Hate Speech On YouTube: Freedom or Violation?

After I returned from Belgrade Pride, I decided to create a short video about this significant event. Shortly thereafter someone posted a comment calling me (supposedly) a very derogatory word in Serbian. That was my first comment! Not a 'bravo,' 'we support you,' or 'great job' - just hate speech. My first instinct was to delete the comment. Then I thought about responding instead. I decided on the latter. It got me thinking about whether speech like this is even permitted on Youtube. I certainly see it quite frequently on other comment feeds. The YouTube comments section seems to be a dumping ground for use-less, vitriolic, hate-filled speech. I often wonder why they let such behavior persist? Many say that it is allowed because it support a freedom of speech. I wonder if they would hold that opinion if that video was posted by their daughter or son. I wonder if they would defend their position if the hate speech was directed at a loved one. I wonder these things... So....

I recently did a poll to ask folks whether they thought 'hate speech' should be banned from the YouTube comments section. The results were rather shocking. In fact, the distribution of votes was pretty even across the board, with half the respondents saying 'yes' and the other saying 'no.' Does this surprise you?

Background
It is not very hard to find so-called hate speech on YouTube. Simply scroll down on any popular video and you might be shocked (or not) to see word garbage spewed onto large sections of the comment feed. Bigoted comments against women, people of different races, nationalities, sexual orientations, gender identities, body types, disabilities, religions, economic levels, or levels of education. Trash! So why is it there? Why does it remain if it is not positive? Why allow it in the first place? Why not ban such speech?

Just a taste of the lovely YouTube comments I see every single day. (these are the tame ones...)

'Hate Speech' Defined

1. (noun) Speech that attacks, threatens, or insults a person or group on the basis of national origin, ethnicity, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability. (Random House)

 

In Law,  

Any speech, gesture or conduct, writing, or display which is forbidden because it may incite violence or prejudicial action against or by a protected individual or group, or because it disparages or intimidates a protected individual or group. The law may identify a a protected group by certain characteristics.

Hate speech is a communication that carries no meaning other than the expression of hatred for some group, especially in circumstances in which the communication is likely to provoke violence. It is an incitement to hatred primarily against a group of persons defined in terms of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and the like. Hate speech can be any form of expression regarded as offensive to racial, ethnic and religious groups and other discrete minorities or to women. (US Legal)

What About Facebook?
In 2013, the popular social network revised its policy regarding certain hate speech. The change didn't come from the kindness of their hearts but more rather the depth of their pocketbooks. Facebook is, after all, a business. No, the change came about from pressure from Women Action Media (WAM), The Everyday Sexism Project and writer and activist Soraya Chemaly. This was in regards to posted content endorsing domestic violence and rape. The campaign successfully urged major business to withdrawal their adverts from Facebook. (Huff Post) The result? Facebook acquiesced. But what about YouTube?

It's Distasteful, But Is It Legal?
YouTube discourages content that condones violence under 'Hateful Content':

"Our products are platforms for free expression. But we don't support content that promotes or condones violence against individuals or groups based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, nationality, veteran status, or sexual orientation/gender identity, or whose primary purpose is inciting hatred on the basis of these core characteristics. This can be a delicate balancing act, but if the primary purpose is to attack a protected group, the content crosses the line." Community Guidelines

In fact, YouTube has specifically stated that 'Hate speech is not permitted.' (YouTube Policy Center)!
 So there it is. What does this mean, exactly?

"Hate speech refers to content that promotes violence or hatred against individuals or groups based on certain attributes..."

They encourage users to flag content, or file a report for repeated violations. Has anyone done this? What does this actually mean?

My Reflection
After all this poking around, I learned a lot from the side of the "free speech"ers. I began to see hate speech as an opportunity to start a dialogue. If only all hate-mongers actually wanted to engage in civil discourse... Sigh. Next time I see such speech, I'll be the first to open up that dialogue and see what happens. I'll even post it to my next blog. Such BS needs to be put on BLAST!

How Facebook Smeared the Face of Beauty - Step-By-Step

When I go about my day and notice something noteworthy, I think, "That's beautiful, I should post a photo of it on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/etc." Here's my thought process.

Yes. I should post a photo, so people will know that I saw something beautiful.

They will wonder where I am and be happy for me.

They will 'Like' my post to show me that they liked it.

I will see the 'Like' and know that what I saw was indeed worth liking.

I will wait a bit of time and check to see if others also agree that this something was in fact worthy of being called beautiful and brought to the attention of the social media world.

If there are not enough 'Likes' then I may feel that I have made an error and there are three possible explanations that run through my head:

1. What I saw was not actually that beautiful.
2. I failed to capture the beauty of what I saw.
3. My friends don't share my appreciation for the beauty in what I saw.

My response could be as such -

1. Why do my opinions differ so much from that of my friends?
2. Why do people like my photos less than others?
3. Do I really not take good photographs?
4. People suck. I hate everybody.
5. Whatever. La di f*cking da. I got better sh*t to do than hang out of Facebook/Twitter/Instagram all day. :-P

And then I blog about it.... sigh.

My concept of beauty hadn't changed, but had now been placed in a different context.

I am challenging my own conceptions daily, but sometimes I question them due to social pressures. Maybe this is entirely normal but... I for one would love to see the world as beautiful in as many ways as possible. Does this mean total disconnection from the social media world? Possibly. That would make it a bit easier, but it doesn't get rid of the problem. My conceptions are valid. Period. Beauty may be fickle but I'd like to think that I'm a bit less so. lol I shouldn't be looking to others for something that I should be telling myself.