Should racist insults be illegal?

[canetoad]

8. As you probably know

We have hate speech laws in Australia, both Federally and a state level.

This is an interesting article on our laws.

https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-do-australias-laws-on-hate-speech-work-in-practice-26105

Explainer: how do Australia’s laws on hate speech work in practice?

...snip

One of the biggest fears voiced by opponents of hate speech laws is that they have a chilling effect and stifle public debate on important issues. Our 20-year study of media content shows no evidence of such a chilling effect. While some of the crudest edges have been knocked off the language used in media commentary, Australians seem as willing as ever to express robust views about a broad range of issues from Indigenous land rights, to gay marriage, to immigration and refugees.

Most importantly, when we interviewed members of Australia’s diverse ethnic communities we heard one thing loud and clear: hate speech laws are important and shouldn’t be tampered with. Although many said they would never lodge a complaint or pursue litigation, they saw hate speech laws as a precious symbol: simply “knowing they’re there” makes them feel less vulnerable.

Hate speech laws were seen as setting a standard and making a statement about what’s “not acceptable”. And standards are worth proclaiming no matter how many times we fail to live up to them.