Recently, there have been a lot of heated discussions on race, religion, discrimination and hate speech — some well-informed and some not so much — spanning incidents from Dr. Laura invoking the N-word on-air to the controversy surrounding the construction of a mosque near ground zero.
And while these particular conflicts radiate out of Los Angeles and New York City, repercussions are felt across the country.
When discussing discrimination, it’s important to go back to its definition: According to Merriam-Webster, discrimination is “a: the act, practice or an instance of discriminating categorically rather than individually; b: prejudiced or prejudicial outlook, action or treatment.”
In practice, this means that using race or gender to distinguish among individuals isn’t discrimination, but treating a group (or member of a group) with prejudice is discrimination.
Which brings us to sensitivity, another term getting tossed around a lot recently. In the mosque controversy, both sides are accusing the other of being insensitive: Incensed New Yorkers who oppose the mosque and cultural center claim Muslims are being insensitive to those who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and their families; Muslims and others advocating for the cultural center and mosque claim critics are insensitive to concerns of religious freedom and are being intolerant.
Sensitivity is being open to and accommodating cultural and religious differences in order to interact effectively with people from diverse cultures, backgrounds and nationalities.
On this, both sides of the mosque dispute could probably use some training and development — perhaps a bit of compromise and communication.
Which brings us to hate speech.
Dictionary.com defines hate speech as “speech that attacks a person or group on the basis of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.”
Dr. Laura’s use of the N-word probably doesn’t fall into this category, but it certainly wasn’t sensitive of her to use it. However, the recent use of the N-word on a receipt to identify a customer probably does. Likewise, calling all Muslims terrorists, as some opposing the mosque have, is hate speech.
Members of the gay community can be highly attuned to discrimination and hate speech, as it’s frequently focused at them. With this, it’s important not to level the charge of discrimination too freely. It’s a strong allegation to make, and immediately puts the receiving party on the defensive — never good for constructive dialogue.