In this article, I present the main argument put forward by Caroline West in her article “Words that silence? Freedom of expression and racist hate speech. West considers the minimum conditions necessary for speech to be considered free. West also considers how racist hate speech, if operating in particular ways, could undermine free speech. Its focus is whether the moral and political benefits of racist hate speech outweigh the costs to racial minorities. The conclusion she reaches is that we must weigh the benefits of one group's ability to express racist hate speech against the costs of another group's ability to have their views heard, understood and considered. . This conclusion is based on the framework that freedom of expression has three dimensions: production and distribution; understanding; and attention and consideration. In other words, freedom of speech requires that a speaker have the opportunity to communicate their thoughts and ideas to an audience. Furthermore, freedom of expression requires that an outside agent not prevent the public from understanding, paying attention to what is happening....