Contrary to the belief that alcohol can cause many things: Drunkenness, organ damage, vehicle accidents, illness, unwanted pregnancy, violence and more. And Other stereotypical health statements: Cannabis can do harm, coffee can cause heart attacks, breathing problems and seizures. While we should not overlook the fact that, yes, alcohol, drugs, medicine and coffee can cause harm in excess or misused and that tobacco is harmful to health (it actually is), I am here to point out that none of these things are nearly as dangerous as the issue that is facing the USA and the rest of the world today: Hate speech and hate crimes.
What is Hate speech?
Hate speech is when a person attacks another person based on a marginalized/ethnic/protected group (in most cases the perpetrator is of a dominant culture/skin color/gender -i.e white, male, European/Caucasian).
Yet Hate speech is more dangerous as it come in many forms, all western countries have a history and a culture of it, from colonialism, to institutional racism, to (more seemingly innocent- but it’s not) cultural appropriation, to mental health/disability discrimination (i.e anti down syndrome hate crime, anti autism hate crime/discrimination) and hate speech can manifest in MANY ways. Other examples are: Jim Crow Laws (USA), Black Pete tradition (Netherlands/Belgium), Anti-refugee hate groups (PEGIDA, Soldiers of Odin,- Europe) misogyny, sl*t shaming, homophobia and Transphobia/anti LGBTQ hate. The are more examples here.
There are MANY consequences for hate speech. From being mildly offended by a sarcastic comment, or a joke (i.e someone makes an off hand joke about a certain culture) to the EXTREME end- murder, and domestic/international terrorism and even genocide. Alcohol does not cause terrorism, yet governments like to restrict alcohol use more than they make an effort to prevent white supremacist groups from forming. Range includes: School bullying, workplace harassment, rape/sexual assault, public disorderly behavior, online bullying, defamation, racial or sexual harassment, racial assaults, lynching, robbery, threats, swatting (prank calls to law enforcement to dispatch a large number of armed cops) and stalking. This list is not exhaustive, and in fact there are a lot more consequences for the victim than what’s on this list. I’m not going to go through it all here. But here’s the more dangerous consequences for hate speech and the reasons hate speech should not be ignored.
And just like Rape culture, hate speech starts of with something as simple and not so obvious such as sarcastic humor, jokes and cultural appropriation and biased one sided commentary in innocent professions like science and medical. It works its way to the top, end result is murder/rape/genocide/terrorism/massacres. This is the reason education is the key and there needs to be tougher laws regarding hate.
Dr Nicki Jackson (Alcohol healthwatch) thinks alcohol is one of the most harmful things in the world, yet current events in the USA especially incidents that affect non whites, Muslims and women prove otherwise. Although at least some of the perpetrators who assault non whites have been intoxicated, we should NEVER use alcohol as an excuse, as it just completely diverts the problem and issues regarding racial hate and glosses the whole thing over. Other thing is that PLENTY of sober people (those who abstain/don’t drink alcohol) or those who don’t do drugs are known Neo Nazis, misogynists, and rapists. Also another reason, (coming from a feminist who likes to indulge in spirits and cocktails) is the logic behind the excuse that alcohol causes violence. The point is, if scientists and law enforcement blame racism on alcohol, than everyone (me included) who drinks alcohol would be attacking people based on race (according to anti alcohol campaigners, police and governments). And we would be counting BILLIONS of people here. Logic 101 fail.
Where can hate speech occur?
Hate speech can be present in many areas like public parks, schools, restaurants, bars/nightclubs, public transport, casinos, even out on the street. For instance you might encounter a person walking up to you and start ranting ugly and indecent comments about your culture and race. Hate speech can happen anywhere, unfortunately.
It can also happen in professions and hate speech can EVEN be propagated by seemingly innocent professions. We know that cultural appropriation (I will blog about it in another post) can lead to racism and general hate, which is a problem in fashion, food and liquor and gaming industry along with media, art and advertising and even children’s products (racism is sadly common in these areas). But in the health professions, especially education around alcohol and drugs nurses and scientists can be very one sided, something the public needs to beware of. Often biased statements by health professionals (which can lead to hate speech including sexist stereotypes regarding women and alcohol, as well as ethnic minorities in a racial way) and this can lead to the public perception of women in a hateful manner (accusations of being drunk, s**t shaming due to drinking, victim blaming) which feeds into the problematic rape culture (which I will also blog about in another post).
Translation and a more simplified version of why hate speech is dangerous
So for those on a less intellectual level- translation- Hate speech can start as simple as a joke, or biased one sided commentary and these jokes feed into something more. In other words, you’re fueling the culture of hate. An example of this is anti alcohol campaigners determining what women should not do with alcohol, as well as blaming drunkenness on rape. Brianna Brochu is another example- cultural appropriation- she likes black hairstyles e.g cornrows, but hates black people- some examples of this here. She is copying black people’s style, but has a hatred towards them (she was arrested for poisoning her black roommate, Jazzy Rowe). This is why we need to enforce a crack down on hate speech.
Of course, this is all my opinion. But reality is, hate speech is hidden in the most of innocent places, even the law enforcement. And hate speech needs to be stopped. Educating kids in schools about racism, colonialism, civil rights and universities educating nurses and health scientists to be to not be one sided and not inadvertently make statements about women’s bodies or anyone based on race or religion in a biased way, and the government should crackdown on hate groups and disband them, and punish those who knowingly join or create such groups. And sites known for fake news should be monitored. And there should be tougher sentences for hate crimes.
confessions of a modern empowered feminist 