The Government Should Not Censor Racial or Hateful Speech

Well, don't worry about your delay you weren't late so it's all that matters. :) Now to begin with, I would like you to notice that the first arguments that you gave are NOT prohibited by our government. There is no law that forbidden an individual from going to work in boxers but people simply don't do it because they know it is wrong. And because you do not want to seem like a bizarre man in front of your colleagues. Speech is the same way. We know as of today what's "politically correct" and what's not so we refrain from saying certain things on our own. And if someone does argue hatefully, then it is his problem and he will be the one excluded from the rest of society. You asked me to imagine a world where we could speak anything we wanted to anybody. Well, we are living in such a world already as there is no government regulation of this kind of speech... and we are definitely not living in a chaotic/anarchistic world with no self-respect. Human beings are smart enough to understand that certain things shouldn't be said allowed without the police or the government's laws. And you know, even if the government coerced people into shutting themselves up, it wouldn't change people's feelings a bit. Instead, in addition to hatred kept inside, people would start to develop a rage against their own government that tells them what not to think. Your historical examples are very touching, but we need to understand that hate speech was NOT the cause of the tragedies. The Jewish Holocaust took place because Hitler needed a patsy to put the blame of the financial crisis on, not because people were allowed to say what they wanted about whoever they wanted. Also, for the Rwanda Genocide, hate speech was again just a tiny instrument used during the conflict, but it wasn't its fuel. The cause of the genocide was the fact that the Belgians had put in charge during their rule the Tutsis (minority) and used their position to divide the region by alienating the Tutsis and Hutus. Now, having free speech should not be confused with chaos. In a truly free society, there is both freedom of expression but also order and security. In both the Nazi and Rwanda cases, the government fueled directly the conflicts so there was no alternative to the deaths of thousands. I agree that the government should never be discriminatory, as it is the government that creates social conflicts most of the time. Had you have a functioning police protecting the people against murder, hate speech would have simply been debated down... When one commits a crime, he goes to prison. But we shouldn't rule him or her for what he had in his mind during the crime, or else it is simply the beginning of the end of freedom. But now, let me sum my words for the closing argument. George Orwell once said, "Threats to freedom of speech, writing and action, though often trivial in isolation, are cumulative in their effect and, unless checked, lead to a general disrespect for the rights of the citizen." And I believe it is entirely true. The more actions of ours are regulated by a higher coercive authority (i.e. the government), the less will we be fighting for individual responsibility. At the end of the day, the reason why some want the State to choose what people may or may not say is intellectual sloth, as they do not want to make the effort of choosing and arguing on their own in a civilized debate. If someone insults you or your skin color, etc., should you simply tell a police officer that would arrest the speaker for what he dared to say, or would you either try to resonate by telling him why he is wrong or simply walk away? I wouldn't want a third party (the ones with the guns, moreover) to be involved in my private discussion or dialogue or whatever you might call it. Or else, it would be as if the speaker had the words and me, the force. A free society is not a perfect society. It has countless problems and issues. But the success of liberty is that instead of transforming a small phrase into a national affair, the problem is kept on a local level. And then again, who are you, with all due respect, to tell me or someone else what to say? When did nature give you an extra set of rights to be used against me in such cases? You ask that if the government doesn't teach anti-racism, how will the problem be eradicated. Well, first of all, we're not sure it will ever be eradicated. Also, remember that we already have a State and racism is still a problem, free speech or not. I mean, a racist will remain a racist unless he is told why he is wrong and this can only be possible if he sees the consequences of his actions. Second of all, remember that the main creator of racism and ethnic conflicts throughout history has been and will be the government. From sponsoring slavery to causing genocides of minorities and segregation, our rulers are the ones that have caused social tensions between peoples. How can you expect the same State to be the one saving us from a problem it created? I do not want people to be racist. I am not racist. In fact, I am from Georgia and in Russia, people from my country are called "Black Asses" for some reason. I do not like it, but I do not want it banned. I go on the web, write articles on why this is wrong, others protest in the streets, etc. but I still do not want such a language to be banned. Why? Because everyone is entitled to speak their mind freely, however wrong or right they might be.