Mutley Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-12621864 Tasteless, cruel and wholly inappropriate but an arrestable offence? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tribz Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Correct action Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La_Dolce_Vita Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 But why? The article doesn't give a lot of information as to why exactly the woman was arrested. Would the same have occurred in a court if somebody did something 'insulting' to another person? Or was the arrest made on the silly assumption that the comment was threatening? A nasty comment to make though, after someone has lost their sight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tribz Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 I imagine it was a section 5 public order likely to cause distress to another person or whatever its called. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La_Dolce_Vita Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 My suspicion was that it was purely because it was in a court. An arrest in that case does seem to be wrong. Is it really likely to cause distress? I very much doubt that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tribz Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Would it not distress you if you or your family had been shot in the face and some little scrote did that? And by not acting on it, what message would be conveyed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grant Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 I can barely begin to imagine what it would be like to lose your sight. Pc David Rathband lost his doing his job. (that includes protecting people like you) If shouting "bang bang" behind him doesn't cause distress in your opinion LDV, then fine. I'm very pleased that this scum was arrested. I hope they get punished severely. If this had happened to one of your friends, would you feel differently LDV? Or is the fact it happened to a Pc tainting your views? You are a very strange person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweek Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Unfortunately, the world is full of chav fu**wits, and they are breeding exponentially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La_Dolce_Vita Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 I can barely begin to imagine what it would be like to lose your sight. Pc David Rathband lost his doing his job. (that includes protecting people like you) Don't get me started on the protection bit! I don't think it would cause distress, no. Not in consideration of the fact that such a thing occurred in Court where the justice of the matter is being decided and in terms of the words being used. But it actually doesn't matter. It really is a matter of whether it actually caused distress or not. And even then I still think the person should not be arrested for saying it. Not more than I think someone saying 'faggot' or 'queer' should be arrested. I think there have to be extremely good reasons, exceptional reasons why freedom of speech should be curtailed and this isn't one of them for me. Although I think it is horrible and stupid what was said. Really no need in the circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulgarian Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Laws which punish people for verbal abuse of any kind, be it racist, homophobic, whatever, are not compatible with freedom of speech and should have no place in a modern justice system. Someone call you a nasty name? Grow the fuck up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tribz Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 There isnt freedom of speech though is there, or certainly not without consequence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulgarian Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 There isnt freedom of speech though is there, or certainly not without consequence. By freedom of speech I mean the freedom to say what you like without censorship or intervention from the state. Anything you say to other people is going to have consequences, great or small, most likely social ones, and it's up to you to accept them. It should not be the business of the judiciary to mediate and regulate these interactions, with all that that entails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooldad Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 I can barely begin to imagine what it would be like to lose your sight. Pc David Rathband lost his doing his job. (that includes protecting people like you) If shouting "bang bang" behind him doesn't cause distress in your opinion LDV, then fine. I'm very pleased that this scum was arrested. I hope they get punished severely. If this had happened to one of your friends, would you feel differently LDV? Or is the fact it happened to a Pc tainting your views? You are a very strange person. What he said - only a very deranged person would think it wouldn't cause distress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La_Dolce_Vita Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Laws which punish people for verbal abuse of any kind, be it racist, homophobic, whatever, are not compatible with freedom of speech and should have no place in a modern justice system. Someone call you a nasty name? Grow the fuck up. I agree. But I think it is simplistic to say 'grow the fuck up' in recognition of the effects that language can have. It has the power to reinforce ways of thinking and viewing the world (and other people). Use of nigger and faggot occur to put certain people in 'their place'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulgarian Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Of course words can have a great deal of power. We should strive to educate people about the effect abusive language can have. But if you are on the receiving end of this kind of abuse you should not expect the police to step in and punish the perpetrators. In that sense you just have to grow the fuck up and deal with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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