When Words Become Threat: Understanding the Limits of Free Speech
Freedom of speech is a very important right in the society, it gives everyone the right to share their opinion and beliefs, gives us an opportunity to have a fair hearing without interference or restriction, inasmuch as our freedom to speak our thoughts and opinions doesn't give us a limit to what we say, it doesn't mean we should say or encourage hateful comments. I believe there should be a limit to what people say, a control of our words, especially when it's directed to a particular group.
If the government were given the right to persecute those who have altered hateful speech, that would lead to abuse, this kind of power would be used against their political opponents, our religious minorities, even journalists, activists, or anyone expressing an unpopular opinion about controversial matters. I understand how abusive most people use words, especially when it involves political matters and public matters, but they are also exercising their freedom of speech, which is their right and public matters always attract criticism.
When freedom of speech deliberately encourages violence, discrimination, hatred and abuse against a group or particular people, then there should be a consequence for that, it's okay to dislike a group and share your opinion about what about them, but encouraging that they should be attacked or harmed shouldn't be encouraged and anyone that does that has crossed the bridge, it's no longer about freedom of speech but a threat to a particular group. It has moved beyond an expression of our opinion to a threat to certain people and there should be a consequence to that and there should be no protection of freedom of speech.
I believe words can influence people's attitude, words we hear encourage discrimination too, they can lead to violence and intimidation amongst people. Certain forms of speech can lead to this, especially when they encourage abuse, discrimination and hatred towards a particular group. Words that encourage harm could cause great harm on others and shouldn't be ignored.
In this society, we all deserve to speak freely, our freedom of speech cannot be taken away, and we shouldn't be deprived of that right, the serious case here is speech that incites , encourages and threatens other people simply because of their beliefs, opinions and thoughts. The punishment given to these people should also be proportionate to the crime committed.
The dangerous thing about encouraging violence and discrimination towards a particular group by hateful speech, is the long lasting effect it creates. It creates hateful ideas in the minds of people. Freedom of speech is a fundamental human right, but it shouldn't be a yastic to encourage violence and harm to other people. Freedom of speech should be used with caution.
I believe if the society doesn't place a limit or restriction on speech that is directly towards encouraging violence, hatred and discrimination, the vulnerable and weak groups will be left without adequate protection and guidance, especially when those speeches build a wrong narrative about them.
In conclusion, I believe the goal should never be to create a society where nobody can say or people will be denied the right to exercise their rights, rather it should be to create a society where freedom of expression and speech exists alongside the facing the consequences of encouraging harm against others.