Transcript Research Activities - University of Hull

Raphael Cohen-Almagor
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Lecture Plan
 Introduction: Definition, Line-drawing
 The Harm in Hate
 Boundaries
 Hate crimes
 Remedies and Practical proposals
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Argument
 Socially responsible people should not stand idly by
while others are abusing freedom of expression to
discriminate and victimized their targets for hate.
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Definition
 Hate speech is defined as a bias-motivated, hostile,
malicious speech aimed at a person or a group of
people because of some of their actual or perceived
innate characteristics.
 It expresses discriminatory, intimidating,
disapproving, antagonistic and/or prejudicial attitudes
toward those characteristics which include sex, race,
religion, ethnicity, colour, national origin, disability, or
sexual orientation.
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Aim of Hate Speech
 Hate speech is aimed to injure, dehumanize, harass,
intimidate, debase, degrade, and victimize the
targeted groups, and to foment insensitivity and
brutality against them.
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Line Drawing
 The line-drawing of what constitutes hate is not always
simple.
 Statements that assert “Jews are money hungry,” “gays
are immoral,” “abortionists are murderers,” “Israel is an
apartheid state,” “niggers return to Africa,” and calls to
boycott Israel are all unpleasant yet legitimate speech.
 On the other hand, calls that incite violence against
target groups fall under the definition of incitement.
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manner‫ן‬
content
circumstances
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Speaker’s
intentions
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Line Drawing
 Hate speech is fuzzier than incitement and concretely
more damaging than advocacy.
 Hate speech creates a virulent atmosphere of “double
victimization”: The speakers are under
attack/misunderstood/marginalized/delegitimized by
powerful forces (governments, conspiratorial
organizations); the answer to their problem is the
victimization of the target group.
 Their victimization is the speakers’ salvation.
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Relevant Factors
 History
 Culture
 Morality
 Law
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Boundaries
 In England: Breach of the Peace
 following verbal attacks on the Jewish community by
Oswald Mosley and members of the British Union of
Fascists (BUF) at public meetings which led to
outbreaks of violence in Britain.
 Parliament reacted by passing the Public Order Act.
This gave the Home Secretary the power to ban
marches in London and police chief constables could
apply to him for bans elsewhere.
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1936 Public Order Act
 The 1936 Public Order Act also made it an offence to
wear political uniforms and to use threatening and
abusive words.
 This measure successfully controlled the activities of
Sir Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists.
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Hate in the UK
 Under the Public Order Act 1986 it is an offence to use
threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour
with intent or likelihood to stir up racial hatred against
anyone on the grounds of colour, race, nationality or
ethnic or national origins.
 The offence carries maximum penalty of seven years’
imprisonment.
 Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000
 Criminal Justice and Immigration Act (2008).
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Hate in the UK
 In 2007/8, the overall no. of racist incidents was
57,055.
 However, data from the British Crime Survey put the
no. at 207,000.
 That means, the vast majority of cases are not
reported.
 The Gay British Crime Survey 2008 states that three in
four victims of homophobic hate crimes did not report
to the police.
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Hate in the UK
 Some victims feel more comfortable reporting to third-
parties rather than to the police.
 True Vision, http://www.report-it.org.uk/home.
 But it is still reporting to the police.
 Need to separate between the website and the police.
 Third party, like human rights organizations.
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Hate in the UK
 In July 2008, Simon Sheppard was found guilty of nine
counts of publishing racially inflammatory material on
his Heretical Press website.
 He was sentenced to 3 years and 10 months
imprisonment.
 Co-defendant Stephen Whittle was found guilty of
four counts.
 He was sentenced to 1 year and 10 months
imprisonment.
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Hate in the UK
 The Heretical Press is hosted in the USA.
 But the important consideration is the location of the
hate monger.
 Sheppard targeted the Blackpool Reform Synagogue,
“Tales of Holohoax”.
 Other articles: “Auschwitz: The Holiday Camp for
Kikes” and hate literature against blacks, Asian and
non-white people generally.
 See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/8486884.stm
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American Legal Boundaries
 True Threats, intimidation
 Incitement to murder
 How the Internet is used to scare people?
 Case law
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From Speech to Action
 Three Aryan supremacists, Benjamin Smith, Richard
Baumhammers, and James W. von Brunn who in 1999,
2000 and 2009 respectively went on racially motivated
shooting sprees after being exposed (von Brunn also
contributed) to Internet racial propaganda.
 Smith regularly visited the World Church of the Creator
website, a notorious racist and hateful organization.
 He said: "It wasn't really 'til I got on the Internet, read some
literature of these groups that… it really all came together.“
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From Speech to Action
 Other hate crimes that involved shooting and killing
of innocent people in the USA concern Buford Furrow
who killed one person and injured five others in 1999;
 The same year, Matthew and Tyler Williams who
murdered a gay couple and set fire to three
Sacramento-area synagogues;
 In 2009, Keith Luke murdered two black people, and
raped and nearly killed a third.
 All were active on hate sites.
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Machado
Date: Fri, 20 Sep 1996 10:58:55 -0700
From: "Mother Fucker (Hates Asians)" <[email protected]>
To: {recipient list omitted to protect privacy of individuals}
Subject: FUck You Asian Shit
Hey stupid fucker
As you can see in the name, I hate Asians, including you. If it weren’t for asias [sic]
at UCI, it would be a much more popular campus. You are responsible for ALL the
crimes that occur on campus. YOU are responsible for the campus being all dirt.
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE. That’s why I want you and your stupid ass comrades to
get the fuck out of UCI. IF you don’t I will hunt all of you down and Kill your stupid
asses. Do you hear me? I personally will make it my life carreer [sic] to find and kill
everyone one [sic] of you personally. OK?????? That’s how determined I am.
Get the fuck out. Mother Fucker (Asian Hater)
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Shutting Down Websites
Jouhari v. Wilson
 US Dept. of Housing & Urban Development, Jouhari
and Pilar Horton v. Ryan Wilson and ALPHA HQ, July
19, 2000
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Jouhari
 Next to Jouhari’s picture, the ALPHA HQ website
stated, "Traitors like this should beware, for in our
day, they will hung from the neck from the nearest
tree or lamp post.“
 The website referred to Jouhari's daughter as
"mongrel," listed various types of guns,
information where to obtain various weapons, and
provided a bomb recipe under the picture of
Jouhari's office.
http://www.hud.gov/utilities/intercept.cfm?/office
s/oalj/cases/fha/pdf/wilson.pdf
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Jouhari
 Wilson was charged by the Pennsylvania
Commonwealth's Attorney General with threats,
harassment, and ethnic intimidation.
 The site was removed from the Internet, and the court
issued an injunction against the defendant and his
organization barring them from displaying certain
messages on the Internet.
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Boundaries
 Profound Offence
 Skokie
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Boundaries
 Profound Offence
 Meir Kahane
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Boundaries
 Incitement against individuals
 “Rabin Should be Killed” Stickers
 Photomontage: Rabin in SS Uniform
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“Rabin must be killed” Stickers
 On November 30, 1993 stickers were distributed in the
town of Or Akiva during a visit of the then Minister of
Labor Ora Namir.
 The stickers bore a short and clear message: “Rabin must
be killed”.
 A target had been selected, and an unequivocal statement
had been uttered regarding the desired fate of that same
target.
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Rabin in a black S.S. uniform
 On October 5, 1995, during a large right-wing
demonstration in Jerusalem against the Oslo Accords,
two Kach activists waved photomontage pictures of
Rabin dressed in black Nazi uniform.
 Rabin face was glued onto the body of the notorious
Nazi leader Heinrich Himler.
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Boundaries
 Incitement against People
 Radio Propaganda to kill the Tutsi in Rwanda
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Boundaries
 Incitement against People
 Nazi propaganda to “eliminate” the Jews from the face
of the earth
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Remedies
 Speech v. Speech
 Education (like the Partners Against Hate program),
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http://partnersagainsthate.org/
Promotion of tolerance
Exposing of hate
Hate watch
Citizens’ initiatives to combat hate – “Coloradans United
Against Hatred” (CUAH)
Net users’ initiatives against hate (Facebook United Against
Hate)
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Remedies
 Denying Legitimacy:
 sensitive media coverage;
 banning racist parties;
 protecting vulnerable people
 Culture of tolerance
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Remedies
 Law and adherence to international conventions: The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948); The 1966
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; The U.N.
International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
Racial Discrimination (1969); The European Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
(1950); The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of
the Crime of Genocide (1948); The Council of Europe’s
Convention on Cybercrime (2003)
 Introducing a different rationale: Instead of free highway,
social responsibility
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Remedies – The Internet
 ISPs Liability
 Provide a uniform channel for user complaints
 Omit or at least label hate websites from search engines
 Labelling, naming and shaming
 Legal means: Prosecutions
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Remedies – The Internet
 International cooperation between governments as
well as between governments and Internet Service
Providers: Working Group on Internet Governance;
Jugendschutz.net in Germany; Stichting Magenta in
the Netherlands; International Network Against Cyber
Hate
 Publishing overviews and reports on a regular basis
 Business Ban
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Thank you
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