Experiencing Hate Speech: Perceptions and Responses to Anti-Semitism and Antigay Speech

This study examines how people experience hate speech. Specifically, it assesses people’s perceptions regarding both the antecedents and outcomes of such expres-sion targeted at Jews and homosexuals. One hundred twenty university students read (and in some cases also supplied) real-life epithets aimed at their social iden-tity and then provided an assessment of their (a) perceived short- and long-term consequences, (b) understanding of the motive behind the message, (c) response to the sender, and (d) response to the message in terms of soliciting social support. A content analysis of the accounts produced the following patterns: (a) short- and long-term consequences mirrored a three-stage sequence found within other trau-matic experiences; (b) respondents described motives as enduring, not situational, states; (c) the most common response strategies were passive; and (d) participants often sought support. The discussion focuses on implications for interventions that may mitigate negative consequences of hate speech. The general question guiding this article is the examination of how it feels to be a target of hate speech. People’s perceptions of the underlying motives for hurling epithets, their resulting consequences, and how recipients choose to respond can have important personal (e.g., Kinney & Cloven, 1995) and societal implications (e.g., Leets & Bowers, 1999; Margalit, 1996). It is an issue that has not received much empirical investigation (e.g., Graumann, 1998) in the growing body of multidisciplinary literature focused on hate speech (e.g., Leets & Giles, 1999). Yet, the field of victimology (Viano, 1992) has extensively focused on the effects of a multitude of traumatic events (Frieze, Hymer, & Greenberg, 1987). Thus, the present study transfers these systematic findings to the domain of hate speech, *Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Laura Leets, Communicatio