mk931915@ohio.edu
Merriam-Webster defines "hate speech" as "speech expressing hatred of a particular group of people."
And ala.org cites the 2017 Matal v. Tam court case quote, "Speech that demeans on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability, or any other similar ground is hateful; but the proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express 'the thought that we hate.'"
On Aug. 14, 2017, Colin Kaepernick sat for the national anthem at a football game where he was not dressed and did not play, for reasons unrelated. Aug. 26, 2018, is when Kaepernick gained the attention he would later not be able to escape for not standing during the national anthem.
In the weeks and months following, there were endless discussions on whether or not the football player was right in protesting for black lives or if he was just disrespecting the American flag and all those who have, are and will fight for this country. He cannot play football for the NFL anymore.
Roseanne Barr was fired from her show, in which she was the title character, "Roseanne," after she shared a racist tweet about former Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett: "Muslin brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj."
Cartoon provided by cagle.com
One person lost their job for peacefully protesting for a cause he believed in, the other for sending out a poorly thought-out, prejudiced tweet.
But if free speech is one of the most important rights we, as Americans have, then why were these people not protected from losing their jobs? And should they have been protected from losing their jobs?
As a country, it seems as though we have begun to see more and more censorship through the fear of losing your job, credibility, etc. for speaking out about what you believe in. That is terrifying. But it is not something that is purely black and white. Barr was fired from her show because ABC knew that the entire network would lose viewership and money if they didn't. What Barr said is despicable and ABC had to remove itself as an entity that is associated with her.
There is an incredible threat to the United States and our right to free speech right now and that threat is Donald Trump. Not only does he spew hateful speech constantly, but he tries to discredit his critics by taking shots at their intelligence or qualifications. He has been the biggest advocate to take credibility from the media because he doesn't like when people use their free speech to call him out. He is turning people against each other and making it so anyone who criticizes him on a larger scale could lose something. He is known for blocking people on Twitter, which has been argued to be a gross infringement on our first amendment in that the people he blocks are unable to freely speak their mind in a way that he could hear their concerns/criticisms.
Although hate speech is a protected form of speech as long as it does not threaten anyone's safety, it is something that should not be taken lightly or without consequence. Hate speech is the form of speech protected by the first amendment that could, and is seeming to be, the thing that legitimizes free speech as a whole.
Cartoon provided by Independent Australia
There will have to be continuous conversation and education on the importance of free speech and if/how hate speech can be handled better in the future. Not only for the sake of people feeling comfortable in voicing their opinions without fear, but also for the sanctity of our country.
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