Hate Crimes Are Thought Crimes

Nat Hentoff discusses the deplorable spread of hate-​crime legislation, which he argues are crimes against thoughts.

Nat Hentoff

Nat Hentoff is an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media, who writes regularly on jazz and country music for The Wall Street Journal.

Hentoff has formerly worked as a columnist for Down Beat, The Village Voice, JazzTimes, Legal Times, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Progressive, Editor & Publisher, and Free Inquiry. He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker, and his writing has also been published in The New York Times, Jewish World Review, The Atlantic, The New Republic, Commonweal and in the Italian Enciclopedia dello Spettacolo.

In this clip, Hentoff discusses the deplorable spread of hate-​crime legislation, which he argues are crimes against thoughts. Video produced by Caleb O. Brown and Austin Bragg.