Boler Talking Points

In the article All Speech Is Not Free, Megan Boler wants us to realize that due to the social inequities in America, all voices and perspectives are not heard and treated equally. She writes, “Power inequities institutionalized through economics, gender roles, social class, and corporate-owned media ensure that all voices do not carry the same weight.” In general, people think more highly of the “unbiased” voices of people who come from the “culture of power” and are not readily willing to accept the perspectives of people who populate the “marginal” society. We are less likely to see “marginalized” people’s perspectives reflected in our society (especially in the media).

Boler proposes, “an ‘affirmative action pedagogy,’ a pedagogy that ensures critical analysis within higher education classrooms of any expression of racism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, sexism, ableism, and classism. An affirmative action pedagogy seeks to ensure that we bear witness to marginalized voices in our classrooms, even at the minor cost of limiting dominant voices.” Boler wants to see instances of “hate speech” challenged by teachers and other students. She wants not only the voices of the “culture of power” to be heard, but people who have less power in our society. She wants to give the “marginalized” people an opportunity to speak up so that their experiences and opinions can be heard and respected in the classroom.

Boler states that although there is no clear-cut way to implement an “affirmative action pedagogy,” there are two different ways “within an educational environment, articulation of injurious views can, if handled ethically, provide the target of hate speech with opportunities to speak back and thereby develop a sense of critical agency.” In the first way, a teacher can create an environment where critical analysis makes students accountable for their claims. A student may voice his/her hostilities against a group of people, but then other students (particularly members of the marginalized groups) will be given the opportunity to voice their opinions on the issue as well. This provides a chance for both sides of the issue to be analyzed by the class. In the second way, a teacher may totally ban “hate speech” in the classroom and all students are expected to side with the marginalized groups in society. This gives only the perspective of the marginalized groups a voice. Boler claims that some dominant voices must be silenced in order for marginalized voices to be heard.