4 thoughts on “Yik Yak as a vehicle for hate speech”
My view on this subject is that these people are posting anonymously because they know they are wrong. If they felt as strongly as they appear to on Yik Yak they would be posting this under their own name, but because they are aware the backlash they would face they are too scared to voice their opinions.
I do agree that if people deleted the app a lot of this would go unseen, but it would still be there. The issue of racism will always be relevant and rather than feeding into an argument with people who are racist… instead we need to educate these people and show them how wrong they are.
The central thesis of this post was that its extremely difficult to educate people to show them they are wrong. People rarely revise their racist or prejudiced views. So while deleting the app doesn’t negate the issue, it draws attention away from those who wish to cause controversy. This allows the rest of us to unify ourselves as tolerant individuals, and lets others fester in their own intolerance without letting it affect the rest of us.
To go along with your statement above I want to speak on what it really means to have free speech and the way in which individuals often abuse this privilege. Free speech does not mean one can cowardly hide behind anonymity instead it means that you are free to say what you want and how you feel but to make it just you must take responsibility for your own words, hateful or not. I think that it is a tricky situation about choosing to delete Yik Yak. Personally I have never had the app. However I feel extremely torn because in one sense I want to fight the hate and stand up for what’s right but on the other hand I dont want to spend my free time on my telephone- something I try not to use in excess.
People can and do hide behind the anonymity of the internet. This is a central component of this issue. I agree with what you’re saying about how we should be responsible and take care not to harm others, but for those who are determined to do otherwise, there is no legal precedent in place to discourage this behavior. At the end of the day, free speech is a pretty broad right of the American people, and there will always be those who choose to abuse this power.
My view on this subject is that these people are posting anonymously because they know they are wrong. If they felt as strongly as they appear to on Yik Yak they would be posting this under their own name, but because they are aware the backlash they would face they are too scared to voice their opinions.
I do agree that if people deleted the app a lot of this would go unseen, but it would still be there. The issue of racism will always be relevant and rather than feeding into an argument with people who are racist… instead we need to educate these people and show them how wrong they are.
The central thesis of this post was that its extremely difficult to educate people to show them they are wrong. People rarely revise their racist or prejudiced views. So while deleting the app doesn’t negate the issue, it draws attention away from those who wish to cause controversy. This allows the rest of us to unify ourselves as tolerant individuals, and lets others fester in their own intolerance without letting it affect the rest of us.
To go along with your statement above I want to speak on what it really means to have free speech and the way in which individuals often abuse this privilege. Free speech does not mean one can cowardly hide behind anonymity instead it means that you are free to say what you want and how you feel but to make it just you must take responsibility for your own words, hateful or not. I think that it is a tricky situation about choosing to delete Yik Yak. Personally I have never had the app. However I feel extremely torn because in one sense I want to fight the hate and stand up for what’s right but on the other hand I dont want to spend my free time on my telephone- something I try not to use in excess.
People can and do hide behind the anonymity of the internet. This is a central component of this issue. I agree with what you’re saying about how we should be responsible and take care not to harm others, but for those who are determined to do otherwise, there is no legal precedent in place to discourage this behavior. At the end of the day, free speech is a pretty broad right of the American people, and there will always be those who choose to abuse this power.