Should racist speech be controlled by the law?

I think the note was quite mild. I have to fight the urge to key the cars of people who park badly.

Jesus newwave, you need help. Your note was completely out of proportion and your subsequent screaming of abuse in public was deeply offensive - I would have found it unacceptable and I might well have called the police on you, and I'm white. I certainly would have been unhappy for my children to have overheard that filth. Have you thought about some kind of counselling for your anger problem (and your racism tbh)?

AnyFuleSno Tue 07-Dec-10 21:08:17
No jacqueline, that's clearly harassment and as your example shows it's already covered by existing laws.

What we're talking about is what you say, perhaps in the privacy of your own home. Would it ever be ok that you could be arrested on the strength of that?

No, no he wasn't prosecuted for harrassment he would never have been brave enough to just stand in front of me and say it.

He was heard to say this in a very loud voice once within a communal hallway, once whilst on the stairways in his flat and then again whilst having a conversation accross the street with his 9 year old daughter.

There was a lot of fuss over what could and what couldn't be deemed illegal. It was agreed in court that he could not be prosecuted for the comment that he made within his own appartment and that was dismissed. However, the comment he made in the street and the comment he made within a communal stairway (on the way to his appartment) he could be prosecuted for and he was found guilty.

There was a lot of umming and ahhing about prosecuting him for making a comment within the building he lived in, but an amazing court clerk found one other case that had set a prescident and so the racist bastard got what was coming to him. Hurrah!!

PS. The Daily Mail is good read!

Claig. Read the Daily Mail article. It was ridiculous IMO to bring that man to court, waste taxpayers money and give him a criminial record. What are we living in some sort of police state? Next we will be prosecuted for what we write on this site!

It does seem quite one-sided. When I was at school, an asian boy took the mick out of my very pale skin. I naturally reacted commenting on his skin colour. Guess which one of us got a b*llocking? Ridiculous.

My neighbour was called a "white bastard" by another black neighbour. IMO he was 'white' he certainly was a bastard, should the black man be prosecuted? Not in my books.

no, we laready have laws on incitement, and that should have been enough.

newwave - For the record I would have called her a "fucking selfish cunt who can't fucking park".

Though I would have just got in the passenger side and got on with my day, so the situation probably wouldn't have arisen.

I think it is really rather sad that we need to have laws to tell people that it is not acceptable to hurl offensive and derogatory terms at each other, and that on a parenting site we think it is more important to have the right to do so than to curtail our baser instincts. Surely this is one of the early lessons we try and teach our children. To have empathy, to understand the impact of our actions, to think before we speak?

Free speech is very important, to me it is about sharing ideas, knowledge and information, and should not in any way be confused with the "right" to openly display hatred and intolerance. I've never felt that my speech was in any way meaningfully curtailed because I couldn't be sexist, racist, homophobic or disablist, that I have a responsibility to think (just a little bit) about the impact on other people about what I'm about to say is fine by me.

All this because someone parked inconsiderately?

What would you have done if she had some something serious? Queue jumping, perhaps? Or "looking at you in a funny way"?

Ok LG I have said it should not have used that language.

In the same position what would you have done. If she had not returned i would have got in through the passenger door and driven off however she came back and read my note. WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE.

inciting racial hatred is different from expressing a rascist opinion. i think the latter should remain legal.

If it is public and someone feels harassed, etc by it then yes, it could be deemed a public order offence. If you called me a fat cow in public, I would probably agree .....so no offence.

OK, then if you are uninformed, on your head be it

Scurry says that any insult fat/ugly/stupid etc cannot be used in a row.

claig, Daily Mail! no need to be nasty.

The only toilet paper that comes prefilled with shit

newwave, I'm afraid you need to start reading the Daily Mail on a regular basis

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-497496/English-bitch-Insult-landed-Irishman-living-Wales-court-racial-harassment.html

I think some rows are OK, but if there is any racial element, it is serious

From your replies it seems you cannot have a "legal" row in public with anyone now.

claig, what a waste of Police resources that would have been.

I bet she is careful how she parks now.

Scurry, she caused me "distress" what section covers that :o