I’m being interviewed more often about free speech and accepting differences because my forthcoming book is about viewpoint diversity. Inevitably, the subject of how to handle hate speech comes up — and to be honest, I don’t have a good answer. In theory, I like the idea of being a free speech absolutist, but in practice I think that accumulated negative speech probably does affect the human psyche, and that concerns me. I care for the wellbeing of others, and intense repeated hate speech affects wellbeing. But wellbeing is also curtailed by lack of authentic expression.
But here’s the thing: hate speech is not really authentic emotional expression.