shocked so many people think this is ok? Arrest of man who set fire to poppy!

[AlphaBeta82]

don't get me wrong he is an obnoxious, unpatriotic, idiot, but too call this an arrestable offence really concerns me. Have we lost that much of free speech in this country that if someone disagrees (on a personal social networking page!) with one of our traditions we throw them in jail. what happened to freedom of speech.

I am not defending his actions in the slightest, but it does concern me that this is what our country has come too!

This smacks of lazy policing. It must be so easy to sit in an office, look at the internet, make a screen shot of the FB page and fill in the paper work.

Job done, clear up rate increases.

My guess is he won't end up being charged with anything.

Wouldn't surprise me if he was taken to give him a bit of a fright and point out that what he's done may result in possible retaliation. To some people that WILL have been offensive and inflammatory and if he posted it on Facebook those people could easily find out where he lives. On Sunday some moron dressed in pink and on a skateboard joined in the remembrance day parade in Bristol as some anti-war protest and the police had to grab him and arrest him because he was about to be set up on by people and "taught a lesson in respect".

But there is a BIG difference being physically present at a scene, skateboarding up to people and being offensive right in their faces. I can see how that could turn ugly and I would want police to intervene, not necessarily charge someone but try to prevent a breach of the peace.

But I wonder and worry about these people who get offended by what they read on Twitter/Facebook etc. That is more like someone deciding that they are going to get terribly offended and/or worried. Paul chambers tweet about blowing up the airport was to his friends - if not one of his friends you would have to search for his tweet.

This man did not plaster up posters or put them through people's letterboxes. Now the 'offended' have ensured that his photo and words have been seen by an enormous amount of people, probably giving him attention that he craves. Stupid and idiotic. Leave him be.

One of the most worrying things is that the offended fucknuggets who threaten violence in order to 'teach people respect' are never the ones arrested. Mobs apparently gathered outside a house that was mistakenly said to be Matthew Wood's, but no arrests were made despite the fact that these people genuinely intended violence. But that was all right, because they were 'decent' people who were offended...

Goodness, if everyone who who was a twat and posted twattish stuff on facebook got arrested, then 70% of the population would have a criminal record :o

Solid gold, I read your blogpost and think that is spot on. Man who hits and terrorises a real actual women gets ... Community service. Man who writes nasty things about a child murdered by someone else gets prison. Makes no sense at all.