The Borders of Things

He Shouldn't Have Said That

I am almost entirely sympathetic with Kurt Anderson's promotion of really and truly free speech. I think a fellow by the name of John Stuart Mill said something similar once. The ascension of rhetoric over debate in this country (and elsewhere), in which we discuss language instead of using language to discuss things has numerous, and unfortunate consequences.

But almost entirely. Because while we may overapply the term "hate speech," it is clear to me that such a category has merit. Is it too broad to say, for instance, that the nooses hung on a schoolyard tree in Jena, LA were a type of speech act?

But that is the exception, not the rule. Anderson's point is that we are confusing the two.