In a memo to the FCC,  Over thirty organizations have asked them to open up a probe on “hate speech” and “misinformation” in media.

“Hate has developed as a profit-model for syndicated radio and cable television programs masquerading as ‘news’,”

The request further urged the Commission to:

“examine the extent and effects of hate speech in media, including the likely link between hate speech and hate crimes, and to explore non-regulatory ways to counteract its negative impacts….”

The memo is extensive and detailed.  It makes great points.  I agree that “hate is for sale” in 21st Century Media and on the internet including Social Media.  It has become the primary means of profit for many talk pundits. It is dished out for free on blogs, Twitter and Facebook.  While networks such as Facebook  would never admit it, hate speech does have a monetized value in social media. When a network monetizes the free exchange of ideas and a portion of those ideas are hate speech you can put a dollar sign on  it.

Hate speech is a viral epidemic that has  spiraled out of control with no end in site.  Something needs to be done.  Something, but not this.  An FCC study is an interesting and noble concept but also an expensive and dangerous waste of time.  It’s an information gathering mission  doing nothing more than documenting the obvious. It  can either sit in a file to be studied by academics or be used in an attempt to regulate. Regulation is a non-starter. We have this little thing called the 1st Amendment. Hate speech enjoys protection in this country like no other country in the world. The academics can conduct their own studies without the FCC muscling into our minds.

It is also simply not feasible.  Where would the FCC begin?  How would they decide the parameters of the study?  Are they going to nitpick every pissy thing said in cable media and on the internet?  What about social media? If you listen to some, Facebook is fast on its way to for many purposes becoming the internet. Despite their rules against hate speech, it runs rampant within the borders of the new “3rd largest country”  Twitter for all intensive purposes has no rules against hate speech. You can’t make a true threat of bodily harm but other than that its the Wild West.  Is the FCC going to assert jurisdiction over these private companies to gather data? Good luck. Regardless, there is simply too much data.  This would be nothing more than a “hit and run” random sample study.

How will they define hate speech?  It’s easy if someone calls me a kike or uses another standard racial or ethnic slur. That’s too easy. What about the subjective media rhetoric?  We have seen claims of Sedition against politicians, racism against our President and every perversion in between. Cable and online hate speech associated with the Israeli-Palestine conflict could be a complete study in its own right.  How will the internal values of those evaluating content affect their decision on what constitutes hate speech?  What’s hate speech to one person is simply the truth to someone else.  I had someone tell me once that calling that Denver Nuggets “The Thuggets” was hate speech  She was dead serious. She blocked me on Twitter.  Too many questions with no objective means to provide answers.

Finally, we have what amounts to the government creating  a “hate list”.    Joseph McCarthy did that once, holding up a piece of paper in Wheeling West Virginia with the names of  of communists allegedly working in the State Department. It was of course bullshit.  There was no list.  America however, then and there, fell into one of its darkest periods.  I certainly would not want to be on an FCC official hate speech list.  Even if that is not the intent, when you start attaching names to negative content, there is a “defacto list” even if there is no piece of paper. Cable pundits who profit off of hate speech love to talk about  lists.

The vaccine for the for hate speech virus is not to deal with it on the back end with government studies. It starts at home with parenting.  It’s too late for the Beck’s and Olbermanns of the world.  They are who they are.  An FCC study is not going to change them or stem the tide of evil rhetoric.   It will simply give pundits more fodder and create a specter of government regulation and McCarthyism. Once again, more to talk about but other than that, no upside at all.