Abusive Speech Really Can Damage Students (So It’s Good To Keep Milo Yiannopoulos Off Campuses)

Psychology professor Lisa Feldman Barrett does make a distinction between speech that’s abusive and bullying (Milo) and speech that’s merely offensive (Charles Murray): “The former is a danger to a civil society (and to our health); the latter is the lifeblood of democracy. By all means, we should have open conversations and vigorous debate about controversial or offensive topics. But we must also halt speech that bullies and torments. From the perspective of our brain cells, the latter is literally a form of violence.”