Free speech case.
 

A victory for Liberty.

What was the tweet? It's still being recorded as a hate incident. The right to free speech in the UK still has conditions, it doesn't allow for hateful or abusive expression.

It was a lot of tweets about transgenders, you would be banned on here if you posted them..

Shows you how authoritarian they are on here. Even the courts of the land don't agree with them.

Parm I wished you'd paste the article or at least relevant parts if you want to start a discussion...

> https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/202...fered-freedom/

He didn't even write the tweets himself, he reposted someone else's limerick, so it's pathetic he got even a portion of the blame.

:joker:

It should do. Until violence is called for, nothing should be off the table.

I just looked into it and saw some awful tweets which he retweeted. He seems like a very hateful man and I am glad that he ended up in court for what he said even if the judge didn't see it as a crime. I agree that he has the right to say that he doesn't understand trans people but the way he went about it was not warranted and I hope he will make better decisions in the future.

I believe he was reprimanded for multiple tweets and not just that verse that he retweeted.

It doesn't matter if you think it should though, it's the law.

The relevant parts are the tweets themselves..bbc news just showed them...but I'm not going to on here..Im no daft oliver. .:nono:

Racism shouldn’t be off the table? Homophobia shouldn’t be off the table? (Don’t understand why it’d be different for transphobia anyway but w/e)

Nope, it's all just words.

If people want to be exposed as racists, homophobes, or transphobes then give them the spotlight!

I've said umpteen times but freedom of speech is NOT freedom from consequences

I completely agree with this. And there should only be consequences if violence is called for. Otherwise, the law has no place when it comes to the sounds peoples' mouths make.

If someone walks up to a black guy and calls him the N-word, he shouldn't face any legal consequences. The black guy is completely free to call him a cracker, and they can both go on their merry way. Or the black guy can punch him in the gob. Then the white guy can either hit him back, or file assault charges.

That's how it should be, anyway.

No sorry I completely disagree with you, hate speech is against the law and therefore should be dealt with accordingly

I didn't say hate speech wasn't against the law. I was saying the law shouldn't have an opinion on it whatsoever, and it shouldn't be dealt with at all.

You don't deserve that opinion since you obviously haven't spent your life dealing with hateful people.

Everyone deserves an opinion.

You are basically saying people should be allowed to be as hateful as they like towards others as long as no violence is involved

Why is catfish not against the law some but not all are hurtful I seen It on mtv

Cat the show cat the show

Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying :)

I dont really know what kind of reply you expect to that.

You could try saying why you think people shouldn't have the right to say what they want?

I dont think that though, people saying what they think/want and people inciting hatred are two completely different things, the latter is harrasment and abuse both of which are illegal and rightly so.

What do you think would benefit us if it were legal to say hateful and abusive things?

Absolutely nothing..

Hatred is just an emotional response, "inciting" it shouldn't be a legal matter either.

How would it be beneficial to control what people can and cannot say? Why is people not feeling upset for a few minutes more important than freedom?

I think the thought is..


Why would you want to say hateful things.:shrug:

Imo there is no need of it outside comedy or parody...

There's no need to eat more than enough to stay alive, and no need to watch television. We should be able to do things we don't need, as long it doesn't directly lead to violence.

people say hateful and spiteful things everyday - many examples are on this very forum, nobody bats an eye and it's not illegal, but it suddenly becomes a problem if a protected group is referenced. It's not a level playing field.

Personally, i think things have gone too far. We are now at the point where if 1 single person takes offence at something someone said, then it is classified as a hate incident. That is 100% wrong, and I can't believe that is now the law.

To me I'd meet Oliver halfway on this topic.

I personally don't think that verbally attacking a group of people on Social Media should see you arrested. And I do agree with Oliver that violent hate crimes should definitely see the thug that committed the offence arrested.

However we do get cases where say a Lesbian woman is getting harassed by a straight guy for being a Lesbian, and he keeps hurling abuse at her, imo that individual should also be arrested for harassment and a hate crime as he would've deliberately targeted her because she's a Lesbian.

Obviously I'm just putting out a hypothetical scenario there (that was also quite long winded) but I hope that you guys understand what I'm trying to say.:joker:

You can cause pain/distress and fear by using words without the need for physical violence so that’s why the law is rightfully in place.

And even calling someone fat and ugly can lead to them taking their own life.

It’s about what’s being said who it’s being said to, why it’s being said and who is saying it.

yes i understand, i mean on social media you can block certain people, or put your profile to private (visible to friends only)

in real life, and out on the Streets, you can't so you're less protected against hate crime

Of course it's not a level playing field though because certain groups of people haven't been targeted by hate and prejudice for centuries.

What about groups like Brexiteers? All thick, racist, bigots who don't know what they're doing. Have they been the target of hate crimes over the past few years?

Katie Hopkins receives abusive comments everyday. Is she the victim of hate crimes?

I would say she is more guilty of inciting hate than receiving it tbh

That said, none of it is ok IMO

But hatred often leads to violence..