Probably a tasteless joke - if such things are your bag, there's probably some up already on Sickipedia, which is thankfully outside the jurisdiction of the cretins at ScotPolice HQ. Back in my day, we had to wait a day or so for tasteless jokes ("What has four legs and goes 'Woof'"? "Piper Alpha") to filter out - we had no social media and Smartphones to spread them at the press of a button.
And did the world collapse as a result of them? No. People either laughed, or didn't.
But then, back then we didn't have the Communications Act 2003 sect 127 to contend with. You remember, the act that was supposed to provide the police with the means to tackle distribution of child porn, disrupt terrorist communications, deal with death threats and or messages, not prevent the spread of jokes someone finds distateful.
Because that's how you honour your fallen comrades, I guess. Not by manning up and getting on with the job. By whinging about tasteless jokes like some chav from the nearest housing estate...
As Billy Bowden points out, "freedom of speech extends further than the freedom of speech of those you agree with, it goes to those that you disagree with."
And Tom Paine wisely recalls the words of Margaret Thatcher: "One of the great problems of our age is that we are governed by people who care more about feelings than they do about thoughts and ideas."
I mourn for the death of the 8 in the Clutha tragedy. But I also mourn for the country I used to know...
Re-reading the tweet, it appears that what won't be tolerated is that an officer is investigating...
ReplyDeleteI expect my faith in the grammatical ability of the police to be misplaced, and Julia's version of their meaning to prevail. :(
Sickipedia is full of helicopter crash jokes. There's going to be a lot of overtime for strathclyde's finest.
ReplyDeleteThe Volkspolizei haven't stopped yet:
ReplyDelete16yr old man arrested & detained in police custody after investigation into comments online re helicopter crash http://www.scotland.police.uk/whats-happening/news/2013/december/200497/ …
I suppose I should consider myself lucky that they cannot read my mind.
Yet elsewhere I read that they are trying to cut down on bullying.
I've seen a few "I hate u English" and even "I hope your house burns down with your family in it" tweets coming out of Scotland over the weekend. There's certainly some charmers north of the border.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've seen the one offending tweet in question contained what is unambiguously racist abuse, expressing the hope that amongst the people dead in the tragedy there might be personages of a particular colour.
ReplyDeleteOn that basis it is fair enough that to post it is treated as a crime, although given the story linked to above suggests the person fingered is a 16 year old "man" it is really little more than the ill-advised rantings of an immature idiot.
But the one fact remains. The police, those who are presumed to be our protectors, through some tragic intervention have managed to fly a helicopter into a building packed with innocent people, resulting in loss of life. Yet in the immediate aftermath the priority of these protectors is to collar people making wisecracks about it. Carry on.
This terrible incident certainly has shone the spotlight on our rather bizarre, intolerant and easily offended society hasn't it?
ReplyDelete@ Anonymous 12:52
ReplyDeleteOn that basis it is fair enough that to post it is treated as a crime,
Do you see what you did there? Once you give these numbskulls just this much authority, they'll fight tooth and nail and get it all.
I hate purple people. They are ugly, they smell and I wish they'd go back to Purpleland and worship their false prophet Barney, there.
We are getting this >< close to me being worried about writing that.
"I mourn for the death of the 8 in the Clutha tragedy. But I also mourn for the country I used to know... "
ReplyDeleteBeautifully put.
"But then, back then we didn't have the Communications Act 2003 sect 127 to contend with."
2003 ! Ah, that will be our loveable Socialist friends Labour.
Yet one more reason to hate them.
Advent of backdated warrants, collusion and readily fabricated evidence, simplified administration of the Plod OTT and Intolerance Act.
ReplyDeleteSection 2 made occasions when dislike for mocking laughter necessitated forcible entry without warning. And the Act indemnified plod when the use of deadly force on occupants seen to be in possession of, or in close proximity to, a lethal table leg.
Entry to any home was considered imprudent when table legs in such quantities could not be brought into the premises, as would ensure each body bag left them with a sample.
This could be due to the replacement for the ASBO, the IPNA or whatever it's called in Scotland. Whereas you have to commit a crime to get an ASBO, the IPNA - Injunction to Prevent Nuisance and Annoyance - is applicable to anybody who may commit a crime. It's criminalisation on grounds of probability - Minority Report territory.
ReplyDeleteAnyone understand what Melvin just wrote? There must be an app for it.
ReplyDeleteJaded
"Re-reading the tweet, it appears that what won't be tolerated is that an officer is investigating..."
ReplyDeleteIf only!
" There's going to be a lot of overtime for strathclyde's finest."
Oh, I expect that'll make it on to Call-Me-Dave's blacklist of Internet sites.
We all know it's not going to stop at porn, don't we?
"Yet elsewhere I read that they are trying to cut down on bullying."
Heh!
"I've seen a few "I hate u English" and even "I hope your house burns down with your family in it" tweets coming out of Scotland over the weekend."
Where's the police squad tracking them down?
"Yet in the immediate aftermath the priority of these protectors is to collar people making wisecracks about it."
ReplyDeleteWell, only by those who really shouldn't HAVE a job in the police service.
"...shone the spotlight on our rather bizarre, intolerant and easily offended society..."
Society can be as intolerant and offended as it likes, if only those in authority son't start listening to them!
"We are getting this >< close to me being worried about writing that. "
Yup!
"Yet one more reason to hate them."
Not that we needed one. And I'll note that repealing it doesn't seem to be on Call-Me-Dave's to-do list, does it?