Murf76
Senior Member
- Nov 11, 2008
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Bear with me here on this one.
Most of the people who use "Teabagger" in a negative way to describe tea party protesters typically also claim its a white conservative movement in the country.
So based on the fact that it is hurtful speech directed at a people who are looked at as white, conservative, and angry at the govt is calling them "Teabaggers" hatespeach akin to other derogatory words used for various groups of people.
The tea party is also considered a specific social group so it could come under that classification also.
hate speech - Legal Definition
Speech not protected by the First Amendment, because it is intended to foster hatred against individuals or groups based on race, religion, gender, sexual preference, place of national origin, or other improper classification.
hate speech: Definition from Answers.com
Bigoted speech attacking or disparaging a social or ethnic group or a member of such a group.
Hate speech - Definition
is a controversial term for speech intended to degrade, intimidate, or incite violence or prejudicial action against someone based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. The term covers written as well as oral communication.
It sure sounds like it qualifies as hate speech so I may have to watch myself with that term in the future.
I don't believe in "hate speech". I believe in FREE SPEECH. And sometimes free speech ain't pretty.
I figure there are two kinds of people who use that term... the ones who simply lack the coping skills to deal with their frustration, and the partisan operatives who are hoping to marginalize the protests. Either way, it's designed to be offensive and to draw a reaction. It's rude. But it says more about them and their sense of panic than it says about anybody else.
On a side note... I don't believe in "hate crimes" either. I view "hate crime" legislation as an attack on free speech... because you can't convict on it save by using the words of a defendant as evidence against him.
A crime is a crime. The guy who ends up dead over the theft of his wallet deserves the same amount of justice as the guy who ends up dead over some kind of mindless prejudice.