Lakoff: Hate speech is not free speech

From his FB post commenting on his article here.

"When hate is physically in your brain, then you think hate and feel hate, and you are moved to act to carry out what you physically - in your neural system - think and feel. Like violence, hate speech can also be a physical imposition on the freedom of others. That is because language has a psychological effect imposed physically — on the neural system, with long-term crippling effects.

"Language neurally activates thought. Language can thus change brains, both for better and worse. Hate speech changes the brains of those hated for the worse, creating toxic stress, fear and distrust — all physical, all in one’s neural circuitry active every day.

"Hate speech imposes on the freedom of those targeted by the hate. This internal harm can be even more severe than an attack with a fist. Since being free in a free society requires not imposing on the freedom of others, hate speech does not fall under the category of free speech."