Monday 25 January 2010

Censorship Is The New Black!

Sherri Clarke, from Canvey, lost two babies to stillbirth. A tragedy, no doubt. To compound her woes, she has a friend so lacking in tact that she pointed Sherri to a website on Facebook full of dead baby jokes.

Shaking their heads at what some people find amusing, the two women vowed never to visit such a site again and...

Oh, of course they didn't! They immediately wrote to Facebook to urge that it be taken down:
Sherri Clarke, 30, who suffered two traumatic stillbirths, is campaigning to get the site “dead baby jokes” removed from the social networking website, but Facebook bosses flatly refuse to act.
Note the wording: 'flatly refuse to act', as if the mere whisper of 'offense' should be taken as a sign for them to do something.
Sophy Silver, spokesman for the social networking site, said: “While some kinds of comments and content may be upsetting, such as criticism of a certain culture, country, religion, lifestyle, or political ideology, it is not alone a reason to remove the discussion.

“The unfortunate reality is ignorance still exists, both on and off Facebook, and we believe such ignorance won’t be defeated simply by covering up the fact it exists, but rather by confronting it head on.

We have reviewed the group in question. Unfortunately, it does not violate our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, so it will remain on the site.”
Well, three cheers for Facebook!

But of course, it doesn't end there. Not in 2010, where the merest suggestion that your right never to ever see something that troubles you (even if you have to go looking for it) isn't sacrosanct is enough to enrage the mob...
Sherri is now urging people to join a Facebook campaign site to get the offending page removed. This site has more than 14,000 supporters.

She added: “So many people are outraged about this and a campaign has started to get it taken down.

“I am asking people to join it so we can get this page banned.”
We are doomed as a country, if people so lacking in intelligence are allowed to breed. And vote.

Still, at least we can reply on our parliamentarians to uphold the rights of people not to...

*sigh*
Castle Point MP Bob Spink pledged to raise the issue in the Commons.

He said: “I totally agree and sympathise with Sherri.

“It’s not just offensive and bad taste, it’s extremely disruptive.

I will raise this matter in Parliament by putting down a motion calling for Facebook to clean up its act.”
'Disruptive'..? What, exactly, is it disrupting? And how?

Do you need a new dictionary, Bob? Because that word you're using, I don't think it means what you think it means.

And eager not to be left behind as the Outrage Express pulls out of the station with all those lovely potential votes on board...
Basildon and East Thurrock MP Angela Smith said: “I find it difficult to understand how anyone can be amused by jokes about dead babies. It sickens me.

It is appalling Facebook can’t see it is so offensive and distressing to people.”
Did you not read their statement, you dozy mare? They do see that it's offensive, they just politely point out that that's not a reason to remove it.

It looks like the intelligence of some of this country's voters is amply matcherd by the intelligence of some of the people they send to Parliament, isn't it?

And let's hope these two don't think to get the police involved, as there's always some uniformed cretin only too happy to get a quick tick in the box on behalf of a complainant, no matter how spurious the complaint...

10 comments:

manwiddicombe said...

I'm left wondering if it's the same bookface group that these two are moaning about?

Surely there can't be more than one group for dead baby jokes, can there? I might have to sign up to it if there is ......

JuliaM said...

Yup, it's the same one. There's obviously more of these cretins around than we think.

Let's hope no one tells them about Sickipedia! ;)

Furor Teutonicus said...

I am off to join the group "Sick baby jokes" RIGHT after finishing with Google accounts here.

Any one who disagrees with sensorship, and has a facefuck account should do the same.

Anonymous said...

I had never heard of this site and have never found jokes about dead babies any less funny thatn other 'sick' jokes. But now that I do know about it I'm OUTRAGED and will be writing to my MP. I'm SHOCKED and APPALLED about something I haven't seen and wouldn't have heard anything about if it wasn't for these two members of the easily offended and permanently aggrieved community. Now if I knew how to use FaceTwitter I'd sign up for it...whatever! Bollocks!

Brian, follower of Deornoth said...

I find Angela Smith appalling, offensive and sickening. Where do we sign to get her taken down?

Unknown said...

This is one of the things that offend me...the terminally offended! Especially when it comes to the net. A few years ago the parents of a dead son or daughter wanted a porn site shut down because their offspring tried to copy the masochistic sex game and ended up dead. The offspring didn't get the blame but the site, as if they had took them by the hand to try out the latest perversion.

As you may already know there are those that are terminally offended about Facebook groups promoting tobacco or cigarettes, no matter that page does not promote them, and want Facebook to ban them outright. As I run the Freedom2Choose Facebook group I am expecting that knock at the email door. I am now going to go out of my way to offend these tender creatures by blatently publishing fag packets without health warnings, that should rile them.

I can't see anything funny in dead babies though so will not go to their page, whatever floats their boat however.

Gibby Haynes said...

I'm deeply, personally offended by fat people. I think they should be banned, but which I mean culled.

I'd rather boil my own face in acid that have a Facebook account, Furor, but I'm with you in spirit.

Furor Teutonicus said...

Gibby. Basically I agree with you about facefuck. But so long as you give totaly false info, it DOES have its uses.

Contacts to Mailand european groups that are fighting the same as the British people, against the E.U, and rampant, uncontrolled immigration and muslimification for examples.

Griblett said...

'We are doomed as a country, if people so lacking in intelligence are allowed to breed.'

In this instance I think you'll find that Mother Nature headed that one off.

:o

JuliaM said...

"I find Angela Smith appalling, offensive and sickening. Where do we sign to get her taken down?"

Ah, if only...

"This is one of the things that offend me...the terminally offended! "

They seem to be growing in number as they are pandered to, so many institutions only have themselves to blame.

"In this instance I think you'll find that Mother Nature headed that one off."

Maybe there's something to this 'Gaia' business after all!