4 ms·

I'd rather get arrested in the UK too, but that's completely irrelevant. > Hate speech is a problem. If it wasn’t, why are Russia and China spending so much on

I'd rather get arrested in the UK too, but that's completely irrelevant. > Hate speech is a problem. If it wasn’t, why are Russia and China spending so much on troll farms? Non-sequitur. The existence of troll farms doesn’t mean it's such a big problem that we should give up our rights surrounding speech and communication that we fought hard for.

aetherson 10mo ago
I don't think it's completely irrelevant. Can we admit some nuance where the UK's fast ramp up of arrests for previously legal speech is genuinely concerning, but also that raw number of arrests (not even convictions!) is not the only basis for comparison?
immibis 10mo ago
What are people saying that gets them arrested? This important but as-yet-unanswered question is crucial to evaluating the severity of the UK's censorship regime.
- kolektiv 10mo ago
  Probably the most high-profile case was the Lucy Connolly one, where she posted: > "Mass deportation now, set fire to all the fucking hotels full of the bastards for all I care, while you’re at it take the treacherous government and politicians with them. I feel physically sick knowing what these families will now have to endure. If that makes me racist so be it” For additional context (which was relevant during the prosecution and sentencing) this was posted during a time of riots and arson attacks centred on asylum accommodations, and very shortly following a highly publicised mass-murder of children which was (entirely wrongly) being blamed on asylum seekers. She also pleaded guilty to the charged offence, rather than contesting the charge, for clarity. While not all cases will be quite like this, it is definitely not the case that - as some parties of the right have claimed - she is a free-speech martyr, a political prisoner, and so on.
  - tyho 10mo ago
    > following a highly publicised mass-murder of children which was (entirely wrongly) being blamed on asylum seekers. The mass-murder was a consequence of the asylum system. Given what is publicly known, parents of Axel Rudakubana were overwhelmingly likely to have been asylum seekers.
    - squidbeak 10mo ago
      [flagged]
  - seattle_spring 10mo ago
    So explicitly calling for violence, not just "posting a political opinion" like so many people are claiming.
    - llmslave2 10mo ago
      If that comment meets the bar for "explicitly calling for violence", tens of Hackernews posters would be getting arrested daily for how they talk about billionaires. AOC should avoid travel to the UK because her "eat the rich" rhetoric is an explicit call for violence under this standard. Etc etc.
      - thunderfork 10mo ago
        billionaires aren't a protected class in the UK (yet), afaik
        llmslave2 10mo ago
        Neither are politicians or immigrants at large so I'm not sure how that's relevant.
      - immibis 10mo ago
        Yes, that's correct. Have you tried reporting them to the police? If they're in the UK, they can be prosecuted.

aetherson 10mo ago

I don't think it's completely irrelevant. Can we admit some nuance where the UK's fast ramp up of arrests for previously legal speech is genuinely concerning, but also that raw number of arrests (not even convictions!) is not the only basis for comparison?

immibis 10mo ago

What are people saying that gets them arrested? This important but as-yet-unanswered question is crucial to evaluating the severity of the UK's censorship regime.

kolektiv 10mo ago
Probably the most high-profile case was the Lucy Connolly one, where she posted: > "Mass deportation now, set fire to all the fucking hotels full of the bastards for all I care, while you’re at it take the treacherous government and politicians with them. I feel physically sick knowing what these families will now have to endure. If that makes me racist so be it” For additional context (which was relevant during the prosecution and sentencing) this was posted during a time of riots and arson attacks centred on asylum accommodations, and very shortly following a highly publicised mass-murder of children which was (entirely wrongly) being blamed on asylum seekers. She also pleaded guilty to the charged offence, rather than contesting the charge, for clarity. While not all cases will be quite like this, it is definitely not the case that - as some parties of the right have claimed - she is a free-speech martyr, a political prisoner, and so on.
- tyho 10mo ago
  > following a highly publicised mass-murder of children which was (entirely wrongly) being blamed on asylum seekers. The mass-murder was a consequence of the asylum system. Given what is publicly known, parents of Axel Rudakubana were overwhelmingly likely to have been asylum seekers.
  - squidbeak 10mo ago
    [flagged]
- seattle_spring 10mo ago
  So explicitly calling for violence, not just "posting a political opinion" like so many people are claiming.
  - llmslave2 10mo ago
    If that comment meets the bar for "explicitly calling for violence", tens of Hackernews posters would be getting arrested daily for how they talk about billionaires. AOC should avoid travel to the UK because her "eat the rich" rhetoric is an explicit call for violence under this standard. Etc etc.
    - thunderfork 10mo ago
      billionaires aren't a protected class in the UK (yet), afaik
      - llmslave2 10mo ago
        Neither are politicians or immigrants at large so I'm not sure how that's relevant.
    - immibis 10mo ago
      Yes, that's correct. Have you tried reporting them to the police? If they're in the UK, they can be prosecuted.