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...