The Max Planck Institute in Hamburg has announced a lecture with an unusual topic: hate speech against animals. The scientists, who are funded with taxpayers' money, also raise the question of whether this offense should be punishable in the future.
Hamburg - The Hamburg Max Planck Institute wants to sensitize students and citizens to "hate speech against animals." The speaker, Saba Pipia, a lawyer, will examine "patterns of animal representation in religious texts, art, literature, films and music" in one of the upcoming events. The focus should be "on negative representations and the use of animal names in derogatory contexts."
The institute argues that such depictions "contribute to the stigmatization and discrimination of animals." This may require hate speech laws, as some states have for humans. "The lecture will address speciesism and discrimination within a species and show how the depiction of certain animals as 'sacred' or 'beautiful' as opposed to 'evil' or 'ugly' promotes discrimination."
The event will begin at 6 p.m. German time in Hamburg. Interested parties can register for online participation until August 19. The Max Planck Institute is funded equally by the federal government and the states.