Week 7 - Katrina Estrella

Katrina Estrella

Section A03

Week 7

    In this day and age, it’s absurd to think race and civil rights was such a controversial topic that sparks such heated debate and conflict. It’s even more nonsensical that one’s freedom of speech could be impeded as it did in “Berkeley Free Speech Movement: Paving the way for campus activism”, a right that should be held so by the Constitution. But what can a piece of paper do to a hierarchy of elites who have the power and influence to keep such freedoms at bay. Although it is sometimes said we are past those days from before, multiple occasion have proven that to be false. Take the UC Davis pepper spray incident as one of the many examples of our freedoms being breached in the present times. That in itself doesn’t scratch the surface of our disordered society, and the ruin it causes to its people. Even as we have more opportunities at hand for the path of success, I still believe that we are run by a hierarchy that will stop at nothing to make sure they live the same riches as they always have. After all, it’s the way our world has always been run. But, there is always room for improvement. We are bettering the education of the masses, even when it doesn’t seem that way. As we continue to educate ourselves, we can become better unified for a cause such as the proud Berkeley Free Speech Movement. It is truly inspiring to see students, like myself, demonstrate effective protests on campus, and empowers me to take even the littlest bit of action.

Question: I understand that hate speech is very different from free speech and should not be encouraged in today’s society, but technically hate speech is permissible without consequence from the government per the First Amendment. So, instead, how can we limit hate speech in a healthy and progressive way?

 

References:

Cohen, R. (1985). Berkeley Free Speech Movement: Paving the Way for Campus Activism. OAH Magazine of History. Retrieved November 05, 2017.

Keele, M. (2010, January 23). Supreme on Free Speech [Cartoon]. Retrieved from http://www.intoon.com/cartoons.cfm/id/81122