Arrested Because He Joked About Mandela

Wait a sec. Before we get all our panties in a bunch and light up the torches and grab the pitch forks, calling out to all who will hear, "This is the Death of Free Speech in America!!" I just have one question for y'all....

Neil Phillips, who runs Crumbs in Rugeley, Staffordshire

Is this man and this article about AMERICA???

I don't recall a Staffordshire being in America....

On a side note, the joke by jhn7537 about the "Full Nelson". I liked it!! I admit I chuckled...But then again I like Lame Jokes. Not sure how you'll take that comment, but I meant it as a good thing!!

R.I.P. Morgan Freeman

reply to post by ColoradoJens


Well then, why do I hear so many dissent about how we over across the pond are barbaric and shouldn't ever want or need guns? When over there you can't even post a joke online without being arrested?

Seems to me, brits should mind their own tyranny before addressing our need for gun control as I see many European members do. After all, if you don't like not having free speech or free thought, there really isn't anything you can do about it, can you? Besides that, there really wouldn't be any need because your government is so civilized and beyond corruption that no matter how bad the authoritarian boot clamped down on your face, you could talk your way out of it, right?

I mean, history books are just littered with examples of people freeing themselves from oppression, tyranny and enslavement will clever words and sharp wit, right?

Well, I guess you could throw rocks and curse the Americans for their evil Constitution and silly guaranteed rights....... That may work? If so, I'll remember that when they are kicking in your door to make sure you have paid your television tax.

kingears
A man was arrested in september for posting a joke in a forum about Nelson Mandela.

So I seem to be the only person that actually bothered READING the news article in question, before commenting on it.

He was one of two men interviewed by police following a bitter, ill-tempered feud over plans for a mining memorial

The memorial dispute sank to new depths at a Rugeley Town Council meeting last week, when police ejected Mr Christopher.

He was enraged by public allegations that some of those involved in the miner's tribute were 'thugs and fascists'.
One council official admitted: 'It didn’t come to fisticuffs, but it was close.'

One was of a shocking image of decapitation, another featuring a wheelchair-bound individual, both posted by Mr Phillips.
He said: 'They are vile and deeply offensive, anti-Muslim, anti-disabled.'

Despite what the article says, I doubt (as you worded it) "posting a joke" had anything to do with being questioned by police. The issue goes MUCH deeper than that simple story.

When did Freedom of Speech extend to the internet? There is no such thing as rights on the internet.

buster2010
When did Freedom of Speech extend to the internet? There is no such thing as rights on the internet.

edit on 9-12-2013 by buster2010 because: (no reason given)

How long did it take you to think that up? Because people don't exist on the internet? Because the internet is controlled by Somebody somewhere that can persecute you at will for no reason because you don't have any rights on the internet?

Really?

Freedom of speech and of thought not only extends to the internet but far beyond it. That includes hate speech, it includes the Westburough Baptist Church, it includes the Black Panthers, it includes the KKK. It doesn't matter, speech is speech and ideas are only offensive to dictators and authoritarians. The rest of us can pick and choose what we WANT to listen to because we are not sheep that need others to make that choice for us.

reply to post by kingears


This is not freedom this is tyranny. Time to wake up folks. Why do so many people think it´s okay for this to be happening and even think it´s normal. THIS IS NOT NORMAL. I am so #ing outraged right now. We can joke about whoever the # we want. Time to take your country back folks. As for Mandela here´s an interesting read - helpfreetheearth.com...

reply to post by alfa1


Yes there was a wider issue at hand, a feud about a mining memorial service the local councillor said was being hijacked by the EDL. But that's kinda irrelevant imo. He was still arrested for what he posted on the internet at the end of the day.

King

reply to post by buster2010

When did Freedom of Speech extend to the internet? There is no such thing as rights on the internet.

Rights extended to the internet when laws extended to the internet.

Laws and rights, for the most part, extend from the laws and rights from your real world location, to the internet, with you. The line of where that begins and ends is a little blurry, but, that does not mean you have no rights on the internet.

Wait til they find out Morgan Freeman died!

Lysergic
Wait til they find out Morgan Freeman died!

LOL!! Ya Dork! That meme has confused some folks out there.. which is hilarious. On my oldest daughters facebook some goof wrote something about did she hear that african guy off of Bruce Almighty who played God had died?? Yep.. musta seen the meme...

reply to post by kingears


Make fun of a terrorist - Go straight to jail. Sounds logical, but shouldn't there be tons of people in jail for making fun of other terrorists like Osama? Hmm...

Not surprising though, people have become so overly politically correct that they can't distinguish between a knee jerk reaction and a real threat. It's only going to get worse too, and people who are part of the problem will run around blaming everyone else and not understanding why the world is going to hell in handbasket.

Get a grip people. Jokes have been made on everyone and everything from A to Z since the dawn of time and will continue. I'd like to see the little piggies who get all butthurt over such jokes to arrest me and hundreds of thousands of others who make politically incorrect jokes.

Such a huge increase of people being arrested/approached by police for doing completley harmless acts. Police state here we come.

I never would've thought it in a million years but it must be true.

Mandela was somehow involved in the holocaust!!.

Helious
reply to post by ColoradoJens

 

Well then, why do I hear so many dissent about how we over across the pond are barbaric and shouldn't ever want or need guns? When over there you can't even post a joke online without being arrested?

Seems to me, brits should mind their own tyranny before addressing our need for gun control as I see many European members do. After all, if you don't like not having free speech or free thought, there really isn't anything you can do about it, can you? Besides that, there really wouldn't be any need because your government is so civilized and beyond corruption that no matter how bad the authoritarian boot clamped down on your face, you could talk your way out of it, right?

I mean, history books are just littered with examples of people freeing themselves from oppression, tyranny and enslavement will clever words and sharp wit, right?

Well, I guess you could throw rocks and curse the Americans for their evil Constitution and silly guaranteed rights....... That may work? If so, I'll remember that when they are kicking in your door to make sure you have paid your television tax.

edit on 9-12-2013 by Helious because: (no reason given)

Ho Helious,

I was just pointing out the facts of the story. Because I am an American I too find it incredible in GB you can be arrested for making jokes. It seemed as if you were attacking the US in your first post.

CJ

reply to post by Kali74


"that's bent on convincing white people that they're persecuted"

So the common core curricula that forces faculty and students to confront each other about their "white privilege" isn't persecution?

So when a white male is more qualified than a black man and a mexican female and he isn't even CONSIDERED for the job or slot in a good school because he's WHITE he's not persecuted?

Cool... well I guess I can unsaddle from all this white guilt I'm supposed to be carrying for all the stuff that WASN"T WRONG people who were alive long before I was and have nothing to do with me other than sharing the same basic skin coloration did to people because obviously that wasn't persecution either.


So does that mean we can finally have a truly level playing field where I don't have to listen to half the minorities I know talk about how much they hate white people because of how RACIST they are? I mean aside from that being moronically funny in the fact that they profess hate of an ENTIRE RACE because SOME of that race are occasionally dicks to them... which last time I checked was in fact the very definition of racism. It's just achingly hilarious that somehow It's ok to punish an entire generation of white people who have done NOTHING WRONG TO ANYONE for stuff that happened generations ago.

I have news for everyone.... your land... yeah no matter how legitimate you think your claim is to it. Someone SOME TIME has KILLED SOMEONE ELSE AND STOLEN THAT LAND!

That's the real irony of this idiocy is if we start punishing entire groups of people retroactively what date do we set as the limiting date before which any and all "crimes" committed no longer constitute a valid claim?

And further since when you really get down to it and drill down into the genetics we're all related at some level how do we sort out the "guilty" party?

If this situation were a map printed in middle ages europe the territory we're entering into now would be labeled with the quintessential this way there be dragons monniker and skulls crossbones and sea monsters.

So yeah kali you're free to stick your head in the sand and only get mad when brown people are wronged or whatever it is your pet agenda is these days.

But for me and mine.... We see this for the sheer stupidity this truly is, and we can only bide our time and wait for enough other people to wake up to this insanity so we have a fighting chance of taking back power from you NUTJOB FREAKS

buster2010
When did Freedom of Speech extend to the internet? There is no such thing as rights on the internet.

edit on 9-12-2013 by buster2010 because: (no reason given)

c'mon buster...geez...there you go being logical again....you have to let the imagination flow, like brain cells out through the ear canals...I was wondering the same thing when I read your post, by the way. great minds think alike.

Helious

buster2010
When did Freedom of Speech extend to the internet? There is no such thing as rights on the internet.

edit on 9-12-2013 by buster2010 because: (no reason given)

How long did it take you to think that up? Because people don't exist on the internet? Because the internet is controlled by Somebody somewhere that can persecute you at will for no reason because you don't have any rights on the internet?

Really?

Freedom of speech and of thought not only extends to the internet but far beyond it. That includes hate speech, it includes the Westburough Baptist Church, it includes the Black Panthers, it includes the KKK. It doesn't matter, speech is speech and ideas are only offensive to dictators and authoritarians. The rest of us can pick and choose what we WANT to listen to because we are not sheep that need others to make that choice for us.

edit on 9-12-2013 by Helious because: (no reason given)

Maybe you should take the time and read the terms you agree to when you join a forum. And the internet is nothing but machines working so no people don't exist on the internet. That's like saying people are in your television because you can see them on the screen.

jhn7537
reply to post by kingears

 

Sounds like they gave him the "Full Nelson".......

(Get off the stage)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

reply to post by alienreality


FYI ... The story of your enslavement ...