Slashdot Mirror
UK Politician Arrested Over Twitter 'Stoning Joke'
History's Coming To writes "The BBC is reporting that a Tory city councillor has been arrested over a 'joke' he posted to Twitter suggesting that Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, a UK based writer, be stoned to death. The full tweet read, 'Can someone please stone Yasmin Alibhai-Brown to death? I shan't tell Amnesty if you don't. It would be a blessing, really.' Following complaints he was arrested under the Communications Act 2003 and bailed. He has since apologized. This comes on the same day that a conviction for a Twitter 'joke' about blowing up an airport was upheld."
All he asked was a rhetorical question. Many times, I've asked if it were possible to have someone flogged like in the old British Navy and no one takes it seriously. Has asked if she could be stoned - NOT shot; not beaten to death with a cricket bat; but stoned, as in an old fashioned fantasy sort of way.
The real morons here are the folks who are taking this seriously.
RIP America
July 4, 1776 - September 11, 2001
asked if she could be stoned - NOT shot; not beaten to death with a cricket bat; but stoned, as in an old fashioned fantasy sort of way.
s/n old fashioned fantasy/ current, 3000 mile to the southeast/
The UK government have already instilled this fear. If an islamic man had posted that about a white woman, you can guarantee he would be arrested, charged and convicted for it. Similar has already happened. If this councillor gets away with it it'll be yet another case of hypocrisy from our corrupt government.
Yes, I excerpted the quote. Read the entire quote, and make sure to keep reading what's after the quote.
So, should Paul Kanjorski be arrested for inciting violence? Or do any words qualify for you as "rhetorical" after they're said?
Both the twitter posts cited in the article are jokes in poor taste by frustrated people, but are they evidence of intent to kill someone or blow up a plane? People bent on that sort of act rarely advertise their intent on some public media.
What's next? Being prosecuted for threatening to kill someone's character in World of Warcraft?
When I was a cop there were dozens of times that angry and/or frustrated people made comments (to me or to others) like "I'll kill you" or "You're dead if you do that again" or something similar. You have to make allowances for frustration and understand it's only human nature to make threats. Of course, it's different if you think they might actually do what they say, but that's not the usual case - people who are going to attack you just do it, they don't threaten first.
The difference is that on twitter (indeed, the internet in general) there's a permanent record. That plus a stupid/malicious prosecutor plus a judge who doesn't understand human nature is a recipe for damn stupid legal decisions.
Actually it sounds like an appropriate response to her column then. She should be stoned. After all, she apparently thinks it's okay. Oh...I missed the part where she thinks it's okay for "others" to be stoned. Sorry 'bout that!
Can someone please stone Yasmin Alibhai-Brown to death?
is NOT asking if anyone is capable. It is asking someone to DO it.
its like saying: can someone please take out the garbage.
and regardless making threats about people lives in public jokingly or otherwise is a definate no-no.
people are prosecuted for saying much less potentially dangerous remarks. e.g. libel and defamtion of character neither of which are usually related with loss of life.
$ unzip, strip, touch, finger, grep, mount, fsck, more, yes,fsck,fsck,fsck,umount, sleep
Pretend for a moment that a Muslim posted on Twitter that a UK politician should be stoned to death. Considering the attempted murder of a MP recently and the UK removing YouTube videos, I'm sure that they'd get arrested. I doubt slashdotters would stand up for him in the same manner as they're doing for this jerk.
>>>In the USA said person could go to jail for life if somebody read the request and actually granted it.
No they wouldn't. Look at members of the KKK who routinely say blacks should be lynched, but they never get arrested for it, even after the act happens. The speech remains protected, and the KKK person would only be arrested if he assisted in the crime.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
The statement of an opinion: "Blacks should be lynched" is protected by the first amendment. The request "would someone please lynch [name of black person]" is not a statement, and is not protected by the First Amendment.
Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
The joke is that the woman who he "said should be stoned" said that no British politician should be able to complain about stoning in Muslim countries, because Muslim culture allows for stoning. He then "said she should be stoned." The implication here is that she has no right to complain about him wanting to have someone stoned.
Dude...that's so meta...I think you just blew my mind. It's like when the Offspring sold T-shirts with the Napster logo on them, and Napster sued them for copyright infringement.
"I don't care about the Constitution!" --Bill O'Reilly, November 17, 2009
Why do you find saying she should be stoned to death funny?
Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.