Should we be Concerned About the Psychological Effects Allegedly Induced by Hate Speech, or About the Attitudes it Expresses, or both? (Essay Sample)

Psychological Effects Induced by Hate Speech
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Psychological Effects Induced by Hate Speech
Psychology can be defined as the study of the mind and its behavior.Psychology is an academic discipline that seeks to understand an individual and a group by finding out general principals and researching particular areas.Sigmund Freud was an Australian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis.He developed a theory of the human mind and human behavior.
Hate speechcan be defined as ‘words or phrases that inj nmany times are used to ambush, terrorize, threaten, wound, humiliate, as well as degrade. In law is any gesture, conduct display or writing thatis forbiddenfor it may be aprejudicial action againstan individual or a groupor by a protected individual and groups Itcan also be defined as aderogatory word having to do with people's race,Hispanic origin disability gender, or sexual orientation.
The increase inverbal abuse and violence directed at people of thedifferentethnic group, people of a particularcolor, lesbians, gay and supporters of a particular political party has risen in the recent past.Which in turn has made it an ongoing debate in schools board meetings to states supreme courts?Speech that is written is considered to be more of a hate speech than spoken speech(Boeckmann, & Trupin-Petrosino, 2002, p. 46).
Hate speech has traditionally been spread by groups using pamphletsor through the mouth and fliers, but the medium chosen by hate groups today is the internet. The internet can reach large numbers of people; it allows large numbers of persons all over the globe to engage in conversations amongst themselves. The Internet has been an instrumentalmedium of for the spread of hate speech and recruitment of new members.
According to the FBI, NCIS and other government and non-governmentalagencies, the most active groups of hate are those targeting the young who are more likely to form their hate groups through the social media.
Hate speech results in psychological effects, for example in students there can be a big impact of being targeted by hateful words. A student's school performance can be affected by offensivewords; thisis shown by a student’s fear of traveling to and from school and at school. This leads to a student’s avoidance of school, classes, and extracurricular activities. Students also feel anger betrayal and personal hurt a sense of powerlessness and isolation.
According to studies indicators of school crime and policy students aged (12-18)were reported to have been a victimized with hate speech. The group was said to be1 ½ more times likelier to report cases of hate speech than other students.There is a good reason for countriestoprohibit legally hate speech. As Waldron puts into a clear consideration "hatred is in many cases relevant not as the motivation for certain actions,but as a possible effect of certain forms of speech. Thus, the real issue is" the troublewith weak and vulnerable individuals is that they are subjected to hate speech that is who are the theme and their main idea is directed at their religious conviction, race or custom way of life (Calvert, C. H. 1997, p. 49).
Hate speech harms people’s well-being based on certain characteristics that they share with a group. This deprives them the assurance that they can also be treated justly on adaily basis because they are seen to be lesser citizens. Although making the hate speech illegal to control it will mean incurring some costs, the benefits are worth the cost incurred in that there will be a standard practice in democratic societies.
The Simon Wiesenthal Centre in its 2009 "I report" got more than 9000 problematic hate speech and websites with postings that were related to terrorists. The postings on the internet were termed as online bullying because it was a platform that was used to recruit and radicalize the youth to commit atrocities around the world. If such a hate group is not stopped in time, it will commit crimesthat are geared by hate. This isbecause the hate groups initially vocalize their beliefs, and later they act on them.Hate speech is considered as a catalyst of hate crimes and a threat to public safety and equality.
Young people access radicalizing materials too easily on the Internet including audio and video recordings that generate urges that are catalyzed emotionally to react violently to what they view asinjustices.The government should seek new ways that will ensure policies to limit radicalizing material is enacted and work with leaders to create messages that do not glorify hate speech and violence(Greenawalt, K.  1989, p. 423).
In many colleges and campuses bias has occurred from the early 1980s. Indignation outrage and demand for change have been part and parcel of such incidences given the lack of any diversity among studentsand the administrators on campuses. This occurs mostly onuniversities that receive foreigners as students or part of the faculty. You will find that foreign nationals will be denied certain facilities in the college, in other times foreigners won’t be allowed to vie for leadership seats within the campus just because they are not from the said country. This acts leads to the international students to feel isolated with the school.
When to hate speech is presentedto peoplethey can see it and identify the problem quickly. College administrators may find speech codes good but as critics put it ‘verbally purity is not social change.' The ACLU believes that universitiesto go an extra mile in the recruitmentof students and faculty to increase diversity in their institutions, Start counseling the students to raise awareness about equality, respecting other people’s culture and embracing all in the society.
Present studies that have been carried out are based on critically analyzing and comprehending the harm that is caused by hate speech. This is usually through the eyes of itsintended targets and examining how they react to hate speech. People should be interested in studying how the minority respond to insults directed at them. This also encompasses the identity of other forms of offensive speech and abuses. Social identity theory argues that the determinant of self-assurance, definition and self-worth satisfaction is our social categories coupled with adequateconnections and cognitive ability. If for instance one person has categorized himself or herself as being part of a certain set or class then their self-value will be said to be collective based on the characteristics of the group. Social identity theory also stipulates that people are usually encouraged to maintain their impressions. This is because they have to preserve their positive features among the group that provides collective self-esteem.
The highlighted adverse effects of hate speech are significant enough to justify the prohibition of hate speech. This is because the speech is psychologically damaging as well promotes conflicts between people who hold different opinions. Some universities and colleges have come up with rules prohibiting hate speech. This hasbeen done with an aim of curbing tension between students of different ethnic as well as racial groups. Such institutions have come up with speech codes that they deem appropriate for use at the institutions. These speech codes are necessary as they provide wonderful platforms for changing stereotypical attitudes in people.
In an institution where hate speech is banned, learners from different social cultures can co-exist peacefully. They learn about respecting each other’s opinions and culture as well as their own. This enables them to draw practical practices and ideas from each other. This is crucial in a learning environment as learners gain more knowledge and get to put it into practice without the fear of being mocked by their peers. Banning hate speech will also aid in reducing truancy in schools. Since students are banned from bullying others through hate speech, the rate of bullying in schools will decrease. This will enable many learners who would have fallen prey to bullies to be in school every day. The process of learning will then take place smoothly as students will not live in fear at school (Labaree, R.V. 1994, p. 67).
Cyber bullying should be banned as well. This is because it plays a crucial role in disillusioning people about themselves. With technological development at its peak, cyber bullies have come up. These are people who post derogatory information about others on the internet. Most of them do it over social media, as anonymous people while others even use their real identity. This is not right as the victims of abuse tend to suffer from low self-esteem due to cyber bullying. They also cultivate negative attitudes about the bullies and other people around them. This happens as they fear that the people around them only want to hurt them. Social media platforms should ensure that these avenues are not used as places for spreading hate speech.
Those who use social media to promote hate speech should be banned from using these platforms. People who experience cyber bullying should be taken through counseling. This helps them to ease the psychological stress as well as low esteem they go through. For example, if their body size bullies a person, they may take inappropriate measures to change their bodies. For example, if one is bullied for being plump, they may engage in self-starvation. Such a person may develop anorexia, a disorder that makes one to avoid eating for fear of getting fat. This results from the psychological torture they undergo concerning their bodies.
Hate speech should be banned because of the negative attitudes and stereotypes it expresses. This is because these attitudes are very problematic. They usually create conflicts between people. For e...