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My push for consequences on hate speech turned me into the campus free speech bad guy
I brought up at a student meeting that maybe hate speech should face real penalties, and wow, did that set people off. A bunch of folks acted like I was trying to shut down all discussion on campus. But I've sat in classes where students made racist jokes and nobody said a thing. I watched a friend get so much hate online for her political post that she deleted all her social media. We keep talking about free speech like it's sacred, but we ignore how it drives people away. If we don't admit that some speech does harm, we're just pretending everything is fine. It's not about stopping ideas, it's about making sure everyone feels safe to speak up. But sure, call me the censor for caring about that.
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willow_ellis97mo ago
Yeah, that's exactly it. Shame @shah.lisa missed the point about what that kind of exit actually costs someone.
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adamellis7mo ago
Been there. You gotta frame it as a safety and access issue, not a speech issue. Ask if free speech includes the right to harass someone into leaving the room, because that's what happens. Propose a clear policy on targeted harassment at events, not just vague "hate speech" rules.
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