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Guidelines on what Hate Speech Entails

Submitted 6 years ago by Fliss Eyre

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- Community Idea
- Union Idea
- University Idea
5comments

Some ideas are centred around reducing and punishing hate speech- which is great! But where is the line between hate speech and free speech? At the moment theres a lot of confusion where hate speech can be literally anything that disagrees with a certain group. In order for hate speech to be taken seriously, it needs to be specified what counts for it- i.e. verbally attacking/threatening/inciting hatred of a certain group or person as opposed to just disagreeing with that group or person

Fliss Eyre: 4:53pm on 22 Oct 18 It's not an attempt to roll back protections for minorities at all! If I'm honest I don't know where you got that from in the description. My reference to disagreeing with groups was related to disagreeing with a standpoint or view, not questioning their right to exist. Again, I'm not sure where you can infer "moral values" from what the post said. Finally, in regards to this 'confusion', I didn't make it clear that I was refering to individuals on campus (the minority, i might add) rather than the actual College Guidelines who often draw the conclusion that anyone not in agreement to their personal view (such as political opinion) is promoting hate speech by voicing their own independant views. Although this seems bizarre, I have experienced this first hand.
Alex Balkan: 8:36pm on 22 Oct 18 The above discussion is testimony to what is wrong with the hate speech discussion and why we must have inclusive dialogue to properly establish what constitutes hate speech. By OP making a simple inquiry about hate speech's definition, OP has been accused of hate speech, despite no comment indicating such thing! You couldn't make it up. This lynch mob mentality towards the hate speech discussion is exactly why we need proper safeguards for free speech and for rational dialogue concerning hate speech. I urge people to support this proposal so we may have proper dialogue, and to prevent baseless accusations of hate speech. This is a discussion which needs having!
Tom Franklin: 8:53pm on 22 Oct 18 I cannot find a place on the SU website that outlines what the SU defines what they consider to be hate speech. What's wrong with having a place, that when I search 'hate speech' on the website, I can be directed to? Maybe even a link to the university's regulation. If students cannot find them, then how will we know when the rules are being broken?
Fliss Eyre: 12:13pm on 23 Oct 18 Amber by your own definition if I were to say "I dont agree with the Green Party" or "I don't agree with the BNP", that would constitute Hate Speech. Both of those statements, to me and most people, do not constitute hate speech nor do they refute either groups right to exist. Either there needs to be a clarification- where it is made clear the distinction between freedom of expression (where people are allowed to think independantly) and threatening/attacking a group or individual, inciting hatred, and refusing the right for people/groups to exist (hate speech). Or, the more troubling, those statements actually constitute hate speech in your mind, in which case you are a perfect example of the reason i created this idea and why this issue needs to be discussed. I think Tom's point was not that there are no guidelines, but they are difficult to access. For example, by searching 'Hate Speech' on the SU website, the results that come up are either blog posts or the full constitution (which has no direction to any "hate speech" clause). The links you have provided are not directly related to Hate Speech- freedom of speech, code of practice and equality and diversity, while relevant, do not provide a clear definition on what hate speech entails. In fact the words "Hate Speech" aren't even included anywhere in the documents you provided. This is where the clear guidelines come in- if we were to have a similar document, listing clear definitions and examples of hate speech, the SU could then take better steps to reprimand persons who are violating the policy. This only serves to benefit the student population, and would in fact strengthen protections for minorities.
Fliss Eyre: 2:40pm on 23 Oct 18 "Disagreeing with someones personal opinion [] would constitute hate speech" Also, the rejected ones were errors on my part (in terms of uploading) and were only rejected because this one (the original) went through. Neither of the documents you provided had anything even mentioning Hate Speech, so no it's not clearly defined as it stands. Additionally the UK has no concrete laws on Hate Speech (http://www.civilrightsmovement.co.uk/faq-what-classed-hate-speech.html). Additionally I don't know what "controversial opinions" you think I am trying to voice- given that you have never met me and know nothing of my sociopolitical views. That being said- why should other people's controversial views be silenced? I don't understand what is so outragous about wanting an actual dedicated documentation outlining what the SU constitutes as hate speech. Again, not once have I ever suggested a redefinition. Simply dedicated guidelines that are easily accessable to students, even via a search on the SU website.

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Maybe One Day.

Guidelines on what Hate Speech Entails

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