Megan Schwab mschwab@admin.fsu.edu

WHAT ARE YOU REALLY SAYING?CONFRONTING HATE SPEECH ON CAMPUS AND IN

SOCIETY

IN THIS SESSION

• You will learn how your speech and the speech of others’ can harm people around you

• You will examine how harmful speech is present in our society

• You will begin to develop methods to confront disrespect and hate speech

ABOUT THIS SESSION…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTdCa6vbvTk

WHAT IS HATE SPEECH?

Speech that attacks a person or group on the basis of …

Race

Gender

Sexual Orientation

Beliefs Age

Ethnicity

Socio-economic Status

Ability

Religion

Mental Capacity

WHERE DO YOU ENCOUNTER HATE SPEECH?

• Poll – where have you heard or seen hate speech?

http://www.polleverywhere.com/free_text_polls/MjAwNjQyNzIwOA

HOW DOES HATE SPEECH EFFECT PEOPLE?• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUtCPVsLS4w

• The Harm Thesis: words can hurt people in the same way physical blows can

• Victims of hate speech can experience psychological symptoms similar to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder:

• Panic

• fear

• anxiety

• nightmares

• Harm may be exacerbated if a victim’s friends or subordinates witness the incident

• http://www.funlol.com/9596/CNN_Coverage_of_The_South_Park_N-Word_Episode.html

SCENARIO 1• You and your Hispanic friend, Maria, were having lunch at

the mall. A couple of Caucasian students passed by and yelled, “Hey, why don’t you go back to where you came from?”

http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/LTI1NjU1NDE3Ng

http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/LTE4MDAwNDA4ODY

SCENARIO 2• You’re watching a local news show. There are two news reporters, one male and

one female. The female reporter has just finished reporting that women still receive less income on a national average than do men. Following the story, the male reporter comments, “… and we all know that is the way it should be.”

http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/LTI1NjU1NDE3Ng

http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/LTE4MDAwNDA4ODY

SCENARIO 3

• You are walking to class with your roommate Steve. It’s icy and Steve slips and falls. Embarrassed, he stands up and said, “Was anybody looking? I feel so retarded.”

• http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/LTI1NjU1NDE3Ng

• http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/LTE4MDAwNDA4ODY

CONFRONTING HATE SPEECH

• Hate speech and slurs are protected by First Amendment rights until they escalate to the level of a threat.

• Many people think it’s no big deal

• What defines hate speech – is it the intended message of the sender or the perception of the message by the recipient?

• Have any of you ever engaged in a constructive dialogue about hate speech?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEpBYKOs3ys

WHAT DO YOU THINK?• http://www.polleverywhere.com/free_text_polls/MjA5ODI0MzU5NA

WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL NOW:

• Be able to recognize hate speech in the media and at your school

• Understand how hate speech impacts others

• Encourage those around you to think about the words they use

REFERENCES• Jay, T. (2009). Do offensive words harm people? Psychology, Public Policy, and Law

15(2), 81-101.

• Hatfeild, Schafer & Stroup (2005). A dialogic approach to confronting hate speech on college campuses. Atlantic Journal of Communication 13(1), 41-55.

• Leets, L. (2002). Experiencing hate speech: Perceptions and responses to anti-semitism and antigay speech. Journal of Social Issues, 58(2), 341-361

• Megan Schwab

• mschwab@admin.fsu.edu

“The most common motives for hate speech are ignorance and repressed hostility. Other motives include power and dominance, coercion and emotional agitation. The good news is that it is possible to educate people to overcome ignorance and cope with repressed hostility.”

(Leets, 2002).