Neighbour sending me unacceptable videos on WhatsApp

[AlliBallyBoo]

Neighbour, generally nice older woman, perfectly civil but since the winter fuel allowance thing has taken to spouting all sorts of bigotry on Facebook r.e. immigration and immigrants etc.

All the usual stuff you can think of r.e. over here robbing pensioners, stealing jobs, grooming girls, sharia law coming to a town near you, not real refugees. Not just reposted, reposted with her own commentary peppered with the kinds of slurs you'd expect in a 70s sitcom etc. unfriend her because I just don't want to see it.

She's now taken to WhatsApp-ing me links to far right websites and tweets and sending short videos demonising immigrants and refugees etc.

I've messaged back saying I don't want to receive these types of messages and now blocked her.

Not sure what to do. Not sure if I should report her to the police, if she's sending it to me she's definitely sending it to others and whilst I'm not keen on telling tales on people this feels like it goes on unchallenged too often and is part of the reason that xenophobic rhetoric has become so commonplace.

Any thoughts?

Mumsnet would tell you that she is entitled to her opinion and who are you too decide what is far right or bigoted. Because we should all be allowed to say whatever we want and don't you dare judge them they're only saying what the rest of us are thinking etc etc...

It's cropped up before and was full of apologists for racists

@GabriellaMontez

Got you there. It’s interesting when people out themselves.

Yeah, night!

A section 127 offence under the communications act?

'Offences that fall under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 include the following: A person sending any public electronic communications network a message or other content that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character.'

I know you can't say but for me it would depend specifically what is being said. The slurs for example and the exact posts.

I know people who find certain memes disparaging the Government in response to ' boats' funny. I see that differently to direct racist attacks.

Exactly. It's unbelievable.

I don't support reform or watch gb news - enjoy your purity spiral though

In addition to nonsense like them getting free iPhones and living in plush hotels etc some of the more unacceptable messages have been things like:

We should rise up against them and clear them from our streets

Bring back hanging for them

They should be shot by the navy in the channel and left to drown

People have the duty to patrol the streets to keep British women safe

None of it specific just this type of thing.

I've blocked her and if asked why I'll let her know. Thanks for everyone's thoughts on it.

I take a different view. I keep them on my SM and post "helpful" alternatives to their view

There has to actually be a crime committed, which the victim/s believe was motivated as a consequence of their ethnicity, gender, sexuality etc. FB is full of this bile,and nothing can be done about it.block block and ignore. Sadly the world has seething stupidity at its core now. It ain’t gonna get better.

Oh yes - the “evil swarthy men are a danger to our women” nonsense.

If we banned all foreigners, abuse and violence against women would disappear overnight…

Omg she sounds vile. I’d block her on everything and tell her I don’t want to hear any more of her vitriol.

And in tomorrow’s edition of Things That Never Happened, we bring you… “far right aliens appeared on my TV and tried to communicate with me against my will”.

I've seen comments like that and worse all over comments sections on FB. Prejudice in some form is pretty common I believe. So on SM you see disabled babies mocked, you see comments about learning disabled kids, about race, all sorts.

They just sound like someone who is a bit stupid. I'd keep a distance because I wouldn't trust their character. I wouldn't report it. If I were in the group they target and identifiable as such I probably would for my own safety though tbh.

You’ve blocked her, I’d forget about it now, it doesn’t sound like she’s doing anything illegal.

You aren’t familiar with batshit people on SM then?

Nowhere does it say she's shown, threatened or called for violence.
People have freedom of speech if it's not causing harm. If OP is an immigrant it could class as harassment though.

@maddening

Pure as the driven slush!

Old woman has political views shocker!
This all started when Gordon Brown called a little old lady a bigot because she dared to say she didn't like the changing face of her town... 20 years later those same old ladies get threatened with Police visits by Nazis because they disagree with her views.
Her opinion is as valid as yours. Block her and move on.

Rising up against and clear them from the streets or shoot them sounds pretty violent to me. I would report that to the police. Hopefully she does not actually think that otherwise she's no better than Hitler.

Why do you think this wouldn't happen? It surely happens all the time. There are loads of stupid racists out there unfortunately

I would just block - and ignore her too - I don't pretend to be friends with such people- they are entitled to an opinion- they aren't entitled to foist it on you and expect you not to form an opinion of them

It is perfectly reasonable to block her if you don't like her views. However, reporting her to the police would be completely unreasonable and even vindictive on your part.
A democracy used to mean that one tolerated those who held different views. Labelling different views as 'hate speech' is intolerant and totalitarian and does nothing to promote civilised discourse and social cohesion. Punishing her for holding ideas you don't approve of might make you feel as though you're a 'good person', but will not change her views to yours. Indeed, it may well turn her into a local martyr, since there are currently many examples of unjust overreach in policing ordinary law-abiding people's views: the widespread sympathy for victims of such targeting is going to cause a huge backlash when elections come around. Do you really want to punish this lady so badly that you would go to the trouble of sending the police to frighten her into complying with your own viewpoints?

Of course, unless some of that '1970's' language OP mentioned includes literal slurs.

Hate isn't an opinion.

Nobody would be dropping the N or P word on my messages and not getting their arse handed to them.

Saying people should be shot in the channel and left to drown or that we should “rise up against” asylum seekers are “equally valid opinions”

I can support somebody’s right to think what they wish but clearly racism and xenophobia are not “as valid as” the opposite.