Joyce Fegan: Why we must call out hate speech

Calling out your brother's homophobic 'joke' is a privilege for some, because it is an actual matter of life or death for others

American poet Maya Angelou: She said you build up your courage, starting off with one small courageous act. Picture: Mary Altaffer/AP

‘Is this your coat?” The late poet and life-long civil rights activist Maya Angelou once stopped a party in her own home with these words after a guest made a racist, homophobic “joke”. Not only did the recipient of more than 50 honorary degrees stop the party, she asked the speaker in question to leave the gathering.

This incident happened in the latter part of her life. She said she wouldn’t always have had the courage to call out such “poison”.