Zack Polanski and the guillotine

[Everanewbie]

AIBU to be sceptical that much will be done about Zack Polanski's tweet of an image of man wearing a t-shirt depicting a guillotine and the words "making plans for Nigel"?

Now I am not in favour of prosecuting people for words, and I don't want ZP sent to prison. But I would like to see this level of hate stop.

And I am finding the left to be extremely hypocritical with the violent rhetoric while simultaneously celebrating the arrest of Lucy Connelly and Graham Linehan?

ZP must be very dim to accept things to his Instagram account without checking who it was from and content. The law must apply equally to all the woman who put up a post and deleted it 10 mins later went to prison. After Anne Widdicom was murdered and two other politicians murdered it beggars belief ZP would do this.

Exactly Pencils. Me too.

As people have said, this kind of violent fantasy stuff is so common at political rallies that people just gloss over it. It’s awful.

The difference between the two is that ZP didn't create the tweet. No-one was prosecuted for retweeting LC's tweet. If they had been, you would gave a valid argument.

@PencilsInSpace
And for people who can't be arsed to read the story, they were stabbing the effigy of Burnham in protest at his saying he was going to follow the law and keep single sex spaces, single sex.

Green Mayor of Hackney and the 4 Green Councillors who were there (2 of whom made speeches) have vowed to resist the Equality and Human Rights Commission's guidance on single sex spaces.

I think ZP is extremely dim and so self-righteous he doesn't see anything wrong with these violent and threatening images.

A man wearing a T shirt with a picture of a guillotine and the words 'we're only making plans for Nigel' was welcome at a Green Party event. That in itself is shocking.

It's very easy to believe. It's just further proof, if any were needed, of what an absolute dick Polanski is. He has no principles and no beliefs, he will say and do anything and sell his grandmother for a sniff of power. He's like a really shit chameleon.

If Polanski's explanation is true then he is an idiot but I guess has not committed a crime. However, I do think the seriousness of the image warrants a proper investigation into whether his explanation does stack up - ie checking exactly who liked the post (Polanski personally or a member of his team), when the post was unliked and whether it was unliked immediately after the image was brought to the team's attention. I don't think it's right to for Polanski to just say - oh it was an accident - and everyone to just accept that.

It was an ironic comment about the hypocrisy and disingenuousness of Reform politicians.

It appears that it went over your head.

If you mean Lucy Connelly, her tweet was up for hours not minutes. Most importantly, she wrote those words. She didn’t just re-share words or images someone else created. It isn’t in any way comparable to Zack Polanski’s (very stupid) mistake and it’s completely disingenuous to pretend it is.

This was a very bad taste, horrible, offensive T-shirt that a member of the public was wearing at an event, Zack Polanski shared a series of photos of that event. He should obviously have checked the images before sharing, but the idea he is seriously guilty of incitement - which Lucy Connelly herself chose to plead guilty too, hence her prison sentence - isn’t right, in my opinion.

I do completely agree after the horrific murder of Anne Widdicome politicians from across the political spectrum should be being much, much more careful, reasonable and respectful in their words.

Completely separate scenario. One of these people shared a tasteless meme that is clearly wrong but is nothing compared to the other of these people who incited racial hatred at a time of a huge rise in violence against immigrants and minorities (based on an incorrect assumption I would add). Surely you must see these are different?

In addition, Lucy Connolly pleaded guilty to the crime she was accused of, Polanski has neither been charged nor entered a plea for any crime. Again, vastly different scenarios.

To top it all off, Connolly has continued sprouting the same rubbish since coming out of prison that landed her in there in the first place. So she’s her own worst enemy.

At the very least, ZP’s judgement is really poor. I hope he never gets into power.

This was a very bad taste, horrible, offensive T-shirt that a member of the public was wearing at an event, Zack Polanski shared a series of photos of that event.
Do we know what the event was? Because the people there, the person who took the photo of the t-shirt and sent it to ZP and obviously the person who wore the t shirt clearly didn't see anything wrong with it. If it was a Green Party event then it's an issue of culture within the party and or the people they attract to the party who are blind to this too. Just like they are blind to men carrying placards about burning witches ( women who have an opinion, a crime for the ages, it seems)/beheading terfs/killing 'zionists' etc.

I think we already knew that to be fair!

I also do not think Reform are calling for Polanski to be jailed.

A Reform spokesman this morning was interviewed and said he should NOT be jailed, and instead, should have more respect given Ann Widdecombe's very recent death.

I don't think that is hypocritical anti-free speech stuff. I hate Reform and everything they stand for, and I'm praying for a Binface win in Clacton.

I still don't think they're wrong about this and I still see no evidence Polanski has apologised.

He was tagged in it.

I haven't spoken to that person for a long time now. And it wasn't just that but lots of other things such as calling people transphobes if they don't agree to transition small children or saying that biological males and females are equal at all sports.
Also, very weird you're criticising me for it as it's obvious I wasn't comfortable with it, guess why I'm calling her views out. Didn't expect it from someone who is so pro everything.

Exactly this.

Course it was, totes.

Yep.

You really didn’t get it, did you?

All of this behaviour is disgusting, no matter from which extreme of the political spectrum today’s episode has originated.

What I find amusing is the complete inability of the extreme right and extreme left to see that their behaviour is almost indistinguisable and each is outraged against the other while excusing their own almost identical behaviour dehumanising others.

There is some serious cognitive dissonance and both extremes try to justify their own disgraceful behaviour while condemning the other side for the same. Hypocrites, the lot of them.

He doesn't check....his staff should do that. However, given the amount of hate in politics at the moment Dave should be hyper aware of everything he touches

It’s you who doesn’t get it. The left are being called out here because they entirely claim the moral high ground on this issue, as the op was clear on. In my posts I’ve concentrated on the awful antics of mostly men who campaign for “trans rights” because it’s shocking, and not a both sides issue to any degree. Yes of course elements of the right wing riot and incite violence too. A wider group on both sides approve of the threats to other people.

The hypocrisy was the entire point of the op, not sure what you think you’re schooling anyone here on.

Also, you made a fatuous and disingenuous comment, not some thoughtful, well argued point.

He didnt "tweet" anything. Why are you spreading misinformation if you care so much about decent political discourse?

It is not hypocrisy to both want the law changed and for it to be applied consistently. Of course you will be a lot less keen on getting the law changed if it is only applied to your opponents!

The people certainly did know they lived in revolutionary France!