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White supremacy, racially motivated hate crimes, and the murders of racial, religious and sexual minorities don’t happen in a vacuum. They are encouraged, given life, and ultimately driven by leaders who knowingly deploy the terror to advance and increase their own power.
@georgetakei The problem with hate speech isn't that "it hurts someone's feelings", it's that it's used to promote false narratives, disinformation and sometimes it makes people commit horrible crimes as we've seen recently.
@svc @georgetakei Speech doesn't "make" anyone do anything. We all still have choice over how we react to speech.
@LouisIngenthron @georgetakei What? Speech promotes ideas. We make choices based on what we believe and know.
Hate speech helps promote aggression, just pouring more oil into the fire.
And on disinformation - It's completely possible to construct some kind of fake reality and if one is never exposed to views/research/etc that at least genuinely attempt to counter the other ones, people will believe these lies. Hitler is famous for causing exactly that.
@svc @georgetakei You're not giving people enough credit. We live in the information age. It's absurdly easy to get out of a disinformation bubble, but most people stuck in one don't want to leave because it feels like a comfort zone to them.
And, yes, speech does promote ideas, but we choose how we react to those ideas, and that's key.
@LouisIngenthron @svc @georgetakei
“And, yes, speech does promote ideas, but we choose how we react to those ideas, and that's key.” - And history has show over and over again that many listeners’ chosen reaction will be what the speaker wants it to be.
We may live in information- rich times but I think you underestimate the number of easily-led people in society. They will just ignore any information that doesn’t support the narrative they want to believe.
@NoBeerToday @svc @georgetakei I don't underestimate them at all; my entire point is that they're a bigger problem than the speakers
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The speakers are just filling a niche created by the demand of the ignorant. Cut down one right wing ultranationalist talking head, and three new ones appear. We need to address the demand for this kind of rhetoric, not the supply, if we want to improve society.
These people choose their bigotry. We shouldn't attempt to reassign their agency to a smooth-talker with a big name.
@LouisIngenthron @svc @georgetakei
“my entire point is that they're a bigger problem than the speakers” - Bigots/racists/religious intolerant are a dime a dozen. Always has been and this won’t change in a hurry. It’s when their attitudes & willingness to commit violence gets harnessed by the likes of Trump (or similar people in the past) that the real problem occurs.
@NoBeerToday @svc @georgetakei I guess that's where we disagree, then, because I think the real problem is that they have a willingness to commit violence in the first place.
@LouisIngenthron @svc @georgetakei
"the real problem is that they have a willingness to commit violence in the first place." - Yes, that's correct but unless harnessed as a group by a cause they are just individuals being stupid. With a cause promoted by some Trump-type person they become a combined force & dangerous to a civilised society.
@LouisIngenthron @svc @georgetakei
We don't have a choice over how *others* react.
@LouisIngenthron There are unacceptable choices: that "it hurt my feelings" is one.