Stigma, State Expressions and the Law: Implications of Freedom of Speech

317 Pages·2019·4.218 MB·English

by  Paul Quinn

Stigma, State Expressions and the Law
This book demonstrates the difficulties the law is likely to encounter in regulating
the expressive activities of the state, particularly with regard to the stigmatization
of vulnerable groups and minorities.
Freedomofspeechisindispensabletoademocraticsociety,enablingittooperate
withahealthylevelofdebateanddiscussion.Historically,legalscholarshaveunder-
appreciatedthepowerofstigmatization,insteadfocusingonanti-discriminationlaw,
and the implicit assumption that the state is permitted to communicate freely with
littlefearoflegalconsequences.Whilstintegraltoademocraticsociety,thefreedom
of a state toexpress itselfcan however also be corrosive,allowing influential figures
andorganizationsthepossibilitytostigmatizevulnerablegroupswithinsociety.The
book takes this idea and, uniquely weaving legal analysis with extant psychological
and sociological research, shows that current legal approaches to stigmatization are
limited.Startingwithadeepinsightintowhatconstitutesstateexpressionsandhow
they can becomestigmatizing, the book thengoeson tolook intothe capacitythe
lawcurrentlyhastolimittheseexpressionsandasksevenifitcould,shouldit?
Thisfascinatingstudyofanincreasinglytopicalsubjectwillbeofinteresttoany
legalscholarworkinginthefieldof freedomof expressionanddiscriminationlaw.
PaulQuinnisProfessorattheVrijeUniversiteitBrussel(BrusselsFreeUniversity).

Stigma, State Expressions and
the Law
Implications of Freedom of Speech
Paul Quinn
Firstpublished2019
byRoutledge
2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN
andbyRoutledge
52VanderbiltAvenue,NewYork,NY10017
RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness
©2019PaulQuinn
TherightofPaulQuinntobeidentifiedasauthorofthisworkhasbeenasserted
byhiminaccordancewithsections77and78oftheCopyright,Designsand
PatentsAct1988.
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedor
utilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,now
knownorhereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orinany
informationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthe
publishers.
Trademarknotice:Productorcorporatenamesmaybetrademarksorregistered
trademarks,andareusedonlyforidentificationandexplanationwithoutintent
toinfringe.
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Names:Quinn,Paul,1981-author.
Title:Stigma,stateexpressionsandthelaw:implicationsoffreedomofspeech/
PaulQuinn.
Description:Abingdon,Oxon;NewYork,NY:Routledge,201.|Basedon
author'sthesis(doctoral-VrijeUniversiteitBrussel,2015)issuedunderthe
title:Theimportanceofstigmatisingstatementsofthestateandtheproblems
theyposeforthelaw.
Identifiers:LCCN2019003039(print)|LCCN2019005076(ebook)|ISBN
9781315136110(ebk)|ISBN9781138087705(hbk)
Subjects:LCSH:Discrimination–Lawandlegislation.|Discriminationin
language.|Freedomofexpression.|Stigma(Socialpsychology)
Classification:LCCK3242(ebook)|LCCK3242.Q562019(print)|DDC
342.08/53–dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2019003039
ISBN:978-1-138-08770-5(hbk)
ISBN:978-1-315-13611-0(ebk)
TypesetinGalliard
byTaylor&FrancisBooks
For Padraic, Evelyn, Sigrid, Aidan and Maya
Your support and love is my strength.

Contents
Introduction 1
1 What are state expressions and how can they be stigmatizing? 19
2 Defining stigma and its potential harm 58
3 Developing a normative approach towards the use of stigmatizing
state expressions 107
4 Stigmatizing state expression as hate speech 140
5 The importance of the lack of binding effects produced by SSEs 172
6 Stigmatizing state expressions – a threat to privacy? 220
7 Carte blanche to stigmatize or a pragmatic reality in a liberal
democracy? 251
Author’s note 287
Index 301

Introduction
1 A picture says more than a thousand words, but a presidential
tweet says much more still
The journalistic world waits a special moment every day. With a little luck at that
moment the pressing of a ‘send button’ on a phone or computer screen and the
posting of a short (and often incoherent) text fragment has the ability to create an
intenseglobalpolemic.Themomentinquestionisusuallybetween6and8amEast
StandardTimeintheUS.AtthatmomentPresidentDonaldTrumpwillhavealready
arisenfromhisbed,perhapshaveeatensomethingandwillhaveturnedhiseyetothe
varioussourcesofmediathatinteresthim.Aswehavelearnedinthepastfewyears,
themostpowerfulpersonintheworldhasaremarkablythinskin.Whenhefeelshe
hasbeenmalignedhehasthepropensitytolaunchavisceralattackonhistargetofthe
moment.HispreferredweaponisTwitter.Thetargetcanrangefrompoliticians,to
sportsindividuals,tomajormultinationalbusinessestonationstates.
Tosome,themediaobsessionwithDonaldTrump’stweetshasbecometiresome.
Are they nothing but a distraction from his situation of de facto political impotence
giventhedifficultyhehasingettinglegislationthroughCongress?Aretheynothing
morethanadog-whistle-likeattempttowhipupawaveofpopulismsimilartotheone
onwhichherodetopowerinthe2016elections?Whilstsuchthoughtsmaybeatthe
veryleastpartiallytruetheyarenotthewholestory.Thisisbecauseofthestatusofthe
man behind the message. This man is not merely someone wealthy or a television
celebrity(thoughheisbothofthosethings).Moreimportantly,heistheheadofthe
mostpowerfulstateonEarth.Hehasvariousformsofpowerthatarearguablymat-
ched by few, if any, people on earth. Such power could be thought of in military
terms, given that not only does he have direct executive control of a powerful con-
ventionalmilitaryforcebutalsoanarsenalofthousandsofnuclearwarheads.Whenhe
threatenstowagewaragainstanotherstate,1woulditnotbefoolishtosimplydismiss
suchexpressions?Equally, whenPresidentTrumpthreatensmajorcompaniesifthey
don’tmovefactoriesbacktotheUS,theimmediateeffectontheirsharepricesclearly
demonstratesthathistweetsarecapableofhavingapowerfuleffectgiventhepotential
powerthepresidenthas(atleastintheory)toeffectregulatorychange.
1 https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/895970429734711298?lang=en