ABSTRACT

This chapter looks at the treatment of hate speech in the context of social media. The emergence of faceless and sometimes anonymous “speech” has emboldened some to engage in online hate speech. Has the presidential primary of 2016 and the eventual election of Donald Trump emboldened the resurfacing of hate groups in America? What are the politics of “hate”? First Amendment rights and hate speech are addressed in the context of implications for schooling. How has violence in the schools and other public places impacted how we teach? What is the extent of the problem? We explore the emergence of school violence, beginning with a brief review of some of the most recent school shootings, including Sandy Hook Elementary School. A look at university violence, including the 2014 Isla Vista shootings near the University of California, Santa Barbara, is included. We also look at the San Bernardino, Orlando, and Paris terror attacks. How are these events represented on social media? How can educators address this in the classroom? What can communities do? How have these events impacted schooling and the way our students “go to school”? We consider these questions and their treatment and representation in social media.

Key wWords: hHate and vViolence, mass shootings, school violence, public space violence, white nationalism, anti-Semites, terrorism, Sandy Hook, conspiracy theories, terrorism