Sunday, June 29, 2008

Responding To Hate Speech

I am grateful that we live in a society that tries to be politically correct. It is important to take the feelings of others into consideration. There are some negatives, however, to a politically correct society. The first is something that we have heard about for quite some time, that sometimes we go overboard (people aren’t fat or even heavy, they are horizontally challenged). Sometimes when we try to be so considerate of others feelings, we end up saying nothing. It does not mean we should not try, just that sometimes we go too far.

There is another problem as well. Sometimes when we are so politically correct, people do not know how to handle certain situations. When there are seventh and eighth grade religious school students who do not know about hate crimes and hate speech, perhaps we have taken things too far. When groups like The Progressive Action Alliance are looking to spread false information, we need to know how to respond. When this group in Houston Texas takes to Freeway Blogging , standing on highway overpasses and holding signs that say such things as “Israel out of the Middle East,” we need to know the appropriate way to respond.

Fortunately there are websites out there that look to let people know what is going on, let people know the truth. The internet can make it easier for groups like Progressive Action Alliance Houston to spread their hate speech. Fortunately the internet also makes it easier to get the accurate information out.

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