The confusion in your editorial begins with its headline, “Hate speech is not free speech.” Under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, there is no “hate speech” exception to America’s general rule of free speech.
Speech cannot be punished simply because someone thinks it embodies hatred unless it independently falls into some recognized exception such as threats, incitement of imminent violence, targeted harassment and so forth, If speech does fall into such an exception, it lacks protection whether or not it expresses hate. That is the view of the U.S. Supreme Court.
In the schools, the court has recognized that there are legitimate reasons for educators to discipline students who insult others or disrupt the classroom, even if the same words spoken away from school might enjoy First Amendment protection. But this ought not to create a system in which educators encourage students on one side of a hotly disputed debate or election to voice their feelings while students on the other side feel inhibited from speaking out with equal vigor, so long as neither side is being disruptive or personally insulting.
You appear to regard walkouts in which some Montgomery County students have taken to the streets during school hours as a “healthy expression of protest,” even though (legality aside) they cause serious disruption to classroom learning and pose various risks to traffic and people (as in the attack on one student by several others during a march in Rockville).
If public schools are to maintain a semblance of political neutrality, they must not greet some walkouts favorably (as with a liberal excused-absence policy) unless they would extend similar indulgence to students who walked out of class to march on the opposite side of the same questions.
Walter Olson
New Market
(10) comments
a semblance of political neutrality in our schools surely would be novel...ditto much of the media which has evolved from reporting the news to making it up
"Speech cannot be punished simply because someone thinks it embodies hatred unless it independently falls into some recognized exception such as threats, incitement of imminent violence, targeted harassment and so forth..." It is my impression that the term "hate speech" is now defined as a type of targeted harassment.
I agree. There are a lot of countries with "blasphemy" laws or laws forbidding you to "insult" the president or government. The US is well on the way to that level of suppressing free speech. This election season was a great example--just because you don't agree with someone else doesn't give you the right to disrupt their rallies, plant operatives in the crowd to start fights, and make fun of them on "impartial" news programs. Free speech is free speech. The only exception is threats of physical violence.
I believe law abiding citizens are being targeted for thier genetics, politics and religion by authorities because of the proliferation of extremism and hate in our society. America is becoming two nations and race relations is at a boiling point. Whites are justified in their beliefs and so are minorities and if we are to get though this challenging period we simply can't allow tyranny or mimic uncivilized regimes which we have liberated.
Children going to school should be in school, during school hours, unless excused. If that is a dictatorship, so be it. When they are 18 they will be out of school and not subject to the school. When they are 21 they will be free to do anything legal, including parades, etc. The point being children do not have rights to do as they please as long as their are guardians, parents, teachers, etc. It is not a matter of agreeing or disagreeing with the reason for a protest. We are a great nation because we have law and order, obeying your parents and teachers is part of law and order.
As far as hate speech in schools, there has always been some of that, political or not. It was not even racist so much as there have always been reasons for one child to pick on another, it is up to the teachers to play an impartial rule. Politics should not be part of their agenda, except for class room politics, which is normal.
Tell me DickD, how do you stop them??
Tyranny occurs when government officals use their authority to harass and intimate lawful acting citizens, conspiracy usually occurs when supporters attempt to mask the behavior.
You can't be a Chritstian and not accept a diverse Christian in your community that makes you an ideologist extremist capable of horrific behaviors.
When our government learns to respect all Americans Constitional Rights and doesn't have to hide behind censorship in to mask extremist activities giovernment authorities have engaged in we will be less hateful and a more perfect union.
For hundreds of years white and black people together transformed this nation into an economic superpower and defeated evil efforts to destabilize and destroy our republic from abroad and within. America would not be the superpower it is today without the sacrifice of both groups. I've learned that most places around the world people not miss us if we vanished. We shouldn't become what we loathe we are Americans and we are exceptional.
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