To think Jo Brand should be allowed to joke about anything and everything?

[noleftturn]

I don't want to live in a world where we are all censored

Jo Brand does not work for the BBC, so they can’t sack her. She’s not on their payroll.
The programme was recorded I believe. The editors at the BBC were at fault for broadcasting the comment. Jo might not have thought through what she was saying but she’s not the gatekeeper what goes out - that is a BBC employee.
I think the comment was in poor taste given recent times being full of threats (and violence, Jo Cox RIP) against politicians, and prevalence of acid attacks.
Freedom of speech does not mean what most people think it means. And the “funny ness” or lack of is not relevant.
Context is relevant, though. A comment on a boundary-pushing deliberately “off-colour” comedy show is less of an incitement to violence than comments certain politicians including Farage have made publicly and in all seriousness

People who have been no platformed in British Universities for hate speech: Julie Bindel, Germaine Greer, Jenni Murray.

PP mentioned Jimmy Carr and his rape 'jokes', something he seems to specialise in.

Are they funny? I imagine Jimmy Carr doesn't have a lot of insight into why rape isn't rib tickling funny. I certainly don't find him or his jokes funny, but maybe it's just me.

Rape = funny, not for me.

I repeat for the hard of understanding: the criminal law represents the standard behaviour must not fall below. It does not exist to prescribe what is right, socially acceptable, desirable etc.
I do not wish to live in a society where falling below standards of social acceptability attracts criminal sanction.
The police should not be wasting their time with this when kids are dying of knife wounds on our streets every day.

Yanbu. Making a joke in poor taste is not a crime and nor should it be.

I wonder if people like Katie Piper think joking about throwing acid at people is funny?

TheAngryLlama

I must be hard of understanding. I don’t know from where you believe the criminal law is derived, if not from our collective sense of what is socially unacceptable. Surely one feeds the other?

Context is relevant, though. A comment on a boundary-pushing deliberately “off-colour” comedy show is less of an incitement to violence than comments certain politicians including Farage have made publicly and in all seriousness

This encapsulates why the right leaning tiwtter mob is in outrage mode, they are pointing out the hypocrisy of nuance and context when edgy right leaning jokes are made and facebook/twitter posters have been dragged through the courts. It is holding up the left to the same standards that they set.

The fact you have brought Farage into the discussion shows the nuance and context you speak of is based along specific lines. If someone had made a similar joke about forget egging (just after corbyn got egged) and instead use battery acid the conversation would be a total 180.

Have to agree over the police investigation.

Jo Brand should be made aware that her remarks were not acceptable, but getting the police involved? Absolutely not necessary nor desirable.

I usually like Jo Brand, but this was totally out of line.

There is a real and growing culture that if you disagree with someone's views you are entitled to see them as 'hateful' 'hate peddlars' and that assaults on them are justified. I think there is a real danger of people moving on from throwing eggs and milkshakes to acid. I mean, acid attacks are now a thing in this country.

She was absolutely wrong to say this.

Imagine how you would feel if a public person joked about acid attacks on people holding a view that you strongly hold?

Can you share one funny joke about paedophilia or genocide?

Say what you like about Gary Glitter, but he was a very considerate driver. He used to live near me, and I ways always impressed with the way he would slow right down when driving past the primary school.

Now you may not think it's funny, but that's personal taste. It's a joke about paedophilia, and no children were harmed in telling it. Plus, the butt of the joke is Gary Glitter, not the children. People get hung up on the subject of the joke, they forget about the content of the joke.

The Law isn't based on our "collective feeling" . We are not a hive mind telepathically transmitting our thoughts to the Police and Judiciary!!
Laws have evolved over hundreds of years, from multiple sources (religion, custom, Government, public petition etc) and are constantly challenged, updated, amended, repealed.

The Police don't pluck them out of thin air - nor do they ask the public what they (the public) think about a particular event!
If a complaint is made to the Police, it is investigated to ascertain whether A LAW has been broken

Laws have evolved over centuries from what a society deems acceptable at the time. The police are just a mouthpiece implementing what society wants

There is a real and growing culture that if you disagree with someone's views you are entitled to see them as 'hateful' 'hate peddlars' and that assaults on them are justified. I think there is a real danger of people moving on from throwing eggs and milkshakes to acid. I mean, acid attacks are now a thing in this country.

There is, and whats more surprising is that it isn't coming from the right that many like to portray

twitter.com/YouGov/status/1139081077400752128

I was appalled by this ; she is an intelligent woman and should know better. She also used to be a nurse which makes it worse.

I used to like her, but this was really out of order ( I'm no fan of the Brexit party by the way but I even felt milkshakes were bad enough)
Why do they all say these stupid things? It's not comedy at all. It's just inflammatory.

I wonder if people like Katie Piper think joking about throwing acid at people is funny?

I wonder if tall, thin, stressed hotel owners think Fawlty Towers is funny? Does someone with a big red nose think clowns are funny. Ever joke ever told will upset someone.

But here's the thing...just because you are offended doesn't make you right.

Farage is the one who said Jo’s comments were an incitement to violence, not me!
I’d say he’s the hypocrite there, but I await to see what the police assess

noleftturn

That’s just the detail, though, isn’t it?

You seem to be contradicting yourself. If the police are a mouthpiece reflecting what society wants, then the laws are a reflection of what society wants, aren’t they? They are not separate. If Jo Brand’s comments are considered to have crossed the line into criminality, it is because we as a society have - at some point - decided incitement to violence is unacceptable.

It was on a radio programme called Heresy, the clue’s kind of in the name.

CountFosco
People who have been no platformed in British Universities for hate speech: Julie Bindel, Germaine Greer, Jenni Murray.

The irony of feminists being no platformed in universities is the amount of people that they have been ok doing it to.

'Free speech for all but only if I agree with it.'

Can you share one funny joke about paedophilia or genocide?

You are setting people up, comedy is subjective. You will never eradicate edgy humour, trying to spin all comedy down to the lowest common denominator is futile, hence why brand is in this situation.

Humans have enjoyed edgy dark humour for thousands of years. There is a reason why before Boyle became a Guardian columist he sold out stadiums making very edgy rape jokes, and still does (which is conveniently brushed aside by the likes of the guardian now he has pinned his political stripe to anti tory)

People can laugh at genocidal and pedophilia jokes without being either

Whats more surprising is that it isn't coming from the right that many like to portray

No, it’s coming from the so-called regressive left, who think by making certain things unsayable you can make thoughts unthinkable. It’s all about conformity - conformity of thought, speech and opinion. They like to talk about tolerance and diversity, but only in regards to skin colour, gender or sexual orientation - you know, the totally unimportant stuff. Never diversity of thought or opinion, the things that really matter, people’s hearts and minds.

This really isn’t a right or left issue though, free speech is above that, it affects everyone.

I really like Jo Brand and dislike Nigel Farage, but this joke is not funny at all. I am all for a bit of milkshake throwing though

There is, and whats more surprising is that it isn't coming from the right that many like to portray

There has always been a strong sense of so-called "morality" and groupthink in the British left.

I repeat that the criminal law is not about social acceptability. It is generally considered socially unacceptable to pick one’s nose in public. I hope no one would contend that it should be a criminal matter.
This failure to understand that the criminal law penalises behaviour which falls below a certain standard rather than behaviour which fails to reach a standard of “acceptability” is causing the police to intervene in areas where they have no business to be.

TheAngryLlama

You are talking nonsense. All “unacceptable” behaviour is defined by social norms. Some of that behaviour is considered criminal, some isn’t. Incitement to violence is.