As everyone in this country knows, one of our most famed and credited rights is our right to freedom of speech. This right allows people to exercise freedom of religion, freedom to petition the government, freedom of the press, and so forth. These rights are necessary for a democracy to thrive as they allow people to express their opinions, practice their religion freely, and most importantly they also allow for independent news that is not some propaganda-filled newsletter you might find in North Korea. But when can this freedom be dangerous? Sure there are exceptions like not being able to yell fire in crowded spaces, but what about yelling out hate speech? Is this allowed and should it be allowed? Everyday we battle this issue in our democracy.
Many people have heard about the events that took place in Charleston over the summer last year when a large group of white supremacists marched in Charleston carrying torches met up at a Confederate war statue.(Click Here for the story) These people had a permit and were legally allowed to be there as they were using their first amendment rights to protest the recent removal of Confederate statues. However, at the rally white supremacists were yelling things such as "White Power," "Blood and soil" (both of which are Nazi and KKK sayings), and many other antisemitic and racist chants. The chants that these people were saying are very provocative at the least and hateful to millions of people in the U.S. at most. Now, although what was being said at the rally is obscene and disgusting to any decent person, it is a constitutional right and is legal as far as the law is concerned.
But should the first amendment protects acts like these? What is considered hate speech and where should we draw the line for freedom of speech?
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Great blog post! I believe that the first amendment should not protect these terrible acts. Law enforcement should be able to step in stop any protest involving speech that may be considered harmful or offensive. I believe hate speech is when people says things in order to make others feel inferior. The line must be drawn when something is said to make someone else feel in danger.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a very interesting issue. While it is true that people have the right to express their beliefs and voice their opinions, there are definitely situations when the actions of people cross this line of protected free speech, such as the case in Charleston. What these people were saying was definitely harmful to certain groups in our nation could even be a threat of harm, which I believe is where the government can step in and take action against these people.
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