INTRODUCTION: We live in a libertarian period. We have the opportunity to speak out in public on issues that would have been considered taboo centuries ago. We can now speak out against inequity, point out defects in our society, and express our personal views on a wide range of issues.
There are, however, a few nasty “opinions” that find their way out. Opinions with nefarious motives and harmful ideas. Personally, I feel that people’s perspectives should be shared. However, we have a problem when someone adamantly adheres to poisonous opinions/ideologies, even when abundant information is supplied that the disputed opinion has been widely criticized as being incorrect.
What is worse is when people start expressing and condoning divisive and widely criticized viewpoints that could injure or embarrass others.
One of the most complicated aspects of communication law is the link between speech and action. Speech is essential for the transmission of ideas, beliefs, doctrines, and plans of action.
1. The transmission of social mores and dogmas is aided by verbal and symbolic communications.
- These tenets then persuade people to act on their professed opinions.
FREE SPEECH: Because it allows for the interchange of differing viewpoints, free speech is crucial for upholding democracy. Dialogue promotes the testing of conflicting arguments and the gathering of different inputs into political decision-making in a representative democracy. The right to free speech is also necessary for the exercise of personal autonomy.
Freedom of speech is a fundamental human right that guarantees an individual’s or a group’s ability to express their thoughts and opinions without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal consequences.
Free speech encompasses all forms of media, including spoken word, art, cinema, print media, television broadcasts, social media, and so on. There can never be complete freedom since there will always be some type of limitation. The more we are able to speak up, the more we will be able to improve our surroundings.
“Freedom of speech is the right to express information, ideas, and opinions free of government restrictions based on content and subject only to reasonable limitations.”
Merriam Webster
HATE SPEECH: Hate speech is described as “words meant to insult, offend, or threaten a person based on a characteristic (such as race, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, or handicap).”
Hate speech, which has now become fashionable and a quick way to gain attention, poses puzzling and complex issues for today’s fundamental rights to freedom of expression.
Hate speech is defined as speech that is perceived to disparage a person or a group of people on the basis of their social or ethnic group, such as race, gender, age, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, language ability, ideology, social class, occupation, appearance (height, weight, skin color, etc.), mental capacity, or any other distinction that some people hold. The phrase refers to both written and oral communication, as well as certain types of public behavior.
Hate speech violates the freedom of expression commandment, which is a basic right.
CONCLUSION: It is precisely this freedom of expression that allows hate speech to be expressed. As previously stated, an opinion/ideology must criticize an existing ideology or threaten to injure or humiliate a specific group of people in order to be labeled as “hate speech.” Hate speech includes things like slander, libel, personal assaults, and so on.
We all have an ugly side that attempts to wiggle its way out into the public sphere through hate speech. It is, however, up to us to determine where hate speech begins. Instead of strongly holding to our own beliefs, we should try to listen to what the other side has to offer. After we have listened to their viewpoints, we should reflect on them and try to respond calmly and patiently, explaining why we agree or disagree with them. Staying silent will not change someone’s racist ideas, and neither will an angry letter intended as a death threat.
If we truly want to get our message across, we should do so in a way that does not aggressively attack the listener’s viewpoints. Free speech is a powerful instrument for change, and instead of misusing it to encourage violent outbursts, we should use it intelligently. When used correctly, free speech has the potential to effect genuine change in society. Simply remove the animosity.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
https://ijlpp.com/the-fine-line-between-hate-speech-and-free-speech-a-human-rights-perspective/
Aishwarya Says:
I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.
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