The Overlooked Benefits of 'Hate Speech': Not Just the Lesser of Two Evils

Michael Conklin, The Overlooked Benefits of Hate Speech: Not Just the Lesser of Two Evils, 60 S. Tex. L. Rev. 687 (2020).

10 Pages Posted: 12 Jun 2020 Last revised: 12 Feb 2023

See all articles by Michael Conklin

Michael Conklin

Angelo State University - Business Law; Texas A&M University School of Law

Date Written: 2020

Abstract

Many free-speech advocates view “hate speech” as deserving protection only because it is the lesser of two evils. This is unfortunate because the benefits of “hate speech” provide a valuable arrow in the quiver of free-speech advocacy. This essay provides a summary of the more commonly presented harms of censoring “hate speech,” the often overlooked benefits of allowing it, and an analysis of the strategic considerations for emphasizing the benefits.

Keywords: First Amendment, Free Speech, Hate Speech, Censorship, Viewpoint Discrimination, College Free Speech, Campus Free Speech, Speech Codes, Milo Yiannopoulos, Megan Phelps Roper, Westboro Baptist Church

Suggested Citation

Conklin, Michael, The Overlooked Benefits of 'Hate Speech': Not Just the Lesser of Two Evils (2020). Michael Conklin, The Overlooked Benefits of Hate Speech: Not Just the Lesser of Two Evils, 60 S. Tex. L. Rev. 687 (2020)., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3604244 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3604244

Michael Conklin (Contact Author)

Angelo State University - Business Law ( email )

United States

Texas A&M University School of Law ( email )

Tarrant County
United States

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