Talk about censorship

[Yegg]

Maybe some people looked @ the kid like he was retarded, I dunno.
Maybe the officer can judge was is offensive & not.

Anyone can judge what is offensive and what isn't. It's their opinion on the matter.

I think that the statement made by Mr. Brown could have been very offensive to the officer. It was directed to his horse. How do we know that his horse was not a very important part of his life? People have dogs in which they love very dearly, as if it was a person or a family member. The same case can be with a horse, or any other animal at that.

The kid should be put in jail for atleast three days. It will teach him a lesson to not to something that he never should have done in the first place.

If the officer shared a family-type bond with the horse, and were very intimate with it, wouldn't he have picked up on the horse's subtle gestures that he were gay?

"Excuse me, do you realize that your horse is gay?"

Also, seeing as to how the article made no mention of the tone the student carried, I would think the above statement was made with respect, and he was merely pointing it out.

He was not pointing anything out. It also mentions how he was with a group of friends. What are the odds that he would "merely point" something that innapropriate out? He was obviously joking around but it was still offensive. Joking to perhaps entertain his buddies?

[Grok]

Holy crap I can't believe you're arguing about this instead of finding it highly oppressive legally.  If you cannot ask someone if they know their horse is gay without being charged criminally and going to jail, then your country is FUCKED UP and you are living in tyranny.  Worse is you don't even know it.

Someone should be able to walk right up to another person and say "I think you are gay." and suffer no legal consequences.  They are only making a statement of what they think, not representing it as fact, as in "I have proof you are gay." which would then be slander, IF it is likely people would believe it as fact.  Parody is offensive speech in which lies are told in ways people are unlikely to confuse as fact.

Now offensive speech about an animal is a crminal act?  Wake the fuck up people.  What if he said "Excuse me, did you know your horse is ugly?"  That should be equally offensive unless the officer is homophobic and has a problem with gays.

Seriously people need to get a grip on their governments and stop allowing stupid shit like this to be passed as laws.  Laws like this will always be used in the worst possible way no matter what is said when the laws are created about how they will only be used in the most extreme case.

[CrAz3D]

I believe we've all agreed that it is a ridiculous law, we're just commenting about whether or not it was right to arrest the kid under the law.

[Arta]

This is a bad application of a good law.

First off, I think he was arrested for public disorder, not for being homophobic. Public disorder laws are there to allow the police to arrest people who are making a nuisence of themselves: most commonly, drunken idiots, and people shouting at their girlfriend's closed front door at 2am. Nothing wrong with that.

Second, even if it was a homophobia law, such a law would not be bad. This would still be a stupid incident, but anti-homophobia laws are good, just the same way that anti-racism laws are good.

Third, even though this is a stupid incident, it's not entirely unexpected, since the guy's intent was obviously to make fun of a police officer. That's a blatently moronic thing to do.

Finally, I agree with Grok to an extent. This incident is indeed a symptom of a broken system. The government here is systematically granting the police more and more powers while reducing the judiciary's oversight. The situation is abominable, and is an issue about which I am greatly concerned. I'd be happy to go into it in another thread if anyone's interested.

[CrAz3D]

This is a bad application of a good law.

First off, I think he was arrested for public disorder, not for being homophobic. Public disorder laws are there to allow the police to arrest people who are making a nuisence of themselves: most commonly, drunken idiots, and people shouting at their girlfriend's closed front door at 2am. Nothing wrong with that.

Second, even if it was a homophobia law, such a law would not be bad. This would still be a stupid incident, but anti-homophobia laws are good, just the same way that anti-racism laws are good.

Third, even though this is a stupid incident, it's not entirely unexpected, since the guy's intent was obviously to make fun of a police officer. That's a blatently moronic thing to do.

Finally, I agree with Grok to an extent. This incident is indeed a symptom of a broken system. The government here is systematically granting the police more and more powers while reducing the judiciary's oversight. The situation is abominable, and is an issue about which I am greatly concerned. I'd be happy to go into it in another thread if anyone's interested.

He very well could have been under the influence.
I can't see a sober person randomly walkin up to a cop sayin his horse is gay.
"A night out with friends ... after his final exams"...I'd assume he was drunk, the article doesn't give much information though .

[Yegg]

Someone should be able to walk right up to another person and say "I think you are gay." and suffer no legal consequences.  They are only making a statement of what they think, not representing it as fact, as in "I have proof you are gay." which would then be slander, IF it is likely people would believe it as fact.  Parody is offensive speech in which lies are told in ways people are unlikely to confuse as fact.

So what you're saying is that people should be able to say anything they feel about another without any kind of trouble? They could very well know it will offend the person, but why should they be able to say it anyways? Not that I do, but what if I were to call you a "homosexual bastard"? I'm sure you would take offense by this. Whether it's a very strong statement, or perhaps a more mild one. Either way it's still offensive and one should not verbally express how they feel about another with that person. It's inappropriate and just isn't right.

[hismajesty]

I'd definitely challenge them to prove the passerbys were offended.

[Explicit]

I'd definitely challenge them to prove the passerbys were offended.

Same.

[Forged]

Someone should be able to walk right up to another person and say "I think you are gay." and suffer no legal consequences.  They are only making a statement of what they think, not representing it as fact, as in "I have proof you are gay." which would then be slander, IF it is likely people would believe it as fact.  Parody is offensive speech in which lies are told in ways people are unlikely to confuse as fact.

So what you're saying is that people should be able to say anything they feel about another without any kind of trouble? They could very well know it will offend the person, but why should they be able to say it anyways? Not that I do, but what if I were to call you a "homosexual bastard"? I'm sure you would take offense by this. Whether it's a very strong statement, or perhaps a more mild one. Either way it's still offensive and one should not verbally express how they feel about another with that person. It's inappropriate and just isn't right.

That is exactlly what I am saying, I think I should be able to look at you and say "Hey you're a fucking twat, faggot"  I would deserve an ass beating sure, but I should not be able to be arrested for it.  It is scary that goverments are moving in that direction, and even scarier that some of the youth seem to approve of it.

[CrAz3D]

Someone should be able to walk right up to another person and say "I think you are gay." and suffer no legal consequences.  They are only making a statement of what they think, not representing it as fact, as in "I have proof you are gay." which would then be slander, IF it is likely people would believe it as fact.  Parody is offensive speech in which lies are told in ways people are unlikely to confuse as fact.

So what you're saying is that people should be able to say anything they feel about another without any kind of trouble? They could very well know it will offend the person, but why should they be able to say it anyways? Not that I do, but what if I were to call you a "homosexual bastard"? I'm sure you would take offense by this. Whether it's a very strong statement, or perhaps a more mild one. Either way it's still offensive and one should not verbally express how they feel about another with that person. It's inappropriate and just isn't right.

That is exactlly what I am saying, I think I should be able to look at you and say "Hey you're a fucking twat, faggot"  I would deserve an ass beating sure, but I should not be able to be arrested for it.  It is scary that goverments are moving in that direction, and even scarier that some of the youth seem to approve of it.

You could probably be arrested for public indecency for using the words "fucking, twat, & faggot"

[Yegg]

Someone should be able to walk right up to another person and say "I think you are gay." and suffer no legal consequences.  They are only making a statement of what they think, not representing it as fact, as in "I have proof you are gay." which would then be slander, IF it is likely people would believe it as fact.  Parody is offensive speech in which lies are told in ways people are unlikely to confuse as fact.

So what you're saying is that people should be able to say anything they feel about another without any kind of trouble? They could very well know it will offend the person, but why should they be able to say it anyways? Not that I do, but what if I were to call you a "homosexual bastard"? I'm sure you would take offense by this. Whether it's a very strong statement, or perhaps a more mild one. Either way it's still offensive and one should not verbally express how they feel about another with that person. It's inappropriate and just isn't right.

That is exactlly what I am saying, I think I should be able to look at you and say "Hey you're a fucking twat, faggot"  I would deserve an ass beating sure, but I should not be able to be arrested for it.  It is scary that goverments are moving in that direction, and even scarier that some of the youth seem to approve of it.

Would you rather have it legal for people to publicly beat the shit out of you until you are in critical condition? Or simply go to jail for a night?

[Grok]

What it is doing is exactly what Yegg and others are demonstrating -- it is making you feel that you need the governments protection on everything, including against being personally insulted.  This creates a people who are not responsible for themselves, their own thoughts and feelings, rather the goverment will tell you how to feel.  They will take care of things when you are insulted, its ok.

If you kick that person's ass, well, go to court and try to convince the judge you were justified in physical assault.

This is not even about a verbal assault.  Rather, the guy made a joke that was found offensive.

Can you see dragging people off the stage because their jokes are offensive and intended to be offensive?

Seriously, get a grip.  We are not a flock of sheep needing the government's protection from the wind blowing too hard.

[Arta]

We have no laws that prohibit offending people.

[CrAz3D]

We have no laws that prohibit offending people.

You don't have public deceny laws?...

[Yegg]

What it is doing is exactly what Yegg and others are demonstrating -- it is making you feel that you need the governments protection on everything, including against being personally insulted.  This creates a people who are not responsible for themselves, their own thoughts and feelings, rather the goverment will tell you how to feel.  They will take care of things when you are insulted, its ok.

If you kick that person's ass, well, go to court and try to convince the judge you were justified in physical assault.

This is not even about a verbal assault.  Rather, the guy made a joke that was found offensive.

Can you see dragging people off the stage because their jokes are offensive and intended to be offensive?

Seriously, get a grip.  We are not a flock of sheep needing the government's protection from the wind blowing too hard.

If I were to beat on someone pretty bad for making a joke about me, taking them to court or them taking me to court will most likely not guarantee me a win.

Jokes on a stage? I'm guessing you are referring more to comedians? Well they have "the right" to make such jokes. When you step into an auditorium or other type of room where such an event may be held, you are risking the possibility of being made fun of, so you agree that it is alright for them to do so. However you should not have to agree to this same thing every time you simply want to step outside.