In this article I set out the main argument put forward by Caroline West in her article “Words that Silence? Freedom of expression and incitement to racist hatred”. West considers the minimum conditions necessary for speech to be considered free. West also considers how racist hate speech, if operated in particular ways, could undermine free speech. Its focus is on whether the moral and political benefits of racist hate speech outweigh the costs to racial minorities. The conclusion he 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 taken into account. This conclusion is based on the framework that free speech has three dimensions: production and distribution; comprehension; and attention and consideration. In other words, free speech requires that the speaker has the opportunity to communicate thoughts and ideas to the audience. Furthermore, free speech requires that an external agent not prevent the audience from understanding by paying attention...