Speech and Tolerance in America

Cato Institute ^ | October 31, 2017 | Emily Ekins

[daniel1212]

Nearly three‐​fourths (71%) of Americans [even 4 years ago] believe that political correctness has done more to silence important discussions our society needs to have. A little more than a quarter (28%) instead believe that political correctness has done more to help people avoid offending others.

• 59% of liberals say it’s hate speech to say transgender people have a mental disorder, only 17% of conservatives agree.
• 39% of conservatives believe it’s hate speech to say the police are racist, only 17% of liberals agree.
• 80% of liberals say it’s hateful or offensive to say illegal immigrants should be deported, only 36% of conservatives agree.
• 87% of liberals say it’s hateful or offensive to say women shouldn’t fight in military combat roles; 47% of conservatives agree.
• 90% of liberals say it’s hateful or offensive to say homosexuality is a sin; 47% of conservatives agree.

Excluding a speaker who would disrespect police, Democrats are about 15 to 30 points more likely than Republicans to say each of these speakers should not be allowed to speak.

The survey finds that many microaggressions that colleges and universities advise faculty and students to avoid aren’t considered offensive by most African Americans and Latinos. The percentage who say these microaggressions are not offensive are as follows:

• Telling a recent immigrant: “You speak good English.” Black: 67%; Latino: 77%
• Telling a racial minority: “You are so articulate.” Black: 56%; Latino: 63%
• Saying “I don’t notice people’s race.” Black: 71%; Latino: 80%
• Saying “America is a melting pot.” Black: 77%; Latino: 70%
• Saying “Everyone can succeed in this society if they work hard enough.” Black: 77%; Latino: 89%
• Saying “America is the land of opportunity.” Black: 93%; Latino: 89%

The one microaggression that African Americans (68%) agree is offensive is telling a racial minority, “you are a credit to your race.” Latinos are evenly divided.

Democratic and Republican students see their college campuses differently. A majority (59%) of Republican college students believe that most faculty members are liberal. In contrast, only 35% of Democratic college students agree most professors are liberal.

[daniel1212]

Excerpt from much larger survey, if somewhat dated. Tables (pdf, 7.18 MB)

[lepton]

The one microaggression that African Americans (68%) agree is offensive is telling a racial minority, “you are a credit to your race.”

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Frankly, that’s such a weird thing to say.

[sauropod]

Bkmk

[ImpBill]

Wow. A survey that confirms liberals have different genetic make up than normal folk.

[daniel1212]

Actually, all humor aside, "While the sequence of DNA may not be affected by your environment, the way genes work—called gene expression—can."

DNA is like a book about how to build a person, and genes are like sentences. So can these sentences be changed? According to Cedar, these letters are written in ink. You can’t add or modify them. But “it turns out that this text can be annotated,” he said. The secret to this change is “methyl groups.” These chemicals “tell the cells what should be read and what should not be read,” Cedar told us. They’re sort of like a black marker that you can use to cross out sentences, a process unsurprisingly called “methylation.” DNA may be unchangeable, but methyl groups are different. “Methylation can be changed.” This means your body-making instructions can change too.

Mounting evidence suggests that environmental factors such as smoking, diet and stress, can leave their mark on the genes of your children and grandchildren.

[Castlebar]

Any group that scores above zero percent on any question is asking for a solid thumping.

The proper response to offensive or stupid speech is intelligent (and in some cases, bitingly sarcastic) speech, not the jackboot of government thugs or government approved Browns Shirts.

[consult]

That is 3 years old...everything is likely even more polarized now.

[daniel1212]

"The proper response to offensive or stupid speech is intelligent (and in some cases, bitingly sarcastic) speech, not the jackboot of government thugs or government approved Browns Shirts."

Correct.

[daniel1212]

"That is 3 years old...everything is likely even more polarized now."

Sadly true.