Hate has no excuse. It doesn’t matter if it’s verbal or physical; there is nothing that can excuse any form of hatred.

     A study conducted by the Anti-Defamation League revealed that 53% of Americans were subjected to hateful speech and/or harassment in 2018 alone. 

     There’s no question that the existence of social media has allowed for hate speech to become as widespread as it is today. I don’t know why I’m still so surprised to see comments filled with racial slurs. That’s how common it is.

     But why? Why is it so common? And why do people keep getting away with it?

     Recently, NBA player Meyers Leonard was streaming while playing Call of Duty when a string of curse words came out of his mouth. I can’t even translate what he said, but the one word that stood out to me was the k-slur. 

     There’s lots of questions over where the slur originated from. The one thing that is sure is that it has a hateful meaning behind it and is used to purposely hurt the Jewish people. 

     Leonard took to social media to issue the standard apology for whenever celebrities and other public figures are caught doing or saying something they shouldn’t have. 

     “I’m deeply sorry for using an anti-Semitic slur during a livestream yesterday,” he wrote. “While I didn’t know what the word meant at the time, my ignorance about its history and how offensive it is to the Jewish community is absolutely not an excuse and I was just wrong.”

     I call BS. 

     You mean to tell me that he “didn’t know what the word meant?” How does he know the word exists, but doesn’t know how hateful it is? In what context did he hear the k-slur that it didn’t register in his mind that it has a hateful connotation? 

     Claiming ignorance is no excuse, and Leonard did recognize that in his statement. But my view is that he clearly had to have some understanding on what the word meant if he was able to use it in the “proper context.” I’m very curious as to where he picked the word up and made it a part of his vocabulary. 

    We can’t keep accepting that people don’t know what a word means. It’s really simple: if you don’t know what a word means, you don’t use it. 

     In response to Leonard’s words, the NBA fined him the maximum amount—$50,000—, suspended him for a week, and is requiring him to attend cultural diversity training. The Miami Heat traded him to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who made it clear Leonard would not be a part of their team. Leonard’s NBA career looks like the final buzzer is in hearing range. 

     There’s an interesting juxtaposition on how the NFL and the Philadelphia Eagles handled (a.k.a. did nothing) when DeSean Jackson made an anti-Semitic remark last year. Just saying.  

     But where is this fine going? I don’t see how it’s effective if it’s just going right back to the NBA. The money should be given to organizations like the ADL that work to educate people on anti-Semitism to prevent things like this from happening. 

     These repercussions have been controversial. Some say it’s too much, others too little. Once again, people take to comment sections to voice their opinions. They read, “making a big deal out of nothing” or “Free Meyers” or “he was playing cod everybody just soft lmao.” 

     Playing a video game isn’t an excuse for using slurs. You’re not “soft” for being hurt by hate speech.

     One of the most common arguments in support of hate speech uses the First Amendment as justification. Free speech is there for a reason. We can voice our opinions and ideas without fear of being attacked by the government, but this free speech has its limits. Free speech does not involve being free to use derogatory words purposely meant to dehumanize others. 

     The people in the comment section who claim Leonard’s words weren’t a huge deal are prime examples of the ignorance towards hate speech many hold. This ignorance comes from a gap in education.

     The only way to prevent hate speech caused by ignorance from happening is to eliminate the ignorance. By teaching about the history and meanings of slurs, we can spread awareness for the effects they can have. We need to work together to inform people about the ramifications of hate speech before we can eliminate it.