# WaPo editorial "Why America needs a hate speech law"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-editorial-why-america-needs-a-hate-speech-law/842699>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [October 30, 2019, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-editorial-why-america-needs-a-hate-speech-law/842699 "2019-10-30T14:13:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 210

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**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2019, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-editorial-why-america-needs-a-hate-speech-law/842699/210 "2019-11-02T08:02:21Z")

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Since clairobscur is continuing his arguments in the ATMB thread, I’m just going to quote him here rather than argue this in two threads:

> [@Hate speech and censorship](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-and-censorship/842871/57):
>
> What does it mean? It means that yes, I’m willing to sacrifice the interests of some people (and I very likely won’t be one of them) to protect an institution that I find absolutely fundamental and irreplaceable. Call them “acceptable casualties”, if you wish.

I am in absolute agreement. I just differ as to which casualties I find acceptable.

**clairobscur** is willing to throw whole classes of _oppressed minorities_ under the bus of idealistic “free” speech (which is \*always \*limited anyway). I’m willing to throw _Nazis, racists and homophobes_ under the bus of specific hate speech laws. You know what? I’m totally OK with that.

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