Freedom of expression – the more you know, the less you fear

Opinion – Hate speech is critical in any healthy democracy, argues the lawyer Craig Tuck

By Craig Tuck *

Ideas bring about reactions. An idea can incite or excite – for or against what is said. However, the result is a debate – not hate.

Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux, who canceled a public discussion after Mr. Goff banned them in boardrooms, have hateful ideas and can affect a large part of society. For the rest of us, they could serve well to remind and clarify ours – perhaps more reasonable values.

In law, speech is thought in terms of process and substance . This means that if the ideas presented can be hateful in substance, the process by which ideas are transmitted is healthy.

The laws against hate speech blur this distinction. The result is that the right to freedom of speech is eroded.

Hate speech has been used to punish and exclude people for hundreds of years (including recently in France). It was freedom of expression – a loyal friend of the minorities – who stood firm to protect them and defend their opinions.

As a society, we must be careful not to destroy one right to protect another. As written Noam Chomsky:

"It is a truism, barely questionable, that the defense of the right to freedom of expression is not limited to the ideas that we have. approves, and that it is precisely in the case of the most offensive ideas these rights must be defended most vigorously. "

Censorship or punishment of hate speech often leads to repression of freedom of expression – the equivalent of spraying weeds and hitting the surrounding green grass. fear, conformity, and reduces debate and discussion.

On the other hand, freedom of expression is a factor that promotes other rights – social and economic as well as cultural and educational. , the history of human development of thought and creativity is the history of freedom of thought and expression.

Freedom of speech is a prerequisite and a facilitator – foundation and cornerstone of a democratic civil society.It can be said that it is one of the most important discussions that a society can have: Freedom of expression is the basis of many other civil rights.However, the protection of the freedom of expression n means that you must accept the right of people to say hateful things.

However, there are some points to emphasize. First, the right to freedom of expression does not entail the duty to listen. One of the most effective ways to deal with people such as Ms. Southern and Mr. Molyneux is simply to ignore them.

Second, while New Zealand does not have a specific law against hate speech, that does not mean that hate speech will not be The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that "any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by the law "(article 20)

.

The Human Rights Act prohibits incitement to racial discord by means of an illegal publication or speech. The Crimes Act contains provisions that also provide for potentially harsh sentences for those who seek to harm others by their words.

In other words, in New Zealand we have the laws we need to make sure that the evil behind the Right to freedom of expression can and will be prosecuted and punished.

By creating strong laws that prohibit and punish hate speech, hateful ideas and those who express them hide. They do not just disappear but can instead find other more harmful ways to emerge.

Basically, the fact is that one does not have to agree with what one person says accepting that she has the right to say it. It is as simple as this well-known biblical to "do to others".

Are we so unsure of our beliefs and values ​​that a couple of right-wing antagonists could pose a real threat to New Zealand society? We can celebrate the processes that allow freedom of speech, without having to endorse the substance of what they say.

In the end, the more you know, the less you fear.

Testing hypotheses and statements conveyed in hate speech through freedom of expression allows education, reason and analysis. In a modern world where fear is a driving force of law and politics, freedom of speech will foster empathy and reason.

* Craig Tuck is a lawyer specializing in human rights. He has been a lawyer in many leading and leading cases – including those concerning the death penalty abroad. He is trained in psychology and law, with a master's degree in criminology from the University of Cambridge. His work in the area of ​​human trafficking has received much praise from the UN.