To not understand the JD Vance weird face meme all over the Cotswolds?

[BlueJuniper94]

So I understand he is not popular and has recently been holidaying in the Cotswolds. But I don't understand this big exaggerated AI face some group has been putting on billboards and driving around.

Firstly, are they mocking his appearance? That's not very nice, no matter what someone's politics are, their actions should be the target not what they look like.

And if it is about his remarks about free speech - again, I really don't understand how this image "owns" him, he's a foreign politician. UK gov aren't going to care about that, wouldn't it make sense to prove the point by criticising power that is actually British?

Fill me in please, I don't understand - what am I missing?

You mean Lammy?

Ironically, the Trump Administration is undermining free speech at every turn. Banned books, statisticians fired because Trump didn’t like the figures, items removed from the Smithsonian museum, arrest if you post anything against the Administration. Trump is turning the US into a dictatorship, yet him and Vance bang on about free speech. Unbelievable.

I'm not saying it never happened, but how on earth did US immigration know a certain individual had posted the image on social media? They don't check your phone at the border.

They do now.

Oh come on. If that were true, mumsnet would have had to shut down FWR years ago. As it is posters seem to be happily discussing GC views and no one is being arrested…

don’t make shit up.

Americans have a right to say “unpleasant things.”

It's not illegal for Brits to say "unpleasant things". It is illegal to incite acts of hatred though.

No more so than anyone in the UK. We can be unpleasant too :)

according to first amendment free speech is restricted if it relates to obscenity, fraud or inciting violence.

so you can’t actually say absolutely anything you want with no consequence…

They can check a phone at any border, not just the US border, but to suggest they routinely check peoples phones at the US border is wrong.

YES THEY DO

People are now buying old style Nokia phones (good business for them) for travel to the US, precisely so their social media can't be checked for content that's insulting to Trump et al.

Who among us can say their social media is clear? Not I...

Nobody did say they routinely check phones at the border.

you said they they don’t check phones at the border.

they can and they do. Just not routinely.

I've had to choose YABU because you've described him as 'not very popular' - it's not that he's unpopular (I think it could be argued he's unfortunately very popular where it's mattered, and powerful), it's that he's a terrible person who's having an awful impact on the lives of millions (particularly in relation to womens' rights) and for many of us will always be the person who so idiotically denigrated Zelensky like an overly powerful playground bully in the infamous meeting.

In what way @CharmingDryad

Maybe they don't do it routinely, I don't know. They do it though - which is what I said.

i don’t think the average American takes interest in UK speech law. I became interested to learn about it from talking with UK feminist friends. UK is leading the way in feminism now, but your laws did not make it easy. In the US, Trump is definitely going against the spirit and principle of free speech (as posters are citing). But the US does have more robust laws and legal norms in favor of free speech than the UK (at least for now).

There aren’t any in my village, I haven’t seen any driving around, either.

as for the ‘village shop’ being closed…..ha ha ha it’s Daylesford! Probably the most expensive ( and tempting) food shop you have ever been in, not exactly denying the poor starving yokels from Kingham ( average house price £1m +) their daily crust.

The shop and the cafe was closed for a special event, anyway, so all the crap about the parking was just that.

How come Trump sued Clinton for saying "unpleasant things"?

How come Trump has sued media companies for saying "unpleasant things"?

Why is Harvard suing Trump for violating the constitution on free speech?

In the first three months of his second term, Trump withdrew Secret Service protection of several prominent critics. He banned AP journalists from the White House. Voice of America? Withholding funding from universities because they don't capitulate to his demands?

Judging by the types he’s been meeting with during this “holiday” and his criticism of the UK. He’s fair game. It’s all part of the grand plan to bring maga to the UK. To think he’s just a heartbeat away from the Presidency ….

True!

I think it's morally wrong to criticise anyone's appearance in order to emotionally wound them. For whatever reason. As I said, their deeds and words should be the target, always. Just because Trump does something doesn't make it legitimate or good, do you generally follow his example? This is an odd argument

I should hope so too. Unlike the US we have rights here.

@Poppingby

"It's not illegal for Brits to say "unpleasant things". It is illegal to incite acts of hatred though."

unless of course you are the Labour Councillor Ricky Jones then it's all OK to incite acts of violence.

So just like any other border then.

I am quite free to call the Prime Minister a "dithering nitwit" if I choose. No one will lock me up or deport me for it. I can't however incite violence. Nor can you in the US:
www.bbc.com/news/articles/czenlg5d5rjo