A British psychotherapist stirred up a social media squabble Thursday when she suggested on national TV that calling someone a “nerd” or “geek” should be considered a hate crime.

Dr. Sonja Falck, also a psychology lecturer at the University of East London, appeared on “Good Morning Britain” alongside Bobby Seagull, a mathematician, teacher and writer who describes himself as a “proud geek.”

On the program, Falck suggested that ridiculing someone with those two terms — and others like “brainiac” and “egghead” — should have legal consequences.

“I think people find it startling because very high IQ people are a minority group in society who are very much ignored, they’re not understood and largely neglected,” she said. “It is the case that very high IQ people very often are bullied at school, for example. They’re a target for being bullied quite viciously.”

In response, Seagull argued that today, many view the “geek” label as a badge of honor.

“While the term geek and nerd has historically been seen as being negative, people have now embraced the term and seen it as positive,” he explained. “I think with geeks and nerds, if you see it as a negative thing, it could be negative, but if you embrace it, actually to be a geek means a good thing.”

Still, Falck emphasized that “neurodiversity” — or the differences in people’s brains — “is an aspect of individual difference, which really ought to be recognized by society.”

“If you look at those legislations that relate to hate crimes, hate crime is simply about somebody being targeted in a negative way for who they are,” she said. “And a person with a very high IQ who comes across in a different way often is targeted in that way. So I just think [it’s] an individual difference that should be respected.”

Commenters on the “Good Morning Britain” Twitter page largely shot down Falck’s argument.

“I think the ‘nerd’ and the ‘geek’ have taken ownership of these words, flipping from negative to positive,” one user wrote. “Geek chic is a ‘thing,’ people want to be them now, if someone attempts to use that as an insult today it is laughable. It’s not ‘hate crime’, it’s a compliment!”

“Let’s make every insult a hate crime,” another person commented. “Better build a hundred prisons more. Stupidity is dangerous.”