Better start watching what you type - You could go to prison

peat

I hadn't seen/heard anything about this on TV/Radio:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-la ... e-19869710

Frankly, i'm appalled. And utterly terrified.

9/11 was the catalyst for the biggest decay on people's liberty since 'Human Rights' were invented. Freedom of speech was initially compromised by the caveat of 'incitement of hatred'. Bit by bit, this now seems to include ANYTHING THAT MAY BE DEEMED AS OFFENSIVE.

"The reason for the sentence is the seriousness of the offence, the public outrage that has been caused and we felt there was no other sentence this court could have passed which conveys to you the abhorrence that many in society feel this crime should receive."

Where is this public outrage? What sample of society did they take? The Daily Mail readership?

I'm pretty sure that 90% of this forum would simply shrug their shoulders and agree that the guy is a bit of a twunt.

But to be detained at Her Madge's pleasure for it????

George Orwell was not an author - he was a prophet.

CiB

Worse - and I'm willing to be corrected on this - is that he posted his jokes on his own private wall (how so? me not a FB user...) and one of his 'friends' took a screenshot and put it in a more public area.

It's a bit rum when offending someone carries a jail sentence and physical assault comes out as community service. I've never got this being offended thing. Why is it the worst thing in the world to be offended?

Cleat Eastwood

It was on the local TV news up here. He said me made the comments after a few drinks. I think the FB thing was probably someone sharing his post. But monitoring is out of order. Do you remember the joker at the airport who tweeted about blowing up the place - it was said an employee just happened to chance upon said tweet. Haha - with the help of special branch.

Around all areas of security concern there are - they're kind of like scanners - some of them are mobile so they can track royalty etc - and they read texts/phone/calls/tweets etc and look for buzzwords and if you're ever unfortunate enough to have a royal visit you then check your internet connection you'll find it surprisingly slow.. Understandable at a place of high risk - but come on, in chorley- its a bit much.

broadsword calling danny boy.....broadsword calling danny boy...

But yes, i agree it is a bit off. I mean its called a social network and as in all social interactions there are some things offensive and some not. Perspective seems to have gone out of the window.

OffTheBackAdam

Should have just given him a brush & told him to get sweeping a few streets.
Waste of time & money.

capt_slog

It's a worrying trend. They were evidently tasteless 'jokes', but this seems out of proportion.

If he was writing in a newspaper though, he might have got away with it :roll:

y33stu

Whatever happened to free speech etc.. Big Brother gone mad.

Can't the daily mail readers just MTFU FFS. :evil:

nick67

Does make you wonder how Frankie Boyle gets away with things

peat

What is there 'get away' with?

Cleat Eastwood

Peat wrote:

What is there 'get away' with?

well he's alive for one thing.

john-e-big-guns

OffTheBackAdam wrote:

Should have just given him a brush & told him to get sweeping a few streets.
Waste of time & money.

What ya suggesting..the M6..

zanelad

They also jailed a numbskull with an offensive (to some) T shirt.

He'd hand written an "insult" following the death of the 2 coppers a couple of weeks back.

I do wonder who the arbiter of good taste is in this country.

We have free speech, but if you say something that some find offensive you can end up in jail.

No racist, religious comments were made, that I know of, just bad taste.

Thin end of the wedge if you ask me.

peat

Sentencing Woods, Mr Hudson said: "The words and references used to the current case in Wales and that of the missing girl in Portugal are nothing less than shocking, so much so that no right thinking person in society should have communicated to them such fear and distress.

Are the police/justice system going to publish guidelines of what IS 'right thought'?

Effing scary.

Frank the tank

Don't know what he posted, I'm guessing it was some kind of tasteless joke. So what, if folk are going to get "sent down" for making tasteless comments which some may find offensive god help us.

Makes ya wonder where they'll lock up proper criminals.

team47b

I am really affended by spelling erors, will any body give these feckers a decent sentence.

steve6690

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-ma ... r-19911943

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/64

A little more than just "bad taste" IMHO. Whether he deserved to go down the steps is another issue.
To have been charged with S.4A there would have to have been a complaint from someone that they were "harassed, alarmed or distressed" by the tee shirt.

zanelad

steve6690 wrote:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-19911943

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/64

A little more than just "bad taste" IMHO. Whether he deserved to go down the steps is another issue.
To have been charged with S.4A there would have to have been a complaint from someone that they were "harassed, alarmed or distressed" by the tee shirt.

I'd like to know who could be harassed, alarmed or distressed but such a general statement as the idiot put on his T shirt. Should we lock up every football fan who taunts the old bill with songs about Harry Roberts?

It didn't threaten anyone, it just expressed a minority opinion. Perhaps it's time we manned up and got a bit thicker skinned. We'll end up with a nation only able to express itself in the blandest of words in case we offend anyone anywhere.

The price for free speech is that sometimes you hear or see things you don't like or agree with. I'd rather that, than some society where no-one speaks for fear of ending in jail.

Cleat Eastwood

Zanelad wrote:

The price for free speech is that sometimes you hear or see things you don't like or agree with. I'd rather that, than some society where no-one speaks for fear of ending in jail.

Totally. Did you see what the taliban did to that poor girl for daring to say women should receive an education.

dylanfernley

can you imagine the headlines if some 'brit' was locked up abroad for wearing a t shirt ??

I do beleive that he was wearing a braille version, and that a guide dog took umbridge, causing distress ..WTF


Serious issue of free speech involved with the t- shirt-- sure it was 'bad' taste-- the wearer must be not all there/divvy- but 'prison' ?/

I would suspect an appeal will be forthcoming--hope so, as this would be talibanesque otherwise, also i have some risque ideas for t shirts --Dare-to-Wear-- :shock:

peat

Just did a search - there are over 250 results for 'Maddie' (various spellings). Mainly from The Crudcatcher.

All it would take is to link it to a group of tossers in a 'Save Maddie' group on facespace and bish bash bosh, the old bill would be tracing IP's from this forum.

*Right Click - Copy Link.....................*

Bunneh

FEMA camps are incoming!

pinno

We were always taught that actions speak louder than words.
I think he should have been subjected to Barry Manilow for 4 hours and told not to be a silly boy. Why pay the prison bill at tax payers expense for just being a twit ?
'Elf n safety are the new Gestapo and the PC brigade are the thought police.

nicklouse

seen this http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19910865

Director of public prosecutions Keir Starmer QC told the BBC that the right to be offensive "has to be protected".

lawrences

can someone score me some coke?

Frank the tank

I and I dare say many others (more than 50 or so) were totally "offended" by what that w@nker Cameron spouted yesterday.

Any chance he'll get put in the slammer?