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> I did not say it was justified. But you can't seriously be wondering why people don't typically get arrested for things they say in private conversations. The

> I did not say it was justified. But you can't seriously be wondering why people don't typically get arrested for things they say in private conversations. The question answers itself. The point is people get arrested in the UK for mundane things, when they shouldn't. Just because it's public doesn't make it arrestable. People could stand in a park on a soapbox and not be arrested. > There is nothing particularly notable about the UK in this regard, either worldwide or compared to other European countries. The problem I have is that in the UK what constitutes hatespeech has been spread very, very thin. I've seen numerous stories about police showing up to someone's door in the UK for a tweet, for 'hatespeech'. I've read no such stories of that happening in Australia, NZ, Canada, or western European countries. So saying it's common in countries that have some form of free speech without it being as strong as the first amendment doesn't seem to fly. It seems to happen far more frequently in the UK. And the UK has recently started jailing protestors for their speech also. Not for hate speech or making violent threats. Free speech in the UK might just be the lowest of any first world country, and certainly of any English speaking country.

foldr 3y ago
We’re mostly talking at cross purposes here. My points were: 1. None of this has to do with tweets specifically. 2. The UK is no different in this respect from most other countries that aren’t the US. You keep judging things by what you happen to have read in the news rather than actively looking for examples. This is leading you to make some inaccurate assumptions (such as e.g. that you can't be arrested in the UK for what you say in a park on a soapbox). Here are some relevant Google queries: "speakers corner" man arrested hate speech -gun arrested for tweet France arrested for tweet Germany arrested for tweet Spain -hack
- PrimeMcFly 3y ago
  > We’re mostly talking at cross purposes here. I don't think we are, I just disagree with you. I think you're trying to downplay what's happening in the UK and act as though it's completely normal and common in other similar countries. It isn't. > None of this has to do with tweets specifically. Sure, it's general to online social media, but tweets are the main thing people are getting arrested for. > The UK is no different in this respect from most other countries that aren’t the US. And I've specifically outlined why I disagree with this. > You keep judging things by what you happen to have read in the news rather than actively looking for examples. Because people getting arrested for making tweets in the UK keeps making the news. There's a reason it doesn't make the news as much from other non-US countries - it isn't happening as often or as egregiously. > This is leading you to make some inaccurate assumptions (such as e.g. that you can't be arrested in the UK for what you say in a park on a soapbox) I'm not making any inaccurate assumptions, I'm sticking to cold hard facts. I didn't say you can't be arrested for saying something on a soapbox in the UK, I'm saying if the people who got arrested for their tweets said it from a soapbox they wouldn't have. Twitter was being treated differently. > Here are some relevant Google queries: And none of them return cases as egregiously as those in the UK. Again, in the UK what is being considered hate speech is far more general than other countries. Just to reinforce my point again, free speech in the UK is likely the lowest of any first world country. People were arrested just for protesting the new king, not being violent, no hate speech, nothing. Think about that before you come back so quick to defend the crown.
  - foldr 3y ago
    We are definitely talking at cross purposes if you think I’m here to “defend the crown”. You seem to keep missing the point that I agree with you that the people we’re talking about should not have been arrested. What I disagree with are your hyperbolic statements about the UK based on a particular emphasis in the English-speaking media on the “arrested for a tweet” trope. You dismiss the results of the Google queries I provided, but they all turn up similar stories that simply weren’t as widely reported in English-speaking media. (The Spanish guy was even arrested just for insulting the King on Twitter, a tweet which certainly wouldn't get you arrested in the UK. Private Eye would have been shut down decades ago if this were a crime!)
    - PrimeMcFly 3y ago
      > We are definitely talking at cross purposes if you think I’m here to “defend the crown”. We're really not lol. I said defend the crown as shorthand for you defending the UK, which is exactly what you are doing. > You seem to keep missing the point that I agree with you that the people we’re talking about should not have been arrested. My point, said repeatedly by this point, is that the UK is worse than other similar countries. > What I disagree with are your hyperbolic statements about the UK based on a particular emphasis in the English-speaking media on the “arrested for a tweet” trope.What I disagree with are your hyperbolic statements about the UK based on a particular emphasis in the English-speaking media on the “arrested for a tweet” trope. It's not hyperbolic in the least. It's a much bigger problem in the UK than for other countries, and it's entirely accurate. > You dismiss the results of the Google queries I provided, but they all turn up similar stories that simply weren’t as widely reported in English-speaking media It's about the quantity. It happens far more in the UK, for less egregious things.
      - foldr 3y ago
        Now you are just insisting on your point without providing any evidence, other than whatever subjective impression of frequency you have from the news stories that you happen to read. The news isn't a random sample of current events.

foldr 3y ago

We’re mostly talking at cross purposes here. My points were: 1. None of this has to do with tweets specifically. 2. The UK is no different in this respect from most other countries that aren’t the US. You keep judging things by what you happen to have read in the news rather than actively looking for examples. This is leading you to make some inaccurate assumptions (such as e.g. that you can't be arrested in the UK for what you say in a park on a soapbox). Here are some relevant Google queries: "speakers corner" man arrested hate speech -gun arrested for tweet France arrested for tweet Germany arrested for tweet Spain -hack

PrimeMcFly 3y ago
> We’re mostly talking at cross purposes here. I don't think we are, I just disagree with you. I think you're trying to downplay what's happening in the UK and act as though it's completely normal and common in other similar countries. It isn't. > None of this has to do with tweets specifically. Sure, it's general to online social media, but tweets are the main thing people are getting arrested for. > The UK is no different in this respect from most other countries that aren’t the US. And I've specifically outlined why I disagree with this. > You keep judging things by what you happen to have read in the news rather than actively looking for examples. Because people getting arrested for making tweets in the UK keeps making the news. There's a reason it doesn't make the news as much from other non-US countries - it isn't happening as often or as egregiously. > This is leading you to make some inaccurate assumptions (such as e.g. that you can't be arrested in the UK for what you say in a park on a soapbox) I'm not making any inaccurate assumptions, I'm sticking to cold hard facts. I didn't say you can't be arrested for saying something on a soapbox in the UK, I'm saying if the people who got arrested for their tweets said it from a soapbox they wouldn't have. Twitter was being treated differently. > Here are some relevant Google queries: And none of them return cases as egregiously as those in the UK. Again, in the UK what is being considered hate speech is far more general than other countries. Just to reinforce my point again, free speech in the UK is likely the lowest of any first world country. People were arrested just for protesting the new king, not being violent, no hate speech, nothing. Think about that before you come back so quick to defend the crown.
- foldr 3y ago
  We are definitely talking at cross purposes if you think I’m here to “defend the crown”. You seem to keep missing the point that I agree with you that the people we’re talking about should not have been arrested. What I disagree with are your hyperbolic statements about the UK based on a particular emphasis in the English-speaking media on the “arrested for a tweet” trope. You dismiss the results of the Google queries I provided, but they all turn up similar stories that simply weren’t as widely reported in English-speaking media. (The Spanish guy was even arrested just for insulting the King on Twitter, a tweet which certainly wouldn't get you arrested in the UK. Private Eye would have been shut down decades ago if this were a crime!)
  - PrimeMcFly 3y ago
    > We are definitely talking at cross purposes if you think I’m here to “defend the crown”. We're really not lol. I said defend the crown as shorthand for you defending the UK, which is exactly what you are doing. > You seem to keep missing the point that I agree with you that the people we’re talking about should not have been arrested. My point, said repeatedly by this point, is that the UK is worse than other similar countries. > What I disagree with are your hyperbolic statements about the UK based on a particular emphasis in the English-speaking media on the “arrested for a tweet” trope.What I disagree with are your hyperbolic statements about the UK based on a particular emphasis in the English-speaking media on the “arrested for a tweet” trope. It's not hyperbolic in the least. It's a much bigger problem in the UK than for other countries, and it's entirely accurate. > You dismiss the results of the Google queries I provided, but they all turn up similar stories that simply weren’t as widely reported in English-speaking media It's about the quantity. It happens far more in the UK, for less egregious things.
    - foldr 3y ago
      Now you are just insisting on your point without providing any evidence, other than whatever subjective impression of frequency you have from the news stories that you happen to read. The news isn't a random sample of current events.