Fulbright Update:
Even at young age, kids regularly exposed to hate speech

We know that kids are exposed to hate speech. Still, it’s jarring to hear them talk about it.

At the Orizont Lyceum recently, I discussed the nature of hate speech, and how to mitigate it, with two classes—one 7th grade, and other 5th grade.

Student discussion: Is it hate speech?

Both classes had a good grasp of the nature of hate speech. gave them the definition of hate speech as “Any kind of communication in speech, writing or behavior, that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language with reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are, in other words, based on their religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, color, descent, gender or other identity
factor.” (UN).

We also discussed whether the following example constitutes hate speech:

“Valeriu and Ana are science lab partners. After school, Ana sees a posted message online from Valeriu that says, ‘My lab results are Ana are not correct. Girls are so dumb at science.’” We agreed that this is hate speech that stereotypes girls, although a few of the boys used the example to have some fun at the expense of their female classmates. (“Are we sure that’s not true,” several boys said, laughing, knowing that it is certainly not.)

Then, the students shared many examples of hate speech that they’ve encountered online, especially on social media and on gaming platforms. This speech included racist and sexist comments, hateful comments directed at Russian speakers, and denigrating language overall.

We also discussed the motives behind hate speech. The students were right on target when they cited jealousy, anger, hatred, and wanting to get attention as motivations behind such speech.

The students had fun with the exercise I gave them. In groups of 2 or 3, they discussed whether some example statements were or were not hate speech, and why. We all agreed that such statements as “All Roma are thieves,” “Girls aren’t as smart as boys in math,” and “Wives should obey their husbands” are clearly denigrating and possibly hate speech. They weren’t so sure about statements like “President Biden is a bad president” and “Moldova shouldn’t join the EU.” I opined that neither is hate speech in my view since they are political statements stated neutrally. Now, if the statement was, “Biden is a bad president because he is too old, and old people aren’t smart or alert enough to be president,” then that would constitute hate speech.

Fifth graders, Orizont school

I finished with advice on how the students can make a difference by combating hate speech. They can do this by questioning the person posting the hate speech ("I don't get it, what did you mean by that?"); directly confronting the hateful comment; changing the subject; getting a screenshot to report what they’ve seen; and choosing not to like or share hateful comments. After all, if the offenders are seeking attention, one of the best tools we have is to deny them what they crave by not liking, sharing, or commenting. I told the students it’s their responsibility to speak out when they see hate speech. They agreed.

It was wonderful being back at Orizont. (See blog about my previous visit). I love the kids, and the time I spend with them is fun, energizing, and gratifying. I can’t wait for my next visit.