Thank you to the publisher for the advance review copy.

Look, I tried with this book. I really did. For over a year, it’s sat on my Kindle’s currently reading shelf, patiently waiting to be reopened. Hate speech is an interesting topic, and one I was excited to learn more about from this book. But unfortunately this book — coupled with formatting issues in my advance copy that made it hard to read — was just too dry for something I was reading in my spare time. If I were reading this for school? I think it’d be an invaluable resource. But on my own time? I regularly read nonfiction books and just couldn’t do this one.

Reviewed for Shelf Awareness. Full review to be found via Shelf Awareness: https://www.shelf-awareness.com/readers/2021-04-06/hate_speech.html

This is an interesting introduction to the concept of hate speech and how it is treated in contemporary society.

The first section is a comparative analysis of hate speech legislation and history in countries such as Japan, South Africa, Brazil, and the US. The different comparisons didn't form a coherent whole to me. While the concept of hate speech was the common thread, I felt it needed another hook to help me as the reader make previously unseen connections. It was really more of a survey and got repetitive as new countries' approaches were discussed.

The next section, dealing with hate speech on college campuses, was much better. The common narrative that college students are coddled babies is thoroughly dispelled. My favorite part was the dismantling of the thesis of "The Coddling of the American Mind". That book was written by two white males as a call to go back to how things used to be. Carlson talked about the disparities in how white and non-white students feel about suppressing hate speech in the name of freedom of speech. White students, who are rarely the target of this speech, are more amenable to allowing the free expression of hate speech. Given the demographic shift over the next few decades to make whites a minority population, it'll be interesting to see if this attitude changes.

There's also a generational and demographic difference in how hate speech is seen by society. Whites and Baby Boomers are much more likely to advocate for minimal curbing of speech. They don't care if hate speech infringes upon the dignity of a person because that's not an issue these people have. If the Trump presidency and the Jan. 6 insurrecti0n are anything to go by, white people will not allow themselves to become a minority without a vigorous fight. At that point, all the things that they are currently fighting against may suddenly become urgent issues that need to be addressed as quickly as possible.

In the final part of the book, Carlson discusses possible remedies for curbing hate speech. I thought that her suggestion to expand defamation statutes to allow for redress on a private level is a good solution to how we can protect people and speech. She also urges social media companies to do a better job moderating hate speech, but I don't think that will ever happen as long there's money to be made by allowing it. Let's hope one these solutions is implemented here in the US.

I recommend this book to be read by all who care about fostering a more inclusive society. The people who need to read this book the most will not do so because it threatens their status quo. Still, it never hurts to try to bring these folks to the light.