Sarah Webb-Lee, 39, from Stockport, had a car sticker which read: "On the first day God created United then completely [expletive] up and created City."Funny? Puerile? Offensive? Maybe.
But illegal?
A neighbourhood team officer was sent round to Mrs Webb-Lee's home in Cale Green, Stockport, after a local councillor passed on to police a complaint they had received from a resident.*sigh*
Police said the swear word used breached public order legislation.Clearly, there’s absolutely no crime whatsoever in that street. I think I’ll move the…
Wait, what am I saying? It’s Manchester!
"I couldn't believe it when they told me," she said.That must make you increasingly unique, since it seems we are inculcating the attitude in so many people that the thing to do if someone or something ‘offends’ you is to call the police.
She added: "I see sexist stickers and slogans which offend me and which are much worse than swearing but no way would I phone the police."
Told she would face a fine if she refused to take it down, Mrs Webb-Lee reluctantly agreed to rub out a vowel in the swear word.Because that makes all the difference…
The police are curiously defensive:
Insp Stephen Gilbertson said: "We received a complaint about the language contained in a car sticker that, by law, is offensive.Who said it was anything to do with a football team?
"All we did is make the relevant people aware and asked them to either remove the sticker or some letters within the swear word, which they willingly did.
"It is important to stress this had nothing whatsoever to do with any football team and was solely in relation to an offensive word."
And really, you can now expect more pointless waste of time calls from whoever made this one, since their success will only encourage them.
30 comments:
what did she/it say? the sticker, what did it say? mucked? man'd? FUBARed? cleaned? what is it, tell me ;)
what is up?
is it the footballer's hair? God keeps footballer's hair up?!? I don't understand
moose, God moosed up the footballer's hair and then some United City
yes, the United City called the police because it was the wrong hair product
I have a sticker on my car it says 'baby I'm bored!' is it legal?
and another 'if you can read this you're too close, BACK OFF!'
one more, 'CAUTION BIOHAZARD'
what happens when one gets offended? a plague, nothing, nuclear catastrophe?!?
This is all because some po-faced, gutless pc PC is too frightened to a) tackle real offenders against the law and b) tell some of these professional offence-seekers to stop being silly and wasting police time.
Am I allowed to say that, or will I have offended some gutless copper somewhere, and get nicked because I'm too old to put up much of a fight?
Anxiously awaiting reports of the Police 'raid' on the offices of the Guardian - which printed the word in full - all 6 letters from the 'f' at the beginning to the 'd' at the end - in the correct order, no spaces, no asterisks. Just the 'u' the 'c'the 'k' - and the 'e'.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/mar/09/manchester-united-fan-car-sticker
I don't remember hearing that they had arrested Jonathan Ross or Russell Brand in the Sachs affair either. Maybe the BBC and the Grauniad are exempt from the laws that us lesser mortals have to comply with.
Move to France!
They play this on peaktime pop radio here:
http://bit.ly/hpChWO
Pretty much sums up Greater Manchester Police Farce to a T.
By the way, do you know the difference between GMP and a broken paper clip?
One is bent and *&$£ing useless, the other is a broken paper clip.
Oh yes, I live in the Democratic Peoples' Republic of Manchester so put up with this shower of Keystone Kop rejects on a daily basis.
TTFN :)
"Police said the swear word used breached public order legislation."
Bollocks
(as per Sex Pistols)
@steveshark, ta for http://bit.ly/hpChWO
Pedant alert..Cale Green is not far from me in Stockport.Stockport however isn't in Manchester,but is a town in Greater Manchester.(The story made the front page of the Stockport Express!)
From a different time, when London was in another country
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGJgyuAu6eo
Mike O.
Who thinks Mike should get out more?
@English Viking
Sure, but he should leave the tin foil hat off when he does...
"On the first day God created ..."
This expression, and variants thereof, appear as part of the Creation story in the beliefs and Sacred Texts of all three "Abrahamic religions".
Good thing nobody thought the whole (rather tasteless) sticker might be offensive to anyone on religious grounds?
Whole thing is Tohu-wa-bohu.
"and another 'if you can read this you're too close, BACK OFF!'"
The best one I saw recently said 'Husband in boot!'. Perhaps that driver will get stopped on suspicion one day.
"Am I allowed to say that, or will I have offended some gutless copper somewhere..."
Probably!
"Anxiously awaiting reports of the Police 'raid' on the offices of the Guardian..."
Not enough people read the dear old Graiuniad for it to be a worry... ;)
"Move to France!
They play this on peaktime pop radio here..."
Yikes!
"By the way, do you know the difference between GMP and a broken paper clip?
One is bent and *&$£ing useless, the other is a broken paper clip."
:D
"Stockport however isn't in Manchester,but is a town in Greater Manchester."
Once you get past Watford, it's all 'the North' to me... ;P
"Good thing nobody thought the whole (rather tasteless) sticker might be offensive to anyone on religious grounds?"
Heh! I missed that.
Julia @05:39 - I'll see your 'Huh' - and raise you a 'Chortle'
BTW - IF 'the F-word' is obscene and use can get you fined - surely just erasing one letter still leaves 75% of the obscenity, and all words that differ by one letter should attract 3/4 of the penalty?
Probably more to do with a Councillor complaining to the Police Chief, who in the best traditions of 'something must be done' has told the Local Beat Officer to sort it out.
Shit rolls down hill and Local Beat Officers live in the valley
Wonders never cease, a United fan that actually lives in Manchester.
Bet Ms Lee was one of those complaining about the Crawley Isalnd fan making airplane gestures....cue Dambusters theme.
@Blueknight 10:05
I laughed at your turn of phrase but even a request from the Chief for a prompt investigation does not guarantee daft action on the front line - does it?
Well your all going to really hate me...i'm just one of those policeman that spends all my day dealing with petty crap complaints from the great british public.
If the police had refused to take action there would have been complaints that the police do nothing and its ok to go round swearing and sticking up offensive signs.
I told a lad off some years ago as he had a coat with george bushes face on, bearing the capitals of The War Against Terror, indicating bush was was a TW**.
I'm no Mary Whitehouse, but we do have elderly people in the community who were brought up with certain standards and why should they have to put up with swear words on public display?
I despair of this country, you moan about young thugs but you don't back up standards of behaviour.
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