Hate Speech In Libraries: How and How Not to Fight It

Authors

  • Tom Twiss Faculty Emeritus, University of Pittsburgh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5860/jifp.v4i3.7098

Abstract

This is a revised version of a talk delivered at the ALA 2019 Annual Conference on June 22, 2019, in the discussion group “Hate Speech and Libraries,” sponsored by the Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) of ALA. Tom Twiss is co-chair of the International Responsibilities Task Force of SRRT and a member of the SRRT Action Council. Views expressed in this commentary reflect the general position articulated by SRRT Action Council in its August 2018 “Statement on Hate Speech and Libraries.” However, neither this commentary nor the talk on which it was based was endorsed by SRRT or its Action Council.

Author Biography

Tom Twiss, Faculty Emeritus, University of Pittsburgh

Tom Twiss (ttwiss@pitt.edu) PhD, Faculty Emeritus, University of Pittsburgh

References

American Library Association. 2017. “Hate Speech and Hate Crime.” Updated December. http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/hate.

American Library Association. 2019a. “Hateful Conduct in Libraries: Supporting Library Workers and Patrons.” Updated January. http://www.ala.org/advocacy/hatefulconduct.

American Library Association. 2019b. “Meeting Rooms: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights.” Amended January 29. http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/meetingrooms.

Barrett, Lisa Feldman. 2017. “When Is Speech Violence?” New York Times, July 14. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/14/opinion/sunday/when-is-speech-violence.html.

Beirich, Heidi. 2019. “The Year in Hate: Rage Against Change.” The Intelligence Report (February 20): https://www.splcenter .org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2019/year-hate-rage-against-change.

Coliver, Sandra. 1992. “Hate Speech Laws: Do They Work?”

In Striking a Balance: Hate Speech, Freedom of Expression and Non-Discrimination, edited by Sandra Coliver. London: Article 19 International Centre against Censorship/Human Rights Centre, University of Essex, 363–74. https://www.article19.org/data/files/pdfs/publications/striking-a-balance.pdf.

FBI. 2018. “2017 Hate Crime Statistics Released.” News, November 13. https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2017-hate-crime-statistics-released-111318.

Greenwald, Glenn. 2017. “In Europe, Hate Speech Laws Are Often Used to Suppress and Punish Left-Wing Viewpoints.” The Intercept, August 29. https://theintercept.com/2017/08/29/in-europe-hate-speech-laws-are-often-used-to-suppress-and-punish-left-wing-viewpoints/.

Lloyd, John. 2017. “Commentary: How Hate Speech Can Harm Your Brain.” Reuters, October 6. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lloyd-speech-commentary/commentary-how-hate-speech-can-harm-your-brain-idUSKBN1CB1XD.

Pies, Ronald W. 2018. “Why Bigotry Is a Public Health Problem.” The Conversation, November 21. https://theconversation.com/why-bigotry-is-a-public-health-problem-107187.

SRRT Action Council. 2018. “SRRT Action Council Statement on Hate Speech and Libraries.” August 14. Reproduced in “How and How Not to Fight Hate Speech” by Tom Twiss, SRRT Newsletter 204 (October 2018): http://www.libr.org/srrt/news/srrt204.php#15.

Strossen, Nadine. 2018. Hate: Why We Should Resist It with Free Speech, Not Censorship. New York: Oxford University Press.

We Here. 2018. “Petition to Revise ALA’s Statement on Hate Speech & Hate Crime.” July 13. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WxaRj0i63OHKcOG4F55PpKQ4kz7a-Iv4CELfzlqyFKU/edit.

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Published

2020-04-10

Issue

Section

Commentaries