Nicholas Goldberg: We rarely prosecute bigots and racists who spew hate speech. And rightly so. They can’t be expected to be law–abiding. They shouldn’t be held accountable for the speech they create. And if a city wants to restrict the speech of bigots, it should. But bigots, racists and hate speech don’t create their own speech, they generate it.
We, along with any other organization, do our utmost to ensure that these acts of hate cannot be repeated. Any organization, including our own, that would participate in any action where there would be potential for violent protests, we would do our utmost to avoid.
I can’t imagine any organization or group that would not do the same.
Ceasefire NYC is a grassroots organization that works to confront and end hate crimes and to promote social justice through the lens of peace and justice.
As a member of the CRS, the Ceasefire NYC organization has supported hundreds of actions with direct action, advocacy, education and media support. We seek to ensure that every person, no matter their race, sexuality, religion, gender, immigration status or political perspective, has the right to organize without fear of violence or arrest for doing so.
While we are most certainly not advocating violence, we also aren’t afraid to speak out regarding how we feel certain speech should be addressed or curtailed.
As the U.S. Attorney for New York City, you oversee the largest police department in the country. I want to know how you would approach policing the speech of such large groups as anti-Muslim street preachers who spew hate and victim blaming?
That’s a great question. And it is one I’m sure that many of my colleagues have wrestled with.
It’s important because the more power our police have to make arrests and enforce laws when they see hateful speech, the more likely it is that hateful speech will occur. I have to understand that very well.
I’m not going to sit here and tell you that we will just sit back and let this stuff happen. But I will tell you that we will make every effort to make sure that is not the case.
The NYPD routinely and consistently takes
