Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by takyon on Friday December 28 2018, @07:00PM   Printer-friendly
from the joking-while-online dept.

UK Cops Have Decided Impolite Online Speech Is Worth A Visit From An Officer

In this case, it was Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan being visited by the Norwich Police Department on a Sunday morning. He was apparently reported by outspoken trans rights activist Adrian Harrop. Linehan had posted tweets criticizing Harrop's televised debate with a woman who had paid for a billboard depicting the dictionary's definition of the word "woman," which bothered Harrop so much he complained and got that taken down as well.

Harrop was the reason Linehan was talking to police officers about tweets that didn't even violate the Twitter Rules. He had merely suggested Harrop's steamrolling of the billboard buyer during a televised debate might have been "male privilege." Another tweet alleged Harrop had threatened women and doxxed them for not being friendly enough to his cause. This is the tweet Harrop admits bothered him so much he needed to call the police. This is the disturbing, but ultimately useless, outcome of Harrop's decision.

[...] You can't recognize free speech while still insisting everyone has to be nice to everyone else while online. You can hope that's what will happen, but you can't demand this of the general population. Unless you're in the UK, in which case you can, because you don't really recognize free speech and should probably remove that phrase from the government's collective vocabulary.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by edIII on Friday December 28 2018, @10:58PM (1 child)

    by edIII (791) on Friday December 28 2018, @10:58PM (#779501)

    I have to laugh at you hysterically for your blindness to police intimidation, and yet at the same time, I'm envious if that's your real relationship with the cops. Here in the USA, it's quite a bit different of a relationship. The police regularly abuse us, unconstitutionally confiscate our property, moonlight for the rich as anti-union enforcers, kill anyone one of us that they perceive as a threat to their lives (usually black people), torture people before death (Kelly Thomas), and have become increasingly militant with a strong reliance on military hardware. On top of that, they abuse the purpose of unions to create their Blue Shield to remove all accountability and effective civil oversight.

    You've described Mayberry, a fictional US town in the 50s where everybody knew everybody and it wasn't a cop knocking on your door, or pulling you over. It was Frank, Steve, Bill, etc. and you didn't need to fear them at all. Like you alluded to, they would show up anyways if they knew of a dispute between two people, to help bring peace and civility back. Imagine Don Knotts in his kindly way moderating a dispute, and that's the picture you've painted for me.

    I'm not sure the police actually exist as you say they do, but I would like to think we could live in a world where the police and your relationship to them, are as you said. I do see your point though, and if the officer just came and talked because it was reported, that might not be so bad. Except our valid cynicism of the cops makes us see that as intimidation and an attempt to stifle free speech. Although, I've not heard anything about the conduct of either party during the visit, just the fact it happened, and we are all to extrapolate from that with our own biases.

    --
    Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +3  
       Insightful=2, Interesting=1, Total=3
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   5  
  • (Score: 2) by fritsd on Saturday December 29 2018, @01:41PM

    by fritsd (4586) on Saturday December 29 2018, @01:41PM (#779675) Journal

    Ed III, I once bought the DVD of the film "Borat". It greatly enhanced my knowledge of "Cultural Learnings of America", a country I've never visited (and am not planning to).

    There was a little menu on the DVD with "cut out" film scenes. One of them left me sitting with my mouth open in surprise (no, not the beach sex scene).

    It was when Borat and his producer Azamat are stopped by the police.

    I thought: "in that scene, Sacha Baron Cohen shows the difference between police under civil control, and police that is just the biggest meanest best armed gang of them all".

    Civilization!