution.

However, we must pause for a moment at the intersection where the First Amendment meets the laws against inciting others to commit crimes. Verbal encouragement for the commission of any criminal act is illegal in every state in the Union.

When does an opinion cross over into crime-inspiring hate speech? That question is not always easily answered. Sometimes using derogatory terms in private conversation can insult and demean without eliciting a criminal response or any reasonable expectation of one.

However, the context or social milieu in which hate speech is said or written makes all the difference. For example, describing a Jewish person by using a racial/religious slur is bad taste, hurtful, and reveals something about the person involved in the context of a cocktail party at the local country club. It is something altogether different if one is standing outside their home in Munich in the latter part of the 1930s. The Hitler SS walking down the street may hear the slur and report the incident.

We’re not quite to that point yet here in the US, but the stench of fascism is rising, wafting its way into every community in America. The Red States and the Blue States show an increase in crimes against LGBT community members. The implications of demeaning our community on the public airwaves is much more onerous at this point in time that it was in years past. The topic is hot. The rednecks and skinheads are waiting with baited breath, hoping their dreams will be fulfilled, gaining courage from the drumbeat of homophobia and transphobia washing across the country.

The recent appearance of Sean Hayes, otherwise known as Jack MacFarland of the Will and Grace television comedy series, in a public service announcement telling his viewers that hate speech is just not cool, is no coincidence. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued statistics indicating that the greatest growth in hate crimes in the United States is occurring in two groups: Asian-Americans and lesbians/gays.

While race, religion, nationality, disability, and gender identity, in addition to sexual orientation, are often the target of hate speech and crimes, there are protections in place to penalize hate crimes against many groups. Lesbians, gays, bisexual, and transgendered citizens have no such protection. This has to change not only on a federal level, but also on the state level.

The time to speak out is now. Exercise your right to First Amendment free speech. The world is watching.