The Public Insult Playbook

"A must-read that exposes the hidden effect of insults on national policy. Attacks on BLM, #MeToo, LGBT, immigration, and abortion rights have deflected, created headwind, and posed deadweight for reform. Ruth Colker powerfully shows how these insults can and must be countered in the future."--Suja A. Thomas, author of The Missing American Jury "A tour de force. Colker masterfully reframes debates about public insults and hate speech into a transformative playbook, arming civil rights and civil liberties proponents with insightful new approaches for understanding and addressing public insults as tools of power bullies. She brilliantly makes the case that incrementalist, neoliberal approaches do not provide for systemic change. I couldn't put the book down."--Michele Goodwin, author of Policing The Womb: Invisible Women and the Criminalization of Motherhood "Colker's insights shift our attention to a new civil rights battleground: public insults. Essential reading for anyone looking to better understand partisan political efforts to undermine civil rights and democratic governance."--Jasmine E. Harris, Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law "Colker brilliantly documents how power bullies use insults to perpetuate the subordination of people with disabilities, immigrants, women, LGBTQ+ people, and people of color. Those of us who value free speech must acknowledge these grievous harms and develop strategies to counter the pernicious effects of public insults."--Daniel P. Tokaji, Professor of Law, University of Wisconsin Law School