A Victory For Common Sense, Or Not?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2262523/Rowan-Atkinson-Ministers-agree-amend-laws-campaign-led-Blackadder-comedian.html

/// Gay rights campaigners from the group Outrage! were also arrested under the Act when they protested against supporters of the Islamist fundamentalist group, Hizb ut-Tahrir, which was calling for the killing of gays, Jews and unchaste women.///

Does this mean that saying such things is no longer offensive?

[sp1814]

They are offensive, but the CPS should still be able to bring prosecutions against those who say, burn poppies on Remembrance Sunday.

[emmie]

sp, i second that

[jake-the-peg]

I think this is the point sp

there is already legislation covering behaviour likely to cause a breach of the peace and abusive behaviour

//She told MPs: ‘Looking at past cases, the Director of Public Prosecutions could not identify any where the behaviour leading to a conviction could not be described as “abusive” as well as “insulting”.//

If something is not abusive but merely insulting it should not be an offense


This is a personal opinion but for me going to a rememberance day parade and burning poppies should be an offense - posting pictures of burning poppies on line should not necessarilly be so

[TheHangman]

Common sense is a little like foolproof. Every time you make something foolproof mother nature develops a better fool.

[sp1814]

Good points there JTP.

AOG - isn't there a danger that the police and CPS are going to have to adjudicate on very fine granularities of language - such as:

"All British soldiers should rot in hell"

And:

"Kill all British soldiers".

I see both as being offensive, but the first is an actual call to action.

And then again...what's the difference between an insulting statement and an offensive one?

[LazyGun]

I would agree with what Jake says. Provided only insult and not hate or abuse is offered, should be no police involvement.

You certainly should not be arrested for declaring that a mounted police officers horse "is gay" :)

I do like Hangmans post though- citing an excellent example of evolution in action :)

[LazyGun]

@ Sp surely its your second post that could be classed as a "call to action", not your first example?

[jake-the-peg]

I don't think that should be an issue SP

It's all about intent

You shout those sort of things to a crowd you're clearly trying to provoke a fight - that'd be an offense.

Post them on line, say them in a debate - it's an opinion


It's like the people who insist that anti-racist laws are inhibiting their right to hold or express an opinion.

They don't

They're there to prevent a breach of the peace or stop descrimination

[Zeuhl]

sp I'll try an answer to that

An insulting statement will contain elements that most people would judge to be derogatory

Muslims are all evil
British soldiers are murderers
etc.

I would suggest that no statement can be judged 'offensive' because offence is something a 'recipient' chooses to take or not.

The evidence being that the same statement can result in offence being taken by some and not others - therefore the statement can't in itself be 'offensive'

Therefore, someone could be on the receiving end of an 'insulting' statement and may be 'offended' by it or not.