The proportional response to offensive speech is a rebuttal.
It is not stripping away the other's anonymity. It is not convincing their employer to fire them. It is not ostracizing them and all their immediate associates from civil society.
If someone tells a horribly offensive joke, there are several acceptable responses. One is "We are not amused." Another is "The Aristocrats!" Grabbing torch and pitchfork, and marching to the castle to demand that the monster be let go--and without even a letter of recommendation--is not.
Think before you act, yes. Think before you speak? That seems a rather lofty expectation, even in 2015. There is no ill-considered thought so swift that it cannot be hunted down with a remorseful apology.
It is not stripping away the other's anonymity. It is not convincing their employer to fire them. It is not ostracizing them and all their immediate associates from civil society.
If someone tells a horribly offensive joke, there are several acceptable responses. One is "We are not amused." Another is "The Aristocrats!" Grabbing torch and pitchfork, and marching to the castle to demand that the monster be let go--and without even a letter of recommendation--is not.
Think before you act, yes. Think before you speak? That seems a rather lofty expectation, even in 2015. There is no ill-considered thought so swift that it cannot be hunted down with a remorseful apology.