This article is from November 17th, so a couple days old, but I found it worthwhile.

  • Razzle_Dazzle08@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    It seems every week I see the UK criminally charging people for disgusting and offensive chants, gestures etc.

    They are disgusting acts but to criminally charge for this is insanity and a slippery slope to the Government deciding what you can and can’t say.

    • Savant_7@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      Why is insanity when it’s a breach of the Public Order Act 1986? This is nothing new. I’m not sure I understand how anyone is complaining.

    • train4karenina@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      The government represents the people. We’ve had this laws for over a hundred years.

      We aren’t America, we don’t view free speech in the same way.

    • Ezekiiel@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      Slippery slope? These laws have existed for longer than both of us have been alive.

      • Outrageous_Pension90@alien.topB
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        1 year ago

        And there’s probably a reason a colony of yours was so focused on being able to speak their mind without punishment don’t you think?

    • TheGoldenPineapples@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      Why though?

      The law isn’t new, we’ve had lots of iterations of it over the centuries.

      Also, freedom of speech isn’t freedom of consequences for saying it or doing it.

    • maxthelabradore@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      People have got in trouble for “offensive” reddit posts before

      https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/watch-moment-web-troll-who-11918656

      I had a really bad experience recently with drugs and started yelling extremely offensive things to police when they came to help me. I wasn’t charged with any of that - I did make a very bad false claim that’s specifically being investigated, but it’s nothing to do with how offensive it was. One of the things I thought they would do me for is writing a note on my computer for them to find (it involved ra*e). They just asked where that stuff came from and I openly told them I wanted to say the most vile things imaginable but they treated me well and listened.