WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A WARNING AND HATE SPEECH?

Unfortunately, it has become all too common in our day to shut down legitimate discussion on grounds of ‘Hate Speech’. If a statement makes us feel uncomfortable, or it confronts our idea of reality, then instead of investigating it further to examine if it has any merit, we prefer to disparage it using labels of ‘hate’ and ‘phobia’. Funnily enough, we don’t take this approach when it comes to our health. We are quite happy to accept cigarette packs with horrible images designed to warn of potential health damage. Even though these warnings are ugly, graphic and confronting, we don’t regard them as ‘Hate Speech’. Reason being, we agree about the consequences; we acknowledge the potential for great disaster.

So if we can affirm the need for graphic confrontation in some areas, why not others? Simple, because we don’t agree on the potential consequences. And that’s fine; we don’t have to agree. But to shut it down on grounds of ‘Hate Speech’ is utterly deceitful. Because we are using emotional blackmail to shut down the ideas that we don’t agree with.

In other words, we are using love and tolerance as a mask for our totalitarian practices.