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
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
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