Can't believe we haven't covered the Grenfell effigy furore.

[Monty92]

absolutely hilarious, m.

Would you do the same and post it on social media now?

Sorry, you're asking *me* whether I'd post anything contentious on a public forum?

[Burney]

Indeed, hence my reference to a Pandora's Box.

But there are already crimes relating to public harassment that require a subjective judgement of what is or isn't offensive. This isn't ideal either, but there's little other option other than to make anything that doesn't involve physical violence permissable.

Yes. And those are bad laws. They should be held up as negative examples rather than seen as creating a precedent for more bad laws.

[IUFG]

Sorry, you're asking *me* whether I'd post anything contentious on a public forum?

well, since you put it like that...

[Monty92]

Then keep the joke in that circle of friends? Don't share it with the world

We don't know how it ended up being shared. It may not necessarily have even been with the consent of the protagonists.

[Monty92]

Yes. And those are bad laws. They should be held up as negative examples rather than seen as creating a precedent for more bad laws.

So you don't think there should be any limit to what someone is allowed to say in public that doesn't directly threaten violence?

[IUFG]

We don't know how it ended up being shared. It may not necessarily have even been with the consent of the protagonists.

Ah, I see, one of those present filmed it then outed their mates on social media as being a bit distasteful.

thanks, m

[Burney]

Then keep the joke in that circle of friends? Don't share it with the world

People make the assumption that their 'friends' on Facebook are actual friends and don't think about how quickly something can disseminate outside that group.

Also, saying 'they should have kept it to themselves' doesn't really take into account how these things work. Maybe they wanted to? We don't know if the person who filmed and uploaded it was one of the people behind it or just a spectator who disseminated it without their knowledge.

What you are positing is a world in which nobody dares to make an off-colour remark for fear that some cùnt is filming it and will upload it to Facebook. That sounds pretty bleak to me.

[Monty92]

Ah, I see, one of those present filmed it then outed their mates on social media as being a bit distasteful.

thanks, m

I've literally no idea and nor do you. There are probably about 100 permutations for how and why it got shared.

[Burney]

So you don't think there should be any limit to what someone is allowed to say in public that doesn't directly threaten violence?

No. I haven't always felt that way. I've often thought the First Amendment was a rather blunt instrument, in fact. However, social media and the ever-increasing censoriousness of our times make it clear to me that it's the only way to guard against the term 'hate speech' being abused to persecute anyone whose opinions do not chime with a political orthodoxy.

[Monty92]

No. I haven't always felt that way. I've often thought the First Amendment was a rather blunt instrument, in fact. However, social media and the ever-increasing censoriousness of our times make it clear to me that it's the only way to guard against the term 'hate speech' being abused to persecute anyone whose opinions do not chime with a political orthodoxy.

I find it a little hard to believe that you truly think someone walking alongside a black person incessantly bellowing at that them that they're a "****ing nigger" shouldn't be a police matter.