Speech Is Violence? Not if We Want a Liberal, Intellectual Society
This explains why so much outrage in the public square is now directed at what one might call speech crimes. Even the neologism hate speech speaks to this. While earlier generations might have seen damage to body or property as the most serious categories of crime, a highly psychologized era will accord increasing importance to words as means of
... See moreCarl R. Trueman • The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self
David Abbott
David’s Determinist Substack
1d
The “speech is violence” frame is a loaded gun pointed at everyone. If hateful speech is itself a form of violence, then Charlie Kirk — who spent years saying things like “the Civil Rights Act was a huge mistake” and warning that Muslims were “conquering Europe” — was, by that definition, committing... See more
David’s Determinist Substack
1d
The “speech is violence” frame is a loaded gun pointed at everyone. If hateful speech is itself a form of violence, then Charlie Kirk — who spent years saying things like “the Civil Rights Act was a huge mistake” and warning that Muslims were “conquering Europe” — was, by that definition, committing... See more
MAGA’s scary clampdown on free speech
This is why the idea that speech is violence is so dangerous. It tells the members of a generation already beset by anxiety and depression that the world is a far more violent and threatening place than it really is. It tells them that words, ideas, and speakers can literally kill them. Even worse: At a time of rapidly rising political polarization... See more