Speaking Back: The free speech versus hate speech debate (Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture)

This book proposes an original policy framework for addressing hate speech. Gelber argues that a policy designed to provide support to affected groups and communities to enable them to speak back when hate speech occurs, is a more useful way of addressing the harms of hate speech than punitive measures. She suggests that “speaking back” allows the affected groups to contradict the messages contained in the words of the hate speakers, and to counteract the silencing, disempowering and marginalising effects of hate speech. Gelber’s argument uniquely synthesises the ideas of defending the importance of participating in speech, recognising the harms of hate speech and acknowledging that targeted groups may require assistance to respond. Machine generated contents note: Introduction CHAPTER 1 The problem: An example of racial anti-vilification laws in practice, 1989-1998 13 The legislation 13 Aims and objectives 13 Remedies 15 Statutory definitions 16 Exemptions 17 1989-1998: The problems 19 Complaint procedures - an individual, private resolution to a public problem 19 Defining "hate speech" 25 Conclusion 27 CHAPTER 2 Expanding speech liberties: A capabilities approach 29 Flaws in the major arguments in defence of free speech 29 What kind of liberty? 36 A capabilities approach to speech policy 38 CHAPTER 3 Speech as conduct 49 A speech-conduct dichotomy 50 Performatives and Constatives 51 Policy applications of the performative-constative distinction 53 The illocutionary possibilities of speech 55 Preliminary observations on the application of Habermas' validity claims to an analysis of speech-acts 60 Habermas' validity claims 64 Content-neutrality? 66 The need for a response 67 CHAPTER 4 Hate speech as harmful conduct: The phenomenology of hate-speech-acts 69 A straightforward case 70 A more sophisticated, and difficult, example 75 "An undeserving complaint" 80 The perlocutionary effects of hate-speech-acts 82 A new hate speech policy 87 CHAPTER 5 Australia, the UK and the USA compared 93 Similarities in the nations studied 93 Differences in the nations studied 96 Means of implementing international treaty obligations 96 Mechanisms for the protection of free speech 98 Policy responses to hate speech oo CHAPTER 6 A policy of 'speaking back' 117 Implementing a "speaking back" policy 117 Types of responses 122 Institutions 124 Possible objections 125 Other hate speech policy proposals 129 Potential applications - the "hard cases" 132. What is hate speech? How does a person suffer when they are vilified? What can public policy do to redress it? This text proposes a new type of hate speech policy - "speaking back"--Providing institutional, material and educational support to enable the victims of hate speech to respond Katharine Gelber. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [155]-166) And Index.