Cover not available

Article published In: Hate speech: Definitions, interpretations and practices
Edited by Fabienne H. Baider, Sharon Millar and Stavros Assimakopoulos
[Pragmatics and Society 11:2] 2020
► pp. 315–334

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
authorization required

Civil courage as a communicative act

Countering the harms of hate violence

 | Lancaster University
Published online: 13 July 2020
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ps.18075.iga
Abstract
Hate violence which denigrates a person’s social identity whether it involves physical or verbal aggression off or online – is a communicative act. It transmits a message to the victim that they are devalued and unwelcome. It is a marginalising and exclusionary message. Answering back to hate violence by challenging hateful expression is one way of responding. It is a form of ‘civil courage’. Yet why should anybody want to take a stand and speak out – given the risks involved that perpetrators might turn on those who intervene or respond in some other way? This paper proposes that the importance of civil courage goes beyond being the right thing to do, or the humane thing, when a bystander witnesses hate violence off- or online. Instead, if we comprehend hate violence as a communicative act, and if we understand the particular impact of the exclusionary message it sends (and understand how bystander inaction can magnify the felt sense of social exclusion), then we might appreciate the potential value of an act of civil courage in response. There is a moral imperative for civil courage as it answers back to hate violence by sending an inclusionary message to the victim – as reasoned in this paper.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction: Hate violence and the need to strengthen ‘civil courage’
    • 1.1Civil courage in the face of hate violence
  • 2.The measurable hurts of hate violence
  • 3.Why does hate hurt?
  • 4.Why does social exclusion hurt?
  • 5.Bystander inaction hurts even more
  • 6.The meaning of civil courage
  • 7.Implications and conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
References (53)
References
Abbit, Beth. 2017. “I was Knocked Unconscious after Standing up to a Racist Thug,” Manchester Evening News, 26th October. [URL]
Ayala, Saray, and Nadya Vasilyeva. 2016. “Responsibility for Silence.” Social Philosophy 47 (3): 256–272. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Austin, John L. 1975. How to do Things with Words (2nd edition). Oxford: Clarendon Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bell, Jeannine. 2013. Hate Thy Neighbor: Move-In Violence and the Persistence of Racial Segregation in American Housing. New York: New York University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Benesch, Susan, Derek Ruths, Kelly P. Dillon, Haji Mohammad Saleem, and Lucas Wright. 2016a. Considerations for Successful Counterspeech. Washington D.C.: Dangerous Speech Project. [URL]
. 2016b. Counterspeech on Twitter: A Field Study. Washington D.C.: Dangerous Speech Project. [URL]
Brown, Alexander. 2015. Hate Speech Law: A Philosophical Examination. London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Brown, Kristen V. 2016. “How a Racist, Sexist Hate Mob Forced Leslie Jones off Twitter.” Splinter News 19th July. [URL]
Calvert, Clay. 1997. “Hate Speech and its Harms: A Communication Theory Perspective.” Journal of Communication 47 (1): 4–19. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Carey, James W. 1992. Communication as Culture. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dobuzinskis, Alex. 2017. “Two Men Stabbed to Death on Oregon Train Trying to Stop Anti-Muslim Rant.” Reuters 27th May. [URL]
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. 2017. EU-MIDIS II. Second European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey. Main Results. Vienna: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Feagin, Joe R. 1991. “The Continuing Significance of Race: Antiblack Discrimination in Public Places.” American Sociological Review 56 (1): 101–116. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gardner, Carol B. 1995. Passing By: Gender and Public Harassment. Los Angeles: University of California Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gelber, Katharine, and Luke J. McNamara. 2015 “Evidencing the Harms of Hate Speech.” Social Identities 22 (3): 324–341. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Green, Donald P., Dara Z. Strolovitch, and Janelle S. Wong. 1998. “Defended Neighbourhoods, Integration, and Racially Motivated Crime.” American Journal of Sociology 104 (2): 372–403. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Greitemeyer, Tobias, Peter Fischer, Andreas Kastenmüller, and Dieter Frey. 2006. “Civil Courage and Helping Behaviour.” European Psychologist 11 (2): 90–98. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Greitemeyer, Tobias, Silvia Osswald, Peter Fischer, and Dieter Frey. 2007. “Civil Courage: Implicit Theories, Related Concepts, and Measurement.” The Journal of Positive Psychology 2 (2): 115–119. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hare, Ivan, and James Weinstein (eds). 2009. Extreme Speech and Democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Heinze, Eric. 2016. Hate Speech and Democratic Citizenship. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Herek, Gregory M., J. Roy Gillis, and Jeanine C. Cogan. 1999. “Psychological Sequelae of Hate Crime Victimization among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adults.” Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology 671: 945–951. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Iganski, Paul. 1999. “Legislating against hate: Outlawing racism and antisemitism in Britain.” Critical Social Policy 19 (1): 129–141. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2018. Hate Crime. The Need to Strengthen ‘Civil Courage’, Belfast: NIACRO. [URL]
Iganski, Paul, and Spiridoula Lagou. 2014. “The Personal Injuries of ‘Hate Crime’.” In The Routledge International Handbook on Hate Crime, ed. by Nathan Hall, Abbee Corb, Paul Giannasi, and John D. G. Grieve, 34–46. London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2015. “Hate Crimes Hurt Some More than Others: Implications for the just sentencing of offenders.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence 30 (10): 1696–1718. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2016. “The Psychological Impact of Hate Crimes on Victims: An Exploratory Analysis of Data from the U.S. National Crime Victimization Survey.” In The Psychology of Hate Crimes as Domestic Terrorism, (Vol. 21), ed. by Edward Dunbar, Amalio Blanco, and Desirée A. Crèvecoeur-MacPhail, 279–292. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Praeger.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Iganski, Paul, and Jack Levin. 2015. Hate Crime. A Global Perspective. New York: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Johnson, Ian. 2017. “Thug Called Photographer a ‘Smelly Foreigner’ Before Attacking Him in Sustained and Vicious Assault” WalesOnline 27th June. [URL]
Kalibová, Klára, Katarzyna Palik, Joanna Synowiec, Anna Kalik, and Irena Biháriová. 2016. Face to Face with Bias Violence: Guidelines for Social Workers. Prague: In Iustitia.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kees, Stephan-Jacob, Paul Iganski, Robert Kusche, Magdalena Świder, and Kusminder Chahal. 2016. Hate Crime Victim Support in Europe. A Practical Guide. Dresden: RAA Sachsen.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Keipi, Teo, Matti Näsi, Atte Oksanen, and Pekka Räsänen. 2017. Online Hate and Harmful Content: Cross-national Perspectives. London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Krug, Etienne G., Linda L. Dahlberg, James A. Mercy, Anthony B. Zwi, and Rafael Lozano (eds.) 2002. World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva: World Health Organisation. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Langton, Rae. 2018. “Blocking as counter speech.” In New Work on Speech Acts, ed. by Daniel Fogel, Daniel W. Harris, and Matt Moss, 144–164. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lawrence, Charles R. 1993. “If he Hollers Let him Go: Regulating Racist Speech on Campus.” In Words That Wound: Critical Race Theory, Assaultive Speech, and the First Amendment, ed. by Mari J. Matsuda, Charles R. Lawrence, Richard Delgado, and Kimberlè Crenshaw, 53–88. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Levin, Jack, and Jack McDevitt. 1993. Hate Crimes. The Rising Tide of Bigotry and Bloodshed. New York: Plenum Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Maitra, Ishani. 2012. “Subordinating Speech.” In Speech and Harm, ed. by Ishani Maitra and Mary K. McGowan, 94–120. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Maitra, Ishani, and Mary K. McGowan. 2012. “Introduction and Overview.” In Speech and Harm, ed. by Ishani Maitra and Mary K. McGowan, 1–23. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(eds.). 2012. Speech and Harm. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mason, Gail. 2001. “Body Maps: Envisaging Homophobia, Violence and Safety.” Social & Legal Studies 10 (1): 23–44. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Matsuda, Mari. 1989. “Public Responses to Racist Speech: Considering the Victim’s Story.” Michigan Law Review 871: 2320–2381. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
McDevitt, Jack, Jennifer Balboni, Luis Garcia, and Joann Gu. 2001. “Consequences for Victims: A Comparison of Bias and Non-bias Motivated Assaults.” American Behavioral Scientist 45 (4): 697–713.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
MacDonald, Geoff, and Mark R. Leary. 2005. “Why Does Social Exclusion Hurt? The Relationship between Social and Physical Pain.” Psychological Bulletin 131 (2): 202–223. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nielsen, Laura B. 2002. “Subtle, Pervasive, Harmful: Racist and Sexist Remarks in Public as Hate Speech.” Journal of Social Issues 58 (2): 265–280. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Osswald, Silvia, Dieter Frey, and Bernhard Streicher. 2012. “Moral Courage.” In Justice and Conflicts, ed. by Jürgen Maes, 391–405. Berlin: Springer.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Perry, Barbara. 2001. In the Name of Hate. Understanding Hate Crime. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schweppe, Jennifer, and Mark A. Walters (eds). 2016. The Globalization of Hate: Internationalizing Hate Crime? Oxford: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Strossen, Nadine. 2018. Hate: Why We Should Resist it with Free Speech, Not Censorship. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Swedberg, Richard. 1999. “Civil Courage (‘Zivilcourage’): The Case of Knut Wicksell.” Theory and Society 28 (4): 501–528. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
The Straits Times. 2018. “Newly-crowned Miss Belgium Faces Racist Abuse Online.” 20th January. [URL]
Waldron, Jeremy. 2012. The Harm in Hate Speech. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Williams, Kipling D. 2007. “Ostracism.” Annual Review of Psychology 581: 425–52. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wright, Lucas, Derek Ruths, Kelly P. Dillon, Haji Mohammad Saleem, and Susan Benesch. 2017. “Vectors for Counterspeech on Twitter.” Proceedings of the First Workshop on Abusive Language Online, 57–62. Vancouver, Canada: ACL. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (6)

Cited by six other publications

Gies, Lieve, Mayuri Gogoi, Christopher D. Bayliss, Manish Pareek, Adam Webb, Neil Chakraborti & Emily Wertans
2023. Hate Crime during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study of the Experiences of an Ethnically Diverse University Student Population. COVID 3:2 ► pp. 151 ff. DOI logo
Kros, Mathijs, Eva Jaspers & Frank van Tubergen
2023. Longitudinal Changes in Interracial Hate Crimes in the USA, 1990–2014: Does Racial Composition Matter?. Journal of International Migration and Integration 24:2 ► pp. 547 ff. DOI logo
Obermaier, Magdalena, Ursula Kristin Schmid & Diana Rieger
2023. Too civil to care? How online hate speech against different social groups affects bystander intervention. European Journal of Criminology 20:3 ► pp. 817 ff. DOI logo
Rudnicki, Konrad, Heidi Vandebosch, Pierre Voué & Karolien Poels
2023. Systematic review of determinants and consequences of bystander interventions in online hate and cyberbullying among adults. Behaviour & Information Technology 42:5 ► pp. 527 ff. DOI logo
Keel, Chloe, Rebecca Wickes & Kathryn Benier
2022. The vicarious effects of hate: inter-ethnic hate crime in the neighborhood and its consequences for exclusion and anticipated rejection. Ethnic and Racial Studies 45:7 ► pp. 1283 ff. DOI logo
Zollner, Sebastian
2022. Counter Speech als sprachlich-kommunikative Praktik in digitalen, invektiven Konstellationen. merz | medien + erziehung 66:2 ► pp. 35 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 30 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue