Spectrum

Hate Speech from the Top Can Heighten Chances for Violence

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Synopsis

As a nation, our population is divided into political and ideological tribes who only listen to others who agree with them and demonize anyone who is different from them, according to Dr. Scott Titsworth, dean of the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University. Thus, we have a nation of rhetorically warring camps who do not agree even on the basics and find the opposition to not only be wrong but dangerous and evil, according to Dr. Titsworth. As the verbal attacks ratchet up and the name-calling and dehumanizing of our opponents escalates, a “rhetorical environment” is created that can tragically spawn violence, he concludes. He points to the escalating verbal warfare of the pre-midterm campaigns, led by President Donald Trump, as an example of this toxicity. Although it cannot be proven that the recent acts of violence were directly caused by Trump’s political rhetoric, Dr. Titsworth thinks that a dotted line can be drawn between inflammatory words and violent actions. An environment has been create