What is your definition of "hate speech?"

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The title link above takes you to a short video called "Prop 8--The Musical."  I guess this piece would be termed a parody.  This involves the goals of "comic effect" and/or "ridicule."  This particular performance uses what I guess the creators thought to be comic effect, but from where I sit it's especially heavy on ridicule.

A few years ago I was part of a group that was formed to help develop the understanding of different cultures; called, appropriately enough, a "diversity task force."  It is a worthy goal to foster understanding of different groups of people in order to combat stereotypes, and other misconceptions that hurt us all.  However, my experience in this group showed me that when it came to my culture these goals did not apply.  We arranged for presentations on the Latino culture, Islam, and Hinduism to name a few.  When it was proposed to do a presentation on Christianity, however, this was refused.  And, it was refused in a manner that was hurtful and insulting to me as a Christian.  One of the standard responses to the proposal was "that everyone already knows about that," however, many other comments demonstrated to me that quite a few people in our relatively small group did NOT know what Christianity was.  It was put forth that it was a "religion" not a culture.  If you look closely at one of the meanings of the word culture you will find it means the characteristics of a groups every day existence.  I had not looked up the word when I responded, but I pointed out that my Christian faith guided my behavior and decisions every day of my life, not just on Sunday.  Well, with every piece of evidence I put forth the responses became increasingly hurtful and insulting to me...in a diversity task force meeting.  Is that the definition of irony?  I think it qualifies.

I would like to add that I can be a very sarcastic person and during the discussion I had to remind myself that my faith did not support sharing hurtful words.  That rule is there in my belief system because I am aware of the destruction that can be caused by words.  So I did not share my hurtful words that would have only served to divide us more.  Did we ever do the presentation you ask?  No.  The group was disbanded and the administration of the organization cited "resource" issues as the reason.  I am sure that was a legitimate reason but I believe there was more to it than that. 

So, here we are.  We are told we cannot assume all Muslims are terrorists, cannot assume all who appear Hispanic are here illegally, and cannot make any sort of generalization about people of any specific race.  I agree with that.  However, there are certain judgments we need to make in some circumstances.  And we must do it in a way that does not create the belief that "all" are the same just because of their physical appearance and/or religion.  That is a difficult task but one we must perform in order to deal with important issues.  Martin Luther King's goal of making judgments based on the content of a person's character is perhaps the thing that will help us in the tough issues.

The exception to the goals of creating understanding and the appreciation and respect for others does not seem to apply to Christians in many circumstances.  This little musical about the Gay marriage issue is one example of that.  There are people who identify themselves as Christian who use hateful rhetoric when expressing their opinions on this issue.  That is an unfortunate fact.  There are also people who support Gay marriage that do the same thing.  That is another unfortunate fact.  The result of this is that we never really listen to each other in order to work toward agreements that would build respect for each other.

So, I am presented with the link to the musical along with a gleeful comment that the person really enjoyed it.  I watched it with tears in my eyes.  Then I started to wonder about the definition of hate speech.  I found an article about legislation in Canada that classified the Bible as hate speech.  I do not know the status of this legislation.  I use this article to make a point about the misuse of biblical verses.  I have the right, as a Christian, to make judgments about what I believe God wants us to do in order to live in this world.  It does not involve using biblical references in order to hurt others, but it does allow me to make judgments and decisions about what values and morals guide my life.  As I said in an earlier post, I disagree does not automatically translate into "I hate you." Truth however it is shared is not always easy to accept.  As James A. Garfield said:  "The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable."

If we are to truly live together in this world we need to start listening to one another and communicating in ways that demonstrate respect for one anothers views.

Some examples to ponder:

Were Helen Thomas' remarks about telling the "Jews to get the hell out of Palestine" hate speech?   Some say yes, some say no.

Are the statements on the website "Mexicans GO Home" hate speech?  (The racial slurs, in my opinion, qualify but do all statements made on this website qualify?)

Do hate speech and hate crimes occur in France's and Great Britain's "No-Go Zones?"  (These areas are apparently populated by large numbers of Muslims.)

 I leave you with the famous words of Martin Luther King Jr from his "I Have a Dream" speech.  Watch the video and ask yourself "what if."  What if we start to listen to each other and make judgments based on the actual, not assumed, content of each others character as opposed to hurling words that hurt us all?