In this era where "hate speech" is a convenient label used to shut down any speech people don't want to listen to, or don't want other people to utter it should be noted that words are not violence.
Here is a challenge...
Stand still while someone throws any words at you that they want. See if it kills you or puts you in the hospital.
As far as I've seen in reality it won't.
Now stand in the same place and let the person physically interact with you however they want. See if it kills you or puts you in the hospital.
If they choose violence as their interaction it likely will.
I am an advocate for free speech. I don't actually think there is any merit to the term "hate speech". I see it purely being used to justify people in their use of force against others. To me this makes it evil.
I don't view evil from any religious definition. Evil is simple. It is using force either physical or coercive against other people or their property. This can include passing laws that force them. That is evil.
Good ideas don't require force.
People can say hateful things about any topic and you can usually hear it in the tone of their voice, or see it in their facial expressions and body language. It doesn't even have to be obvious in the words themselves for it to truly be words that are uttered under the influence of the emotion of hate, fury, anger, etc.
Yet they are just words.
As long as they remain words you can IGNORE them and not be harmed. You can choose to counter them with your own words and if they were illogical words you can likely destroy the veracity of what they said simply with words. If you do not think you are skilled enough to counter the words of someone because for whatever reason they are more skilled at stringing words together that does not mean it is suddenly okay for you to use force against them.
Learning is challenging and rewarding if you let it happen. You will encounter people more skilled with words that may be completely incorrect or even partially incorrect about something yet you find it difficult to counter their word play. Learn from it. We often fail. This is okay. We get stronger in the process. You also never know how what you said to them might actually influence them over the long term.
You see people rarely instantly change their mind except in traumatic situations. It takes time. Expecting to WIN and convince the person on the spot is not realistic. That doesn't actually happen very often. However, the seeds of ideas you shared may begin to sprout and grow over time and it may actually change their mind. They may not remember that the idea came from you. Unless you are vain that really shouldn't matter. Unless you need to virtue signal with an "I told you so" then that shouldn't matter.
It is also important to remember that you and I are also wrong on a lot of things. Seeds from other people will grow in our minds as well. Disagreement is good, as long as it can be respectful. Those exchanges can be some of the best opportunities to learn as you'll encounter a lot more new ideas than by simply speaking with people that agree with you.
Being wrong is not a bad thing. It is an opportunity.
Society seems to have conditioned people to be adverse to being wrong. It seems to infect the intelligent people more heavily than other groups. Being wrong is treated as a major catastrophe. It shouldn't be. It is actually an opportunity. If you are not wrong about things, or ignorant about them how can you truly learn? This realization has changed how I think a lot. I share it with people frequently. If you can simply over time convince yourself that being wrong can be a positive thing it truly can change how you interact with people.
The key thing to remember though. Words are not violence. They won't kill you.
Words should not be banned, censored, or used to justify using force against people EVER!!
Counter them with words. If you fail. Learn from it.
However, if a person takes physical actions based upon words then hold them accountable for the consequences of those actions. Instead of attacking the words which is Pre-crime, focus on the people that actually commit crimes.
Though remember this. If there is no victim then there should be no crime.
Microaggressions is a horrible concept that is used to let people identify victims in literally about any situation. They spend all of their time looking for affronts, insults, hate speech, etc. They lose the ability to see the positive. They lose the concept of freedom. The world becomes a bubble wrapped place where they want to silence anything they find uncomfortable. So rather than learning to live in the world, they instead try to make the world reshape to fit a mold they are comfortable with. This is the height of naivete and it should be tossed in the trash bin.
Safe Spaces as used in the modern parlance do not protect people from anything. They simply create blind spots where reality is ignored. People need to learn the skills of living in reality rather than trying to hide from it.
Bravery and courage require facing things we fear, and that make us uncomfortable. If you are not afraid then you cannot be brave. Without fear there is no bravery. Safe Spaces turn the people that rely on them into cowards.
We need to stop virtue signalling and glorifying in the creation of such things that weaken our own self responsibility, and survival skills. We must embrace reality, get bumped around by it, and come out the other side stronger as the bruises heal. Survival of the fittest doesn't care about your imaginary safe spaces, and ability to find microaggressions any direction you look. Those things weaken your ability to face reality.
Hate speech?
So what?
Until actions are taken, it is free speech. Counter hate speech with words, or ignore it. If actions are taken then hold the people that take those actions accountable for the consequences of their actions. It is easy.
Stop buying into the propaganda, and the cultural Marxist tactics being used very heavily on the world these days.
Words do not suddenly mean something else because a cultural Marxist chooses to redefine them. They don't have that authority unless you give it to them. Do not cede the lingual territory to them. Words matter. They allow us to communicate and share thoughts. We need to be able to share and describe any thought, even the uncomfortable ones. Hearing a word does not mean you have to agree with it. If you don't challenge it with your own words.
I hope what I said made sense. This is a topic I write about and think about frequently.
