“What is hate speech, by the way?” Hungarian tourism czar and man who has yet to read the Constitution Tucker Carlson muses on his Fox show in a recurring rant like a Dennis Miller tribute act. “All of a sudden, everybody in the media, without explaining why agree that there’s this thing called ‘hate speech’ that’s real and probably actionable. They could find a billion-dollar judgement against you if you commit hate speech. Just to remind everyone watching, there’s no such thing as hate speech. Hate speech is speech people hate, usually the people in power. The truth is, all speech except speech that encourages people to imminent illegal action, like ‘go shoot that guy,’ short of that there’s no hate speech. All of it’s allowed under the US Constitution, which is our final hope.”
No, Tuckems. Hate speech is speech used to direct hate and violence at others. It’s a verbal act, like a threat, and it’s not typically directed at people in power but at vulnerable people as a way to scare and intimidate them. And yes, it could, in certain circumstances bring a “billion-dollar judgement against you,” when it’s called slander and defamation. Finally, remember Tucker’s First Rule: When he says, “the truth is…,” his next statement is a lie.