Hate Speech II

One of the consequences of the term"hate speech" being ambiguous and inexact is that it is used interchangeably with other types of speech. Two common examples are offensive speech and derogatory or disparaging speech.

Offensive speech is not necessarily hate speech for the simple fact that it is quite possible to be offensive without being hateful. It is possible, in fact to be offensive without knowing it, and towards people for whom one otherwise holds great affection. Offense is quite subjective and whether particular speech or particular words are offensive depends almost entirely on context. Any speech is potentially offensive to someone, and subjective offense should not deprive wider and less sensitive audiences of the benefits such speech may provide. Speech can be offensive for any number of reasons; it may be insulting, disrespectful, misleading, profane, ill-mannered, careless, or indiscreet. These do not necessarily diminish the value such speech may have, and are are not necessarily hateful. Persons who disagree on a subject are quite likely to find those competing views offensive. Speech that is part of rigorous debate, i.e. speech that is potentially most useful in addressing social. political, economic and philosophical problems is therefore prone to offensiveness, and is therefore the type of speech that should be most readily tolerated and protected. Offensive speech is necessarily free speech, and to the extent that speech is considered "hateful" because it is offensive, it too is free speech.

Derogatory or disparaging speech is often reflexively referred to as hate speed because the use of a disparaging term suggests animus. Thus, for example, a factually correct statement that a person belongs to a particular racial group may be taken as hate speech if the racial group is identified with a racial slur. Even in unambiguous cases however, the use of a slur is a species of offensive speech, not a separate category of speech that warrants special treatment because of its uniqueness. The use of a slurs is an inelegant and ill-mannered declaration regarding the attitude of the speaker, rather than a a concise way of disclosing an otherwise unappreciated and damaging fact about a group. To say "Elton John is a homosexual" is a rather rather straightforward, and presumably non-controversial statement of a widely known fact. To say "Elton John is a fag" discloses nothing new about the subject of the sentence but does reveal the attitude of the speaker. It is a shorthand way of saying "Elton John is a homosexual and I have negative attitudes toward homosexuals." The use of a slur is  the confession of the speaker regarding his own attitudes, and such confessions are the basis of free speech. To the extent that a slur expresses a hateful attitude toward a particular individual or group, it is nonetheless free speech.

There are other difficulties encountered when labeling speech as "hate" when it is based on that speech being disparaging or derogatory. In keeping with the notion of slurs, one realizes that slurs are a form of slang; the meaning is fluid and the derogatory nature can be hidden by clever speakers using double entendre, puns and other rhetorical devices. What constitutes a slur depends on context and in contemporary usage, the characteristics of the speaker. This is evident in the spectrum of racial and sexual slurs that are used in certain types of music. Some words, even if not considered obvious slurs are disfavored in common discourse, even though they were once regarded as proper language, such as the the term "colored."

Other derogatory speech is not obviously hateful, although its context makes clear the derogatory intent. One such example is the frequent references to George W. Bush as a "cowboy." The term Cowboy is not generally regarded as derogatory or offensive, and its use in reference to the 43rd President does not convey a sense of hatred toward cowboys or a particular loathing of the Mr. Bush. It does however express a derogatory opinion of certain policy and actions, without being "hate speech." Derogatory speech is not necessarily hate speech.