Saturday 26 August 2017

Clear boundaries must be drawn for hate speech




IT MATTERS whether poisonous speech becomes a new normal.

It matters whether society comes together to condemn such speech, or shrugs its shoulders and says it is free speech.

It matters whether racists sound their dog-whistle in the open, or keep their hate to private discussions.

IF SOCIETY PROHIBITS OPEN EXPRESSIONS OF HATE, then racists may still only be paying lip service to societal norms.

BUT THEY HAVE NO CHOICE. They have to accept that certain behaviour has no place in the public sphere. And that creates a different dynamic in society, in contrast to a society where open expressions of hate become normalised.

- Minister K Shanmugam



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