Laurence Fox libel trial

[newnamethanks]

Laurence Fox has been sued for libel by two people he described as paedophiles in a twitter spat. They described LF as racist. Trial began today, suing and counter-suing. Mr Fox arrived with his - written thus (daily mail) in single quotes - 'girlfriend'. Odd description.

What kind of person posts a swastika fashioned from a British flag? And what kind of person thinks 'that's nice, I like it, I'll make one as well using the Pride flag'?

‘There is no possible way to post a swastika in support of gay people. ‘

of course there isn’t. He thinks he’s being smart, or funny. When he’s not doing a bit of Nazi origami he’s burning rainbow flags ( and filming it of course, always the filming).
Have your opinions, express your opinions, even if you’re a dickhead of the highest order. Fill your boots, you sad little man. But be aware that there will sometimes be consequences.

‘What kind of person posts a swastika fashioned from a British flag? And what kind of person thinks 'that's nice, I like it, I'll make one as well using the Pride flag'?’

NeoNazis? The mentally ill?

Correct on both counts I think.

I do not think he made it. He retweeted it.

Fox is not mentally ill; he's a privileged provocateur who has messed up all by himself

As if that makes one iota of difference! It's still either evil, completely thick or deranged. Or a delightul mix of all three.

And what kind of person defends jt?

And he knows the implications of that. Nobody thinks that gay people will feel supported by their flag being twisted into a swastika (nor would they later feel supported by him burning rainbow flags as pp has mentioned - support of gay people is not his intention, clearly). Tweeting or retweeting swastikas would get most people fired. Because it is a terrible thing to do.

But just like the QT thing, youre investing in a false narrative - there it was the pretence that he was shut down because of his skin colour (wrong, as explained at length) and here it is the pretence you, or he, could believe he posted the swastika to show support for the gay community. Neither is remotely convincing; both are smokescreens for racism.

Apologists can frequently be more ill-intentioned than originators, especially when they have no valid excuse or defence and are compelled to resort to truth-twisting and distortion in an attempt to validate the indefensible. Ill-advised.

They really are. They are the worst.

It's hilarious and disappointing in equal measure.

It's intensely depressing. I can scarcely believe what this country has become when oafs like Fox and his defenders are wrapping themselves in the flag, claiming patriotism, while spreading poisonous propaganda that would once have seen them, if not jailed, shunned by the vast majority. Utterly sickening.

It’s disappointing that posters can’t disagree with LF without all the nasty personal insults. For people who care so much about racism it’s pretty intolerant.
He says he posted the swastika because he thinks elements of pride are intolerant (like the Nazis). I don’t think he’s lying. It’s not something I would do but I also don’t think it means he endorses Nazi ideology.

You think that. Other people think otherwise. Nobody is able to justifiably defend posting a swastika under any circumstances. It's illegal to do so in many countries. If you support his doing so then look to yourself as to why that might be.

I don't think the question of him supporting Nazi ideology really matters. But everyone knows posting a swastika is not ok. It's not just unacceptable for Nazis to do it; it's offensive and revolting for anyone to do it. It was posted to cause distress. Again, most people would be facing disciplinary action at work if they did this. Fox has lost career opportunities because of it, because it is not an acceptable way to illustrate a point.

It’s not something I would do

Im not sure if you’re misreading my posts. Saying I understand the reasons is not the same as saying I ‘support’ the swastika.

I agree that it’s not great, but I also don’t think it’s evidence that he’s racist.

@Braindrops if you 'understand' ther reasons why someone would post that image, there's something wrong with your moral compass. There's no understanding posting a swastika. There is never a reason why you should want to post the image of a swastika. If you want to make a point about your perceived intolerance of the Pride movement, there are better ways.

Accepting Fox's explanation of what he did at face value is naive or disingenuous. You know he posted it to cause offence. You know that reasonable people would not do this, and that there are consequences for posting swastikas.

If you don't think posting a swastika is a racist action then I don't think you understand what racism is.

When I say ‘understand’ I don’t mean ‘endorse’. I mean simply, I understand the point he was making.

You have defended his posting it. You believe his explanation. Regardless of his explanation it is an indefensible thing to do. As nearly everybody knows.

‘What kind of person posts a swastika fashioned from a British flag? And what kind of person thinks 'that's nice, I like it, I'll make one as well using the Pride flag'?
I do not think he made it. He retweeted it.’

oh that’s fine then. Like I said, have your views however repugnant I might find them but keep on being such an twatty twat and there may be consequences.

I haven’t said it was a good idea. I just said I didn’t think his intentions were racist (or homophobic for that matter). I have no reason to disbelieve his explanation.

And you are still defending it. Stop equivocating. There is no good reason for anyone to post a swastika. There's one reason.