[kneisley]

Advocacy is the road to violence. Sure, saying “I wish you and everyone like you were dead” is not the same thing as killing them. But in a public sphere, or a private conversation, words matter. Arguing against the humanity of others like you’re talking about your favorite kind of cheese is appalling: “I do like cheddar and I don’t like Jews.” It isn’t physical violence, but I don’t know a distinct word to define that changing of the tone, the introduction or affirmation or just open acceptance of hate within a community. And given the natural, possibly even biological predilection toward in-group/out-group bias and groupthink in humans, suggesting dehumanization has real consequences. Here in the US, there is one group of people who are almost entirely impervious to the dehumanizing power of that kind of speech. That group is white cis hetero men. And they make the laws that form the legal consequences of saying hateful things. To no one's surprise, the legal consequences are basically nil. Historically, the social consequences were also light or non-existent. It was no one’s business who was or wasn’t a member of the Klan. But now, the most powerful group, while still making most of the laws, no longer holds complete control over social consequences. The people whose ancestors or contemporaries were hung from trees or tied to fences in the Wyoming cold or shot down in a walmart have more social power. We listen to them and respect them and create consequences for expressing hate toward them. We're starting to insist that everyone be respected, not just white guys. To me, this is progress, not oppression and in no way restricts the flow of good ideas.