Free speech or hate speech? The role of rhetoric in violence

A deadly mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket on May 14 sent shockwaves throughout the country, including in Middle Tennessee. In a document written before the attack, the gunman used rhetoric that echoed racist conspiracy theories and, in some places, the recently leaked Supreme Court draft decision overturning Roe. v. Wade.

On this episode, we explore the connections between hateful rhetoric and harmful actions with someone whose community was targeted for harassment and with experts in critical race theory and hate speech.

But first, WPLN metro reporter Ambriehl Crutchfield stops by the studio with the latest about the Riverchase Apartments.

Guests:

• Ambriehl Crutchfield, WPLN metro reporter

• Dr. Saleh Sbenaty, Islamic Center of Murfreesboro board member and professor at MTSU

• Sophie Bjork-James, assistant professor of anthropology at Vanderbilt University

• Dr. Chezare A. Warren, associate professor of equity and inclusion in education policy at Vanderbilt University

Additional reading: 

• WPLN: Hate groups in Tennessee are on the decline, but the Southern Poverty Law Center says that’s only because extremism is becoming more mainstream