The teacher from Batley is still in hiding

[Nicetrynigel]

Teacher Batley
His life ruined because a bunch of thugs decided they didn't like what he was teaching in his RE lesson.
This and the Labour MP's request for bhalsphey laws against those of the Abrahamic faith have made me concerned.

People should be free to offer an view against another's religion. It's scary that we are being a country where people thing being offended gives them a right to made death threats.

The teacher didn't choose the image. It was a lesson exploring blasphemy and free speech, it had been approved by the leadership team and it had apparently been taught the two years previously with no problems.

You seem to hold a grudge against this one teacher?

We do have Blasphemy laws in the UK. At least in NI, I believe and until quite recently England and Wales (2008) and Scotland (2024).

This^

There's plenty of threads on this site calling for people to be sacked because of their views, and most of those people aren't teachers responsible for the care and education of impressionable young people. Freedom of speech does not exist in this country - nor do I believe it should exist. There should be no freedom to deliberately threaten of cause offense - and if he has freedom of speech then the protesters should have the same rights. Posters cannot have it both ways - if they are wrong to protest then so is he for giving them cause. Under no circumstances could any teacher have been unaware of the likely consequences of deliberately insulting the faith of a great many people. If he's that stupid, then he has no place in a classroom.

And people might perhaps want to recall that the offending cartoon was not simply a cartoon or image of the prophet Mohammed - it was from a specific set of images which portrayed the prophet as a terrorist, linking Islam and terrorism (because clearly no other adherents to so-called faith/ belief might ever be involved in terrorism).

I wonder though why the OP is choosing to be so outraged by an article published eight months ago. Has she only just come to the conclusion that she is outraged? Or is there another point in stirring this up again?

Or is there another point in stirring this up again?

I wondered that? Maybe the Christmas is banned trope is too obvious.

As for the posters blaming Labour...

How is that relevant?

The link OP provided is to the site of a journalist called Neil Wilby. I had a peek at his Twitter. He seems like a lovely chap. I wouldn't give him the clicks. (I put a sensitivity thing on, as it really is a nasty tweet).

As pp said, that link is eight months old. Are there any updates on what has happened to the teacher since?

You said we don't have Blasphemy Laws in the UK. That is incorrect- quite relevant to get the facts correct.

There was a thread on Reddit which piqued my interest in this.

This shows what a toxic country we live in. The consequences of showing a cartoon is that you get death threats and the police don't do anything. More importantly, it's the complete lack of support shown by the teacher's union. They offered nothing to help him.

You can hold what views you want, but keep them out of a classroom.

That is exactly what he did. No-one has accused him of spreading his own views, just of using material that offended SOMEONE ELSE'S views.

However YOUR POST is actually and specifically dictating what views are allowed in a classroom. So why don't you keep that out of our classrooms?

Let me be clear - the alleged death threats (for which no charges have been brought) were on social media sites linked to him and anybody could have posted them. That aside, at no time did I say that death threats were acceptable, whoever makes them.

But you are very right about this being a toxic country - and your "journalist" appears to be an oustanding example of it https://www.change.org/p/revoke-neil-wilby-s-membership-of-the-national-union-of-journalists-he-is-bringing-ethical-journalism-into-disrepute Perhaps, given his history, one might wish to more closely examine the slant and accuracy of his story. Much as I despise the Daily Mail, at least their journalists are required to have some ethics. Self-proclaimed, self-publishing journalists answer to nothing and nobody, and it seems that Mr Wilby has taken full advantage of that fact if these allegations are true.

Here's more testaments to Mr. Wilby's journalistic legacy...

https://www.5rb.com/news/police-sergeant-awarded-60000/
https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/malicious-blogger-neil-wilby-banned-7972575

You honestly believe freedom of speech shouldn’t exist in the UK?
GTFO
And what’s is wrong with being anti religion?

FWIW I personally don't want any religious influences involved in the teaching of children, but it's interesting that we've had another supporter of extremism who's delivered assorted pensees and then disappeared

However unpalatable I still think it's worth hearing how these people feel though, since how else can these approaches be challenged except through knowledge?

It doesn't exist and yes, I don't believe in freedom of speech. "Kill the ....." (fill in your own perjorative) is "freedom of speech" - and it is illegal. Hate speech and hate crimes are illegal. So whether you like it or not, the simple fact is that you cannot say and do whatever you like - your freedom to do so is curtailed by law.

I wasn't aware that "freedom of speech" was the same thing as being "anti religion". And I have no problem at all with people not agreeing with any or all religions (or anything else) and saying so. I do have a problem with anyone who sets out to deliberately and knowingly cause serious offence - as does the law.

So you GTFO - UK law is clear, there is no freedom of speech. This is a fact, not an opinion. But if you really want "freedom of speech" then you must also uphold the right of some people to say that the teacher ought to die? No? Thought not? So what you really mean is that you want freedom of speech for yourself but not for others.

It makes sense to teach others that if you show a certain cartoon then you get a death threat from a certain religion

An actual death threat that will be followed through in the country you live in

So I can’t say anything bad about anything? Because hurty words and cartoons offend?
So a death treat is the same as saying priests are all perverts?

Granted it's a fine line, @EmmaMaria, but the laws around this don't actually prevent anyone saying whatever they choose - it just means that if they do there may be consequences

But even leaving aside that they're not applied equally this does mean consequences within the law, and last time I looked the threat of death wasn't included

Well I’m sure you’ve already reported the thread and my comment.
Yet here you are calling me a pillock. Oh the irony 😏
No offence taken, I’ve been called much worse 👍

The teacher was in a country with no blasphemy laws at the time of the incident. As you're perfectly aware.

No I haven't reported it, nor your comment. So those are both slanders. And it wasn't irony - I was deliberately exercising my right of free speech, which seemed to go straight over your head! I rest my case - you don't believe in the right of free speech unless it is your speech, because you quickly took offense when it was exercised, quite moderately in fact, against you.

I don't disagree but I am also going to repeat what I said earlier - the claim that there were death threats made were not related to the protesters. It relates to social media posts - and, as we can see on here, anyone can post anything. As we saw in the case of Southport, misinformation and hysteria is easily whipped up on social media, and people can be anyone or anything they claim to be. Nor was I the one defending the right to say or do anything you like.

I am aware of that, yes 👍🏾.

lol
You rest what case? I don’t believe people should threaten death on other people. That to me is hate speech.
I do believe you have an absolute right to call me a pillock.
Threats to kill is an offence under UK law.
I believe the school was expressing their freedom of speech. Why? Because the teacher in now way threatened anyone’s life. The wasn’t actually committing an offence in English law.