The simple solutions to hate speech

Hate speech, or rather what to do about it, is the big topic in America after last week’s killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah. The Trump administration, for example, blames left-wing rhetoric against Mr. Kirk’s views for driving the accused gunman, Tyler Robinson, to act – as if such verbal attacks will help solve the problem of political violence. At one point, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi even threatened to “absolutely target” anyone engaging in hate speech.Such government threats to a basic right like free speech are an echo of what Mr. Robinson himself revealed as his motive. “I had enough of [Mr. Kirk’s alleged] hatred,” he wrote in a message to his roommate after the killing. “Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”Cooler heads in the United States are now asking if ending political violence means helping Americans find better ways to “negotiate” with hate speech – peacefully. A few ideas came Tuesday in a speech by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat and himself a survivor of an arson attack at his official residence last April.He told of two gatherings at his home soon after the political attack that might “bring light” to “the dark cycle of