This House Believes It Is Right for a Liberal Democracy to Criminalise Hate Speech | Full Debate

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ABOUT THE MOTION:
Hate Speech: "Speech seen as attacking people on the basis of a group identity such as race, nationality, gender, religious affiliation, disability or sexual orientation. It typically constitutes the expression of ideas considered to stir up hostility against a particular social group. Explicit calls for violence are excluded from this definition."
Organiser and Chair: Shavak Matalia
ABOUT THE UCL DEBATING SOCIETY:
The UCL Debating Society ranks amongst the oldest student-run debating societies in the United Kingdom. Since 1828, we have trained many generations of debaters and served as a prestigious London-based forum for debates on the defining social, economic, and political issues of our times. With one of the largest memberships of any society at UCL, we strive to promote the foundations of free speech and critical thought that our university proudly embodies.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
Proposition:
Dr. Jeffrey Howard is an Associate Professor in Political Philosophy at University College London. He has published in various journals on topics concerning freedom of expression, democracy, crime & punishment, and counter-extremism. His recent article “Dangerous Speech” won the 2021 Berger Memorial Prize from the American Philosophical Association for the best paper in the philosophy of law.
Prof. Stanley Fish is a prominent literary theorist, legal scholar, and public intellectual from the USA. As a bestselling author and frequent contributor to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, Fish has written extensively on free speech. In 1994, Fish won the prestigious PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay for his work titled “There's No Such Thing as Free Speech, and It's a Good Thing, Too”.
Prof. Rae Langton currently works as the Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge, the first woman to occupy this post. In 2015, she was chosen to deliver the annual John Locke Lectures at Oxford University, considered the world's most prestigious lectures in philosophy. Through her research, she has published widely on free speech, hate speech, and social justice.
Opposition:
Prof. Nadine Strossen is an American civil liberties activist, currently serving as Professor of Law at New York Law School. From 1991 to 2008, she served as the first female President of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the largest civil liberties organisation in the USA. In her 2018 book “HATE: Why We Should Resist It With Free Speech, Not Censorship”, Strossen argues that hate speech laws are universally ineffective and that robust counterspeech is the best-proven way to resist hate.
Peter Tatchell is a British human rights campaigner, best known for his work within the LGBT social movement. In 1972, he helped organise Britain's first Gay Pride march. In 1999 and 2001, he attempted a citizen's arrest of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on charges of torture. Since 2011, he has served as Director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, an organisation working on human rights issues such as homophobia, crimes against humanity, and censorship.
Alex J. O'Connor is a philosophy and theology graduate from Oxford University and the founder of the CosmicSkeptic KZread channel. His KZread channel hosts an audience of over 445,000 subscribers and almost 40 million views, with viewers attracted by his takes on philosophical issues spanning free speech, atheism, and veganism.
LINKS:
Instagram: / ucldebate
Twitter: / ucldebating
Facebook: / ucldebatingsoc
Website: www.debating.org
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Rules, Initial Vote and Speaker Introductions
08:44 Proposition: Dr. Jeffrey Howard - Opening Speech
16:28 Opposition: Prof. Nadine Strossen - Opening Speech
24:38 Proposition: Prof. Stanley Fish - Opening Speech
33:36 Opposition: Peter Tatchell - Opening Speech
42:05 Proposition: Prof. Rae Langton - Opening Speech
49:38 Opposition: Alex J. O'Connor - Opening Speech
57:47 Proposition: Dr. Jeffrey Howard - Closing Speech
01:01:07 Opposition: Peter Tatchell - Closing Speech
01:03:47 Proposition: Prof. Stanley Fish - Closing Speech
01:07:03 Opposition: Prof. Nadine Strossen - Closing Speech
01:10:40 Proposition: Prof. Rae Langton - Closing Speech
01:14:24 Opposition: Alex J. O'Connor - Closing Speech
01:17:30 Q&A and Final Vote

Пікірлер: 63

  • @kaileebailee23
    @kaileebailee232 жыл бұрын

    I was in the middle before starting this debate but I think Dr. Strossen's and Alex's arguments convinced me. Not only outlining how impractical criminalizing hate speech is AND giving real world examples of how people twist words and call things hate speech, it was easy to see ways that these laws could be abused

  • @kaileebailee23

    @kaileebailee23

    Жыл бұрын

    @Nocap8 at least for me, I think hate speech can do real harm so I can understand the idea of banning something that can literally push someone to violence against themselves or others.

  • @kaileebailee23

    @kaileebailee23

    Жыл бұрын

    @Nocap8 I mean like...yeah that's why my mind was changed. Hate speech can cause violence but I decided that it's better to allow hate speech rather than allow the state to use violence under guise of enforcing hate speech.

  • @hugster2000
    @hugster20002 жыл бұрын

    There should be a section at the end where they discuss it in real time and respond to each other. It should always lead to a conversation otherwise it isn’t really a proper debate.

  • @punypixel2795
    @punypixel27952 жыл бұрын

    1:27:40 such a brilliantly phrased question, and Alex is definitely correct.

  • @thesuitablecommand
    @thesuitablecommand2 жыл бұрын

    I find that debates which do not involve a back-and-forth between the speakers are ultimately less informative to someone trying to form an opinion. It is fun to have several speakers, though, and back-and-forth becomes difficult when there are several speakers involved.

  • @provideme1000

    @provideme1000

    2 жыл бұрын

    funny, i prefer the kind of thoughtful development that this format allows to jousting in a tiger cage that back and forth confrontation encourages.

  • 2 жыл бұрын

    Did the gentleman who raised the hand in answer to Alex's question "Who should be chosen to decide what should we listen?" just called Alex smug?

  • @SumNutOnU2b

    @SumNutOnU2b

    2 жыл бұрын

    I think he was trying to joke by calling himself smug, though I'm not sure exactly. Anyhow, Alex returned the riposte by calling him smug in return. Also, though, after his diatribe concerning "national character" I have considerable difficulty with seeing him described as a 'gentleman'.

  • 2 жыл бұрын

    @@SumNutOnU2b yeah I hadn't seen everything yet. Very suspicious... And also smug.

  • @colinellicott9737

    @colinellicott9737

    2 жыл бұрын

    That is no gentleman.

  • @rowdy3837

    @rowdy3837

    2 жыл бұрын

    I caught that too. Hubris of a lifetime in academia.

  • @fritanke2318
    @fritanke23182 жыл бұрын

    I'm going to enjoy this tomorrow. From what i scanned through today it wil be a good time. Thanks for hosting, participating and posting.

  • @TheMonk72
    @TheMonk722 жыл бұрын

    While we may not have legislation in many parts of the world that criminalises "hate speech" we have social paradigms that perform similar functions, and their track record thus far is appalling. And sadly the people who most vehemently support such structures and legislation are all too often disgustingly hateful themselves.

  • @tausifkarim8861
    @tausifkarim88612 жыл бұрын

    Spot on Alex!

  • @spifflord308
    @spifflord3082 жыл бұрын

    Am I missing something here? Fish did not sound for the proposition in his opening.

  • @grmancool

    @grmancool

    2 жыл бұрын

    Yeah lmao he sounded against it to my ears

  • @cedb3360

    @cedb3360

    2 жыл бұрын

    OKay good I'm not crazy! For his whole first bit I thought he was being sarcastic. I thought he was with the opposition!He's just foking preposterous... Wipe Germany out of the surface of the Earth... WTF lol I am really happy to be able to hear this type of disgusting speech. Contrast Fish's to O'Connor's talking points and there you go, We can now adequately decide if we should condemn hate speech or not.

  • @josephcowan6779

    @josephcowan6779

    2 жыл бұрын

    Yeah I'm honestly confused by his position. The whole time I was nodding along like these some good arguments against it... oh wait

  • @clarencehuang2197

    @clarencehuang2197

    2 жыл бұрын

    Fish prepared the wrong side. Same reaction from me when I watched it live.

  • @bernardobila4336
    @bernardobila43362 жыл бұрын

    Alex is just brilliant

  • @ferencdojcsak8576
    @ferencdojcsak85762 жыл бұрын

    What Fish and the like don't realize is that when there are enough people thinking like him and enough people thinking like him, but from the opposite side, dialog, and subsequently, negotiations (let alone changing minds) become impossible. And when there is no possibility for negotiations, violence becomes the only way to shift the status quo. Now he might like it, but then again, there are those from the opposite side who would like it too. And when violence actually comes, there is no guarantee that you would see the end of it, even if your side wins. After all, to the soldier who died at Dunkerque the war was never won.

  • @andrewkrylov1501
    @andrewkrylov15012 жыл бұрын

    In such angle and style Alex looks like south park character and I can't stop thinking about it and laughing.

  • @sujoyteslesl

    @sujoyteslesl

    2 жыл бұрын

    ....aaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnd NOW I can't unsee it! Thanks a lot >_

  • @andresvillarreal9271
    @andresvillarreal92712 жыл бұрын

    My big concern about criminalizing hate speech is that, contrary to almost all the criminal laws, the emphasis is put on the words, not on the state of mind of the alleged offender. By assigning the property of "hate" to a string of words we are assigning to those words some properties that are inherent of a human being. This can be seen in this example: the definition of a man as someone with XY chromosomes and of a woman as someone with XX chromosomes is certainly incomplete, and some people consider it wrong. But that is what was taught to us at school, and what lots of absolutely wonderful people still think. But ideologues of one side of the fight are declaring that the statement above is hate speech, and with it, they are declaring every opposing person as a hatemonger who should rightfully be thrown out of his/her professional and social life. By declaring this as hate speech they are squirting the need to find any evidence of hatefulness in the person who they are declaring a hatemonger and ostracizing from society.

  • @thesuitablecommand

    @thesuitablecommand

    2 жыл бұрын

    Yeah I have similar concerns. Communication is hard, and messages are often received in a way that the speaker did not intend. A perfectly benign message could very easily be received as something toxic, despite that not being the intent. If this miscommunication could lead to criminal charges, I think that is an unwise paradigm

  • @Nelsathis

    @Nelsathis

    2 жыл бұрын

    Which also is inconsistent, because in their plea to see people as more nuanced than the black and white view on gender they act all black and white on what is and isnt hate speech.

  • @andresvillarreal9271

    @andresvillarreal9271

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Nelsathis Precisely. And the white and the black are whatever my tribe thinks and whatever the other tribe thinks. Proponents of hate speech laws are not scientifically doubting their definitions and methods, they already have decided what hate speech is and why it should be criminalized. Both sides know exactly what hate speech is, and they just happen to have opposite definitions.

  • @xy22

    @xy22

    2 жыл бұрын

    We elevate those who say "right" but mean "wrong" and mock those who say "wrong" but mean "right." - this is a line from the Nymphomaniac II (2013). It is our reality I guess.:)

  • @PhantomGreyfire
    @PhantomGreyfire2 жыл бұрын

    *appreciation

  • @stevenmarkhansen
    @stevenmarkhansen2 жыл бұрын

    nice❣️

  • @ConceptHut
    @ConceptHut2 жыл бұрын

    Movement forward in society is only possible if you allow people to talk against the current status quo. Otherwise you bind yourself to permanently exist at your current point of existence or even go backwards.

  • @lrvogt1257
    @lrvogt12572 жыл бұрын

    There is a difficult gray area where hate speech becomes an incitement to violence or attempts to make violence seem appropriate. Just get people sufficiently frightened and angry and violence can be easily triggered later.

  • @Rufusdos
    @Rufusdos5 ай бұрын

    1:03:48 Prof. Fish, that ad hominem remark just lost you any remaining respect that I might have had for you after your rambling first turn.

  • @thomasthompson6378
    @thomasthompson63782 жыл бұрын

    " . . . because God desires it" is not a reasonable approach to the issue.

  • @ps5622
    @ps56222 жыл бұрын

    Alex is the new Christopher Hitchens...perhaps even better!

  • @mohammedphilonous6856

    @mohammedphilonous6856

    2 жыл бұрын

    philosophically, he is way much more informed and thoughtful than hitch

  • @keeparguing611

    @keeparguing611

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@mohammedphilonous6856 knowledge is never destroyed after all. the younger generation learns from the previous, and gets stronger from it

  • @mohammedphilonous6856

    @mohammedphilonous6856

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@keeparguing611 yes you are right, alex seems to me to have taken the good bits of hitch, and had the audacity to say and expose where hitch went wrong.

  • @peterastley-sparke7526

    @peterastley-sparke7526

    2 жыл бұрын

    Alex is a cogent debater, but it's way too early to make that claim.

  • @thebenvz.

    @thebenvz.

    2 жыл бұрын

    @G what do you disagree with him on?

  • @colinellicott9737
    @colinellicott97372 жыл бұрын

    Fish is a condescending ass. If the target of the hate speech takes umbrage then the weapon has succeeded. The utterance is the flag that exposes the hate itself. It is the hate itself that is the root cause to be addressed. Without the flag there is little chance of changing the intent. Umbrage is the involuntary immediate emotional response - without which there would be no damage. The corrective action is problematic, should the swastika spray painted on the synagogue be painted over, the book banned, the channel licence revoked? Should all groups be toughened up to be impervious to involuntary immediate emotional response? We have no choice. (Thx Hitch).

  • @morthim
    @morthim2 жыл бұрын

    'some of you will recall...' others will recall godwin's law and the godwin measure. that all losing and untenable positions will eventually bring up hitler or nazis, and that how legitimate a position is is measured in sentences since the last violation. some will recall this because bringing up hitler is an ethical appeal to propaganda using acceptance of war propaganda as proxy for shared identity; that in turn is generally a non sequitur. saying a proposition should be accepted because those who reject it are litterally war enemies is direct incitement of violence of the most extreme and hateful. it is the very dehumanization that is being protested in the same breath; the pinnacle of hatespeech. if these evil views should be wiped from public conscience, why havent the advocates the character to not be guilty? is it not better to be silent and innocent than guilty? hoist them to the repercussions of their inadquacy to their own values. their values should matter more than those of strangers anyway. silence those who lack enough wherewithall to be worthy of their own time, let alone ours.

  • @morthim
    @morthim2 жыл бұрын

    why are the people arguing against the legitimacy of hate speech engaging in it? eg howard opening speech langton if a position should be accepted, shouldnt the proponent accept it? put further, langton says 'words that hurt' are hatespeech. is saying another's sincere point of view not hurtful? if someone says something hurtful, and we retaliate with similar behavior, are we not guilty of our own moral standard? and what if in addition the party being marginalized doesnt share our prescriptive conclusion but instead sees themself as a good and well meaning person, then the only guilty party is us. so is it not a redundent pretense for naked conciets? how can a reasonable person or people contend a proposition which requires self guilt as premise for self-similar pride? 'contemptible animals like the mongrel dogs' how is such a reference not itself blatantly hateful? what good person would accuse others of offtopic and defamatory ad hominems? and how does being guilty of that you accuse others of legitimizing your accusation? how does demonstrating poor character legitimize criticism? 'hatespeech goes through internet pathways...' it emanates through university far more frequently and with more impunity.

  • @why772
    @why7722 жыл бұрын

    Can someone provide me with an example of hate speech?

  • @paulsmith7579

    @paulsmith7579

    2 жыл бұрын

    No because You Tube will block them.

  • @Rufusdos

    @Rufusdos

    5 ай бұрын

    There are lots of examples in Rae Langton's first turn (from 42:05).

  • @stevied667iswin
    @stevied667iswin2 жыл бұрын

    The Irony that the speakers who condemn free speech are the ones that go over their time limit for speaking 🤣

  • @hugster2000
    @hugster20002 жыл бұрын

    I love Alex and he’s a super intelligent speaker - but he talks like he’s trying to impersonate Christopher Hitchens in every debate. It’s a little cringe.

  • @colinellicott9737

    @colinellicott9737

    2 жыл бұрын

    Channeling Hitch is only to be lauded. Alex has no choice ;)

  • @Sui_Generis0

    @Sui_Generis0

    Жыл бұрын

    It's called being heavily influenced

  • @Rufusdos

    @Rufusdos

    5 ай бұрын

    It takes balls. To say things like "I can't wait to hear a proper suggestion". Makes good TV in my opinion. Raises the stakes.

  • @why_it-
    @why_it-2 жыл бұрын

    Not to be offensive but it seems like a lot of white folks here talking about hate speech.

  • @Rufusdos

    @Rufusdos

    5 ай бұрын

    One of them is fairly clearly Jewish, and at least one of them is gay, if that makes a difference.

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