Good luck Harry The Owl

A massive, massive thanks to whomever is live-tweeting this, it's a phenomenal job you've done and hugely important. I'd buy you a drink but will pop it in the crowdfunderifwe'reallowedtomentionit.

Under the whole ring up and announce being a protected minority who has just experienced a feeling of offence, name the target, see target punished - it would be perfectly possible to end up with a hate crime on your dbs, affecting your life and employment, from something you did in full innocence and no intent or knowledge of offending at all

Especially if the only thing police go on is a name. The scope for "hilarious" mixups with Smiths and Jones is too great to contemplate.

Beard v Posie

There's guidance on 'old' though. I feel old. Might go for that one.

Yes nauticant. Pretty shameful.

chilling I'm completely baffled

I just don't understand all these people feeling ever so upset about vague statements that are not directed at them personally but who then send vile messages to women that absolutely are directed at them. And for some reason the women aren't the victims here. I feel like I've stepped into a parallel universe

There is something shameful in using Stephen Lawrence as a human shield isn't there?

I've also lost two days to these cases. Can't think of much more important than our civil liberties and freedom of speech, though.

This - obviously - also applies to Gay (Homosexual) men.

Absolutely @CriticalCondition . No one has the right not to be offended. I get offended by things. I don't phone up the police because of it. (Usually think what a twonk and carry on with my day.)

Under the whole ring up and announce being a protected minority who has just experienced a feeling of offence, name the target, see target punished - it would be perfectly possible to end up with a hate crime on your dbs, affecting your life and employment, from something you did in full innocence and no intent or knowledge of offending at all.

Its insane. And inane. And the justification is to witter about 'but it gains the confidence of the minorities'.

You utter nitwit, half the women in trouble for WrongThink with TRAs are homosexuals or trans themselves!

Why aren't women allowed to complain about hate crimes/incidents? Why is sex not included as a protected characteristic?

As far as I recall, the argument was that there are so many sexist hate crimes the police couldn't feasibly cope.

Lesbianism is a Protected Characteristic based on same Sex (female female) attraction.

Perhaps Lesbians in the future could start contacting police forces to have it recorded as a Hate Incident around the country when anyone, anywhere and by whatever means, says otherwise.

At some point, surely, a working definition of 'hate' is going to have to be established?

And ?

I hate - and I mean hate - cauliflower. I also hate fascists. And rapists. And poverty. And inequality.

Michelle even worse, hate incidents reporting is not law. Or have I misunderstood.

'We have to monitor level of hatred and keep track of it'

'you can't have a hate incident without evidence of hate'

At some point, surely, a working definition of 'hate' is going to have to be established? It's mindblowing that this has got into law without being clearly enough established that a lawyer and a judge are trying to have this conversation with no shared meaning .

Another symptom of genderology: words adapted until there is no shared meaning and no point where a group of people can actually understand each other. Which was the whole frigging point of the human race evolving to use language in the first place.

If every black, Disabled or gay person reported everything that was discrimination or they disagreed with they'd soon stop recording them.

Or thought was discrimination or disagreement ... making "it's coz I is " a reality, finally.

Maybe that was the intention all along ?

I'm in a grumpy mood right now, and it seems to me that in the past 30 years, every attempt to work towards a more inclusive world has been undermined to create a more exclusive one. The conclusion will be there will be 6,999,999,999 different ways to offend "someone".

Grandma why not indeed? Is it because the police force would shut down under deluge? Or is it because women aren't important? Or both? A conundrum to be sure.

'You can't have a hate incident without evidence of hate'. THIS

They're called hate incidents but they're really 'offence incidents'

Fair Cop has just posted

Certainly seems that way! This is brilliant.

I'm also totally failing to do any work today. Wasn't that productive yesterday either.

Judge asks: I phone the police and say I'm the victim of hate
incident, they say what? Well I just am, I feel it.

There has to be some hate element, surely, says judge.

Counsel is stumped.

'You can't have a hate incident without evidence of hate'. THIS

Agree. And if this doesn't result in a common sense decision, this is how we counteract it. Report, report, report.