one is the attack of an individual.
the other is an attack of an ideology.
It's not vague at all.
What if you're criticizing someone as a person, for example, the Prime Minister? What if you just don't like someone and you say that to them (i.e. call your ex a "cheating bitch")? If the person you say it to is of another ethnicity, couldn't that also be interpreted as "hate speech" in a court of law, especially by a cunning lawyer? I think the wording is pretty vague.
Imo, there isn't any good way to police for harmful language without also allowing political adversaries or those who dislike someone from "trolling" the system. Language is highly, highly subjective. Once person could find a certain statement offensive while another person, even of the same ethnicity, could care less. Language changes over time, and what might be offensive once might later be an accepted term (i.e. calling an LGBT individual a "queer"). Even if you were to get accurate wording at one point, I think the dynamism of language itself would render that wording inaccurate at a later date. Therefore, "hate speech" laws can be very harmful. One dastardly usage I could think of is a political using a hate speech law to silence their detractors. Lawyers can be very, very crafty, especially with loose language. This is why I think hate speech laws just do not work.
We should rename American "freedom of speech" in "freedom of shitbag-ness"
See above as to why any attempt to limit freedom of speech could be detrimental and have unintended consequences.
There will always be idiots and douchebags, but freedom of speech should never be questioned. One day it's silencing hate speech, the next day it's silencing political dissent. I can't get on board with any attempt to censor speech.
The douchebags should be dealt with on a social level. They should be socially changed, not forced to change through laws. Banning them from being dumbasses doesn't stop them from being dumbasses. Rather, social change does, and it creates a ripple effect throughout communities. If you want to deal with haters, you can't do it by force, it never works.
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