A Ball State professor began the first of three diversity seminars at 7 p.m. Tuesday night, discussing issues surrounding hate speech.
Beth Messner, associate professor of communication studies, presented a lecture titled "Voices of Intolerance: The Nature and Function of Hate Speech." Her speech highlighted the nature of hate speech, what it is and why people engage in it.
Nearly all of Teachers College Room 101 was filled with students and other member of the Ball State community. A group of students led by IPFW health science professor Ruby Cain also attended the hate speech lecture.
Messner said although she studies hate speech, she does not enjoy it due to the graphic nature that comes with hate crime in general.
"Hate speech is very prevalent, very common and very violent," she said. "We see the corrosive form of hate eating away at the fabric of society."
Messner began the seminar by defining hate speech. She then showed some of the faces of hate, both historical and modern. Some of these examples included Adolf Hitler and Tom Metzger, an American white separatist.
Messner said the lecture was intended to help those listening relate hate speech to their own individual experiences.
"We're not just talking about the Tom Metzgers," Messner said. "We're not just talking about the extremists. We're talking about your neighbors. We're talking about your crazy uncle at the dinner table."
She said people use hate speech because it is the way they were taught, economic competition, political competition, scapegoating, conformity and that some are just born to hate something.
Messner showed images that she warned some may find disturbing, including a hate video from the Westboro Baptist Church, which is famous for its anti-gay protests. Messner had guests identify strategies Fred Phelps used in the Westboro Baptist Church video.
Messner talked about how hate speech can be effective and how it draws people in. Disconnected young men around college age are the primary target for recruitment by hate groups because the recruiter can make the hate group sound like a home, she said.
Graduate assistant Ashley Ellison said she thinks diversity seminars are vital for students to attend.
"I've heard hate speech in my [composition research] students' papers," Ellison said. "I know it comes from the communities they live in. It is important to change those false ideas."
Two more seminars will take place next month. On Nov. 3, Thelma Lazo-Flores will present a seminar about culture rhythms and design at 7 p.m. in Teachers College Room 102. Mahesh Senagala will present the final seminar on Nov. 26 about diversity and innovation at 7 p.m. in Teachers College Room 101.
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