Free speech and a commitment to equal treatment are deeply embedded values in the American political culture. It is unsurprising, therefore, that when these values bump into each other, confusion and confrontation blossom. Monroe H. Freedman and Eric M. Freedman's edited volume dealing with the relationship between free speech and what we have come to call hate speech addresses an important topic, and though uneven, a number of the chapters help clarify the debate and move us toward asking the right questions about the effort to preserve a commitment to free speech while addressing the legitimate concerns of those subjected to group defamation. The book starts out with some fairly reasonable, but largely unsupported assumptions. Language can demean one's sense of dignity.
Language can induce insecurity and fear.
Language can cause palpable physical reactions. When the message is violent, language can itself be a form of violence. For most of the contributors to this volume, these assertions need no support. For some, these assertions are more than enough to justify speech codes and anti-defamation statutes that would profoundly restructure our current conception of free speech. They may well be right, but a clear chapter laying out the empirical support for these assertions would have been a welcome addition.