The notion of “hate speech” is all the rage on the hard left right now. While the term has been a favorite of the authoritarian Marxist crowd, it seems to be enjoying even more popularity at the moment. There are likely several reasons why leftists enjoy throwing this term around.
Money, political power, and social media clout are all factors that play into this equation. But there is one reason that is far more insidious and dangerous than the others.
Right now, folks on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, are all abuzz about the supposed spread of “hate speech” and bigotry on the platform, especially since Elon Musk now owns the company. His very public feud with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has brought the hate speech topic back into the mainstream. According to Musk, the ADL has been using the idea of antisemitic hate speech proliferating on the platform to scare potential advertisers away from selling their goods and services on the site.
In response, Musk has indicated that he will be suing the ADL for defamation, noting that the organization’s smear campaign has cost the company a tremendous amount of business.
To clear our platform’s name on the matter of anti-Semitism, it looks like we have no choice but to file a defamation lawsuit against the Anti-Defamation League … oh the irony!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 4, 2023
The CEO of the ADL recently made the questionable claim that Musk is pushing back on the ADL because he is motivated by antisemitism.
"We're just a small nonprofit. Blaming the Jews, if you will, that's classic scapegoating. It's not what happened here."
CEO of the Anti-Defamation League insinutates Elon Musk's feud with the organization is motivated by antisemitism.
— Jeff Charles, An Awful Pundit🏴 (@jeffcharlesjr) September 7, 2023
"We're just a small nonprofit. Blaming the Jews, if you will, that's classic scapegoating. It's not what happened here." pic.twitter.com/0CVwfVfjcV
So, what accounts for progressives’ obsession with supposed hate speech? Well, on one level, using the idea to scare people into parting from their hard-earned cash can be quite lucrative. RedState’s Brandon Morse noted:
Hate speech is very, very valuable to the left. Just the idea of it can attract donations and help with fundraising for leftist politicians and organizations. It can sell the idea that there are a myriad of hate groups and people in white hoods waiting around every corner. The idea of hate speech, not hate speech itself, is one of the sharper arrows in the Democrat Party attack machine's quiver.
The fact is, if all hate speech disappeared tomorrow, it'd be a horrible day for the Democrat Party, but they need not worry. It won't stop them from accusing innocent people of hate speech.
Morse hit the proverbial nail on the head. The hate speech grift has generated tremendous rewards for groups like the ADL and the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that specializes in falsely labeling various entities as hate groups.
If money were the only motivation for these group’s antics, it would already be bad enough. Using false accusations of bigotry to shake down companies and bully them into bending to your will is the type of grift that would make Rev. Al Sharpton proud. Unfortunately, it’s even worse than we think.
The ultimate objective of using the “hate speech” trope is part of an overall strategy to gain dominance over American society and the government. The overarching goal is to silence people who hold non-progressive views that do not align with Marxism. Authoritarian leftists seek to use the term to eventually push for other ways to restrict speech – whether through public pressure or the power of the state. The implications for freedom of expression are quite alarming.
Just look at the case of political commentator and psychologist Jordan Peterson, a professor from the University of Toronto in Canada. He is facing punitive action from the College of Psychologists of Ontario for the views he has expressed on public platforms. In the United Kingdom, police officers arrested a 16-year-old autistic girl for using the word “lesbian” while they were having a discussion with her mother.
If the authoritarians in the U.S. could have their druthers, this type of punishment would be meted out to those who don’t adhere to woke orthodoxy. Fortunately, we do have the First Amendment enshrined in the Constitution. This has made it harder for the government to stop people from expressing their views. Still, it does not mean they aren’t finding other ways to censor people, as the Twitter Files have revealed.
Moreover, while the First Amendment does provide a level of protection, it does not guarantee that the authoritarians on the left won’t ever get their way. If they can convince enough Americans that Constitutional protections regarding speech should be revisited, they could do to the First Amendment what California Gov. Gavin Newsom seeks to do to the Second Amendment: Do away with it.
None of our natural rights should be taken for granted. There are people in the ruling class who care nothing about protecting them. These are the ones who want to control our lives and continue enriching themselves at our expense. Making “hate speech” into a mainstream idea is one of several ways they seek to amass more power while forcing the rest of us to remain silent.
