Hate crime bill?

[WaxOnFeckOff]

Anyone noticed this? Interesting discussion on talk Radio.

I have no words really, well none of us will if we allow this to go ahead.

Fuck me...

clicky link if you can't concentrate on videos like me.

www.secularism.org.uk/news/2020/07/free-to-disagree-campaign-urges-rethink-of-scottish-hate-crime-bill

I don't quite get it, maybe I do need to watch the video/read more

Will anglophobia/anti English behaviour be a hate crime? Maybe observational bias but that's the verbal abuse I see the most of...

The right to question those denying biology will be deemed a hate crime. Orwellian times.

As far as I can see, anything is included, it just needs to be found offensive, it doesn't need to be generally offensive. Definitely worth a listen.

To be honest I don't want to comment too much as I just get abuse for being anti SNP etc and then I get angry and it's just not really who I am irl. So i just wanted to highlight it and leave people to come to their own conclusions - feel free to debate and don't worry if I don't get too involved.

This is pretty terrifying actually, that by merely offending someone, whether intentionally or not, you will have committed a criminal offence. Even in your own home. By that measure most of the people on this board would be guilty as unionists offend nationalists and vice versa. It’s a recipe for chaos, especially in a politically volatile nation like Scotland.

The lecturer hit the nail on the head when he said this kind of nonsense gets through because there is no opposition to it. Many on this board from all sides have expressed concern about the lack of dissent being dangerous, and this is a prime example.

Don't worry criticizing the SNP will soon be a hate crime.

Pornhub is filled with hate crimes against women, will they be banning it in Scotland?

No. Saying stuff against women isn't going to be a hate crime. Because - women?
I think this is basically about trans rights?

It's about control, pure and simple, all wrapped up in being so left and so woke and standing up for minorities. But it's really about thought police, saying what it's okay to think and say, even in your own home. Not really so left after all.

I believe misogyny is not included in this bill.

JK Rowling could have ended up in court over her recent tweets. It is a very scary bill.

There do seem to be a few articles highlighting the dangers of this in the last few days including one from a senior SNP member. There also seem to be a couple of campaign groups challenging this which will hopefully see this squashed like the fundamentally flawed Named Person legislation, although it is patently a very dangerous state of affairs when the only opposition to laws getting through are pressure groups!

The absence of misogyny in this bill is notable (although they are committed to introducing separate legislation on this at an unspecified later date, maybe). But it seems as though if someone dares to express the opinion that ‘woman’ is not defined as ‘anyone who feels like one’, they could be charged. In that sense I think that this bill actively promotes misogyny.

Interesting article. It's turning into a scary world. Whoever thought the left would be scarier than the right.

@WaxOnFeckOff

Interesting article. It's turning into a scary world. Whoever thought the left would be scarier than the right.

Any political party' with too much power and ineffective opposition is capable of being 'scary'. The older I get, the more I value 'freedom of speech and thought'. I was brought up with 'I may not agree with you but I'll defend your right to say it'. Mentioned this to a younger person recently and they thought 'cancel culture' was likely appropriate in many cases and that the only freedom you needed was from the police arresting you for saying what you thought....oh wait...I think upon reflection they would agree with us @WaxOnFeckOff that this is a bad piece of legislation.

I was talking briefly about this again with DH yesterday as he'd done some more reading and was saying that the person who reports doesn't even need to be offended, they just need to think that someone would. So, you better know your friends and relatives well before you express any personal opinions in the privacy of you own house.

My thoughts are that if they make no effort to deal with bullying in the school playground and with sectarianism, how is this supposed to substitute for that? In terms of actual abuse for actual things rather than just having a disagreement about something.

You'd think that there would be more important things to be getting on with right now, with the pandemic, economic woes etc. Time to concentrate on delivering basic services for people to a decent standard rather than dreaming up new legislation constantly just to be different from the rest of the UK.

Good time to sneak stuff through but I'm sure they wouldn't stoop so low....

Well it’s good news really, they’ll have to shut down the whole of twitter in Scotland to enforce this - or is it mere gesture legislation?

Or restrict access to the Internet.

You have to laugh, it’s a bit too depressing otherwise. It is an unfortunate sideshow. Perhaps the people reporting under this act should be given a few leaflets on resilience like the school kids who are bullied?

Nah, we'll be sent for re -education...

It is a way of passing more money to lawyers. It;s bound to end up with the Supreme Court declaring it incompatible with UN treaties.

I wonder how this would be viewed in the EU?

It's very scary. And when I think about the kind of people who would be first in line to report others (e.g. the unhinged individuals who made violent threats against JKR), I feel sick.
There is sufficient legislation already in place to deal with hate crime.

There is sufficient legislation already in place to deal with hate crime.

Yes there is but lets not let that get in the way of a grand gesture to show how woke, progressive and "different" the Scots are....

Well if this is implemented, the next old firm game might be interesting. I could probably just wander around houses with open windows and report all the occupants. I wouldn't be offended but others might be.