Exam 12: Free Speech and Hate Speech

A private company is free to fire employees who espouse views at work that the company doesn't like.

Often, speech codes adopted on college campuses to punish people who express offensive ideas have

The First Amendment was devised as a shield against what kind of restraints on our basic rights?

According to Chemerinsky and Gillman, there are many examples of codes that are both sufficiently specific and that apply only to unprotected speech.

Stengel claims that the First Amendment should not protect hateful speech that can cause violence by one group against another.

A 2016 letter to first years from the University of Chicago declared that safe spaces and trigger warnings

According to Ben-Porath, what causes the presumed tension between free speech and protection from harm? How can we alleviate this misguided interpretation?

What are the strongest reasons given by Chemerinsky and Gillman in their argument? Which are the least convincing?

In response to Stengel's claim that we need hate speech laws, Friedersdorf says "laws against speech that insults people based on religion, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation would have punished essayists like Christopher Hitchens, comedians like Eddie Murphy, hip-hop artists, feminist radicals like Andrea Dworkin, and radical gay activists who dislike 'breeders.'" Do you think this is a fair response? Do you think Stengel would support punishing the people mentioned by Friedersdorf? Explain.

What facts and examples do Chemerinsky and Gillman include to support their argument? Are these convincing? Explain.

Have you witnessed speech on your campus that you think should not be protected? Explain.

How is the idea of harm central to the debate over free speech on college campuses?

Compare the speech code policy adopted by the University of Michigan in 1987 and the guide, called What Students Should Know about Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment by Students in the University Environment, that was created the following year. What problems with these do Chemerinsky and Gillman discuss? Do you agree with their criticism? Explain.

The speech code passed by the University of Michigan in 1988 resulted in complaints being filed against people who expressed objectionable views.

According to Stengel, what does hate speech diminish?

Scholars point out that hate speech can harm its intended victims both _______ and physiologically.

What is your college's policy regarding free speech on campus? Do you agree with the policy? Explain.

Friedersdorf claims that if the U.S. outlaws speech that causes violence, more violence could potentially result.

Stengel says "On the Internet, truth is not optimized. On the Web, it's not enough to battle falsehood with truth; the truth doesn't always win." What do you think he means by this? Do you agree with him?

The view that the right of free speech must be preserved above all else and that any perceived harms, offense, or emotional distress caused by protected speech are irrelevant is called