Anyone seen woman arrested for saying f****t in a private text message?

[Whywhywhyyyy]

This is completely bizarre. The news is thin on the ground so to see it I would have to link the mail or other obscure sites; but they are talking about this on Sky News abroad so assume it’s legit.

Apparently woman was arrested by 10 officers and dragged naked from a bath tub because she called a person who hospitalised her from assault a faggot in a message ranting to a supposed friend who reported her for using that word.

What is going on in this country?!

Yes sure that’s unpleasant. But is that really illegal? And if she has been hospitalised by this person then do I really care if someone uses bad words - even if they are hateful.

YABU - that’s a perfectly appropriate use of the law
YANBU - WTF is going on in this country!

You’re not the same person who was chastising posters for calling rapists scum this week are you?

calling someone names behind their back (even if those names are appalling) is not “abuse” and it definitely should not be a criminal offence. It’s absurd that this is where we at at.

As for whether the number of officers being believable - wasn’t there 7 for the ‘Lesbian Nana’ incident to a 16-year old autistic girl?

No. That was when they were charged. As they are under 18 they can’t be named or other information given out about them. It’s not gaslighting it would be the same whoever they were.

That'll help.

No, you are missing the point. The boys are referred to as boys. Fine. The girl, who is younger, is referred to as a woman.

That IS gaslighting. She is a child.

You don’t belong she was arrested because she said a slur in a private text message?

Or clearly you don’t (like the rest of us) know the full story to why it was deemed necessary to send 11
staffing levels in the police are horrendous so to take 11 officers to one job there is clearly a reason for it but it’s not been divulged

Heres the piece prominently in the Times today, it’s in the guardian too and doubtless all the other mainstream newspapers/sites.

https://www.thetimes.com/article/cc3d5539-6b1e-4102-8148-b79ff19d0d0c?shareToken=a27dfb57ce286e5845b96ce4eeb866ee

So someone should be able to send me messages calling my friends or neighbours racial slurs and I should just be ok with that? Because it isn't directed at me?

We're not supposed to be "shocked and outraged " at what she did. It was a crime, she pled guilty, she received a punishment. Just like speeding, or shoplifting, or graffiti - all of which are crimes and probably should be so society can function, but which I don't need to be outraged by.

I'd like some corroboration on 11 officers dragging her from the bath because I'm surprised there were 11 officers on duty today day, looking at police numbers.

Are there safe insults which we can use when ranting in private correspondence? I am not being sarcastic, I am gobsmacked. Can we refer to someone as an idiot or could it be misconstrued as a neurodiversity slur (as cognitive function impairment is a known symptom of some conditions)? Can we call someone a cow or an asshole, or is it an attack on animal welfare? Again, I am being dead serious.

Who's going to arrest Sainsbury's then? When did that word become offensive in the UK?

No. The ‘distressed young woman’ line was from the police. The force asked for anyone who spoke to a "distressed young woman" on Saturday, 10 May, to come forward..
That is a quote from the police, not what the paper used. I suspect they used the term ‘young woman’ because if they said girl people will assume they are talking about a young child rather than a teen. Still not ‘gaslighting’.

"distressed young woman" is a quotation from the police, who were asking to speak to people who may have seen a "distressed young woman". The police clearly haven't used child because that makes people think of an eight year old and not a fifteen year old - though I agree, teenager might have been more appropriate. But the police may be trying to mitigate against the adultification of victims and address the widest contingent - if you say you're looking for a teenager and a witness thinks the person they saw was an adult, you may lose that witness. "Young woman" is helpfully vague.

I don’t think women should be proud of using discriminatory language and it’s ironic you mention women’s rights but believe we should live in a world where men/women should be free to be as sexist and derogatory as they like in the name of tin foil hat free speech.

No your not. This is not a serious post.

But just in case you're serious. She wasn't arrested for the insult, that homophobic word was mentioned as an aggravating factor in the malicious communication. It wasn't the reason she was arrested, charged, or plead guilty.

Distorting facts, speculation, and outright bullshit do not help

Context is everything. As you well know.

A quick google produces a result that says she was charged with an aggravated malicious communication offence and found guilty.

westgatesentinel.com/international/11-uk-cops-storm-home-drag-naked-woman-from-bath-her-crime-one-text-calling-her-attacker-a-slur

Number of officers seems manifestly excessive but we don't know the whole story.

If you don't understand that when someone calls a man a 'f--t' they are not referring to spiced meatballs.

If you can't understand that, then I hope you have a carer at home.

But why should you be involved in the details of a police investigation - especially if this just happened? Using that word to describe someone is unacceptable..it’s literally hateful

You think MSM will cover this type of story?

I'm confused by the IBT article. It says:

The case began when Kinney sent private text messages and photos of her injuries to a woman she blamed for an earlier attack by a male mutual acquaintance.

Is it saying she was blaming the woman?

I haven’t bothered to read the whole thread or to find out if there’s more to the situation but taking everything at face value what a victim blamy comment. Let’s just let people go around assaulting people and anyone who does or says anything back is an idiot 🙄

You don't have to be ok with it, but it doesn't follow that it should be a crime. Do you think all racism should be a criminal offence?

This is quite old news and only really reported in the tabloids.

It sounds like she was quite abusive to her friend over text.

But, I do agree that these ‘crimes’ are overly focused on relative to rape, burglary etc. I am guessing because they are easy to prove.

“She was asking for it”

alive and well in 2025