argument top image

Should hate speech be illegal?
Back to question

Different cultures deal with hate speech in different ways

Hate speech is prevalent in different cultures and countries. Since they're not doing anything to stop it, hate speech shouldn't be a global issue.

The Argument

Countries all around the world fight against each other because of their differences. In Japan, even though they have a law that curbs hate speech, there are still anti Korean sentiments.[1] Their hatred for each other is usually caused by wars they’ve had in the past. After the Rwandan genocide, which killed thousands of Tutsi people, the Tutsi and Hutu have been fighting each other ever since.[2] It makes no sense to force control on all countries to abide by the same social rules as each other. Different countries have different values. Therefore, hate speech should be regulated according to cultural beliefs.

Counter arguments

Hate speech might be normal to do in different cultures, but the violence that follows, like the Rwandan genocide, leaves devastating consequences. Over 800,000 people died in three months.[2]



[P1] Hate speech is a part of cultures around the world. [P2] Violence and constant fighting between ethnic groups is often caused by hate speech. [P3] Hate speech won't ever be globally eradicated because hate speech is dealt with differently across the globe.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Although hate speech is a present issue in different cultures, it doesn’t need to persist and be considered normal if it causes violence.


This page was last edited on Friday, 14 Feb 2020 at 12:32 UTC

Explore related arguments