#hatespeech

Hate Speech


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In a society where privacy became a rare and valuable thing, the speech which incites to hate, discrimination and violence became more and more spread. With the growth of social media networks, hate speech transitioned from being used in the offline, to following the victims everywhere. If before having the technology to allow us fast access to information, the victims of hate speech could easily walk away, nowadays they area followed by it everywhere.

Even though it existed for a long time, the speech which incites to hate became more and more used in the 21st century due to the large coverage. This does not mean that hate speech in offline disappeared. A huge part of it was transitioned online as it became very easy for bullies to produce a more impactful message and to hide from their victims. It is easier to create a false identity and comment at other people’s actions rather than face them. This derogatory language usually targets victims based on gender, race, national origin, sex or religion.

The hate speech is posing threats to human rights. According to an article from the Council of Europe, this type of language poses great threats to democracy, sometimes escalating from a hate crime to a fully-fledged conflict. In the human kind’s history so far there are a lot of conflicts that appeared due to hate speech and also many organizations and movements who still promote this kind of language. Any type of difference between two people could be the subject of hate speech, from the way each dresses to the way each of them thinks about a certain topic.

What can we do about it?

Even though there has been an increase in cases of hate speech, we should not be afraid to report them. Under-reporting these type of cases contributed to the increase. Another thing that we can do to prevent this from happening is to teach the new generations that there are limits to free speech and that just because they have this right they should not use it to hurt others. Education is the key to change. Another way to deal with the issue is to confront the bullies. It may not always be the easiest path, but it’s a good approach to minimizing the impact. Even if you are not a direct victim, you can always help victims to face their bully. There are also groups such as eMore which encourage people to come forward and report hate speech abuses.

An act of courage


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There are many authorities that took a series of measures against hate speech, including the Council of Europe. Despite the efforts of such authorities to minimize the growth of this type of speech, the authorities face a dilemma as they cannot completely eliminate hate speech without eliminating the right to freedom of speech.

Besides the authorities who fight to tackle this issue, there are also several NGOs, like the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), who try to inform the people about the dangers of this way expression. WOSM aims to educate and inspire young people to have a positive attitude about the world they live in through the motto: „Creating a better world!”

During a neo-nazi protest in Brno, the Czech Republic, Lucie Myslíková, a sixteen-year-old girl, member of the WOSM, confronted a neo-nazi promoter. She was at the demonstration to peacefully protest against the neo-nazi ideas which promoted hate speech and a discriminatory and violent approach of racial diversity and peace.

A photographer caught her on camera while she was standing up to a neo-nazi participant to the protest. The photographs went viral, along with some fragments of the conversation heard by the photographer. Despite the attitude of the neo-nazi member, the girl kept her calm and tried to explain to him that people should not be treated differently based on where they come from or on the color of their skin.

This shows us that each of us is capable of an act of courage!

Cyberbullying in our society

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We live more and more of our lives online. With this transition, a lot of the issues that we confront in the offline were transferred in the online. Among them is bullying. It mainly consisted of using technology to threaten, harass or embarrass another person.

The phenomenon of cyberbullying grew larger and larger due to the „absence” of the direct confrontation. The online gave bullies, and sometimes their victims, the means to express their thoughts and feelings without being forced to confront the person directly. The practice spread fast as the bullies were no longer having to see the damage they inflicted upon their victims. Everything was indirect, and many times cyberbullying became a game for the bullies.

Cyberbullying is very wide spread within the teenager communities. Teenage is the time where a lot of changes occur, thus the teenagers are very easy influenced as they are in the period when they are trying to define themselves as future adults. Cyberbullies could damage their self-esteem and affect their psychological development.

How does a cyberbully become a cyberbully? Bullies can come from anywhere, most of the times the bullies are persons who know the victim even offline. Many times the bullies don’t even realize what they are doing until it’s too late. Sometimes cyberbullying starts as a joke that gets too far. Other times, cyberbullying can come as a revenge or a reaction to a similar situation.

What can you do about it?

As a victim, what can you do about it is talking about the issue. Due to technology, cyberbullying can be hidden quite well and many times the bullies take advantage of that. Despite that, the issue can be solved by taking to parents, friends and reporting it to the authorities. There area a series of measures that can be taken against this type of behavior.

Another way to fight cyberbullying is to resist the urge to respond to the bullies. If you get in their game, the issue will continue as they see that the issue upsets you so they’ll continue.

Remember you can always walk away. Bullies carry on the harassment as they see that it’s bothering you. Many times walking away is the best option.

Even if cyberbullying is mainly affecting teenagers, the issue is spreading fast and we have to be prepared to tackle it. There are measures being taken against such malign online practices, but you can always contribute by reporting such cases.

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