Engaging inhumane ideas
Our goal is a more inclusive, just, and supportive learning community, and we can only get there together.
As a member of the higher education community, I feel some urgency around the current conversation regarding free speech and hate speech. While incidents can be complex, and are always contextual, we might be able to agree on a few clear demarcations.
Advocating genocide is unacceptable and is not tolerable as “free expression.” No person has the right to advocate for the destruction of a group of fellow humans, no matter the historical grievances or immediate conflicts.
Inciting violence is never protected speech. Nor are threats of harm, expulsion, or exposure to the violence of others.
Spreading misinformation an/or disinformation knowingly is an abdication of our responsibilities as critical thinkers. Language and slogans have power, and may be misused or misunderstood; using them recklessly is contrary to our obligations as members of a shared community.
Ideas can be debated, robustly. Underlying issues can and should be examined. Historical and cultural contexts demand to be understood. Governments and systems may be addressed directly and separately from any individuals they encompass. Individuals can and should be held accountable for heinous acts of violence and inhumanity.
We can and must carve out spaces where learning is prioritized, where engagement with inhumane ideas is conducted with deep respect for the individuals and groups impacted by those ideas. This is not an easy task, but it is one of our most important callings as educators and fellow learners.
Ultimately, our guides through this terrain are the same as we use in all human encounters: compassionate understanding, rigorous critical thinking, and consistent willingness to examine our own implicit biases, to admit our own errors of fact or judgement. Our goal is a more inclusive, just, and supportive learning community.
There is only one way to get there: Together.
Thank you for your company on this journey.