Sticks and stones may break my bones…

petra

GrannyGravy
easy targets that’s exactly it. Tick box, job done.
We are continuously being told that crime is dropping, bullshit.
Real crime is on the increase.

👍🏻

ronib

What confuses me is that the tweets were delivered in America where they are perfectly legal!

Very valid point - ie re legal when sent!

valdavi

Galaxy

I am terrified of anyone who thinks a comedian should be arrested for tweets. I think it looks like there are going to be changes to how the police interpret the law, the Met police are chuntering on about it.

Absolutely.
Comedy should be exempt from being politially correct, as long as it is a gentle ironic comment on ourselves, not coming from a place of hate or prejudice.

The tweets weren't comedy, though, were they?

What confuses me is that the tweets were delivered in America where they are perfectly legal!

I’m not terrified of others thinking differently from me - people can think what they like - but I do feel that there should be clarification about what is and is not criminal when it comes to online activity.

I don’t like the way the phrase ‘hurty words’ is used to minimise what can be obvious incitement to violence, but there are many shades of grey in the way people express themselves, and much can be open to interpretation. ‘Let him have it’, for instance.

As I see it, people should know when they are breaking the law, and if they do so in that knowledge they know they are risking arrest. But we shouldn’t be at risk of being arrested for doing something that would be perfectly legal in other circumstances. Maybe I feel that GL should be left alone because I happen to agree with his stance on women’s rights, but I do think his arrest is an overreaction, and hope the courts deal with it accordingly.

Galaxy

I am terrified of anyone who thinks a comedian should be arrested for tweets. I think it looks like there are going to be changes to how the police interpret the law, the Met police are chuntering on about it.

Absolutely.
Comedy should be exempt from being politially correct, as long as it is a gentle ironic comment on ourselves, not coming from a place of hate or prejudice.

Arrest the violent ones by all means, but honestly some are so elderly and frail, they clearly wouldn't hurt a fly, what can they be thinking of.
Because the elderly and frail are so easy!

What a farce! Such heavy handedness about "hurty "words, 5 police officers can be spared to address a non crime. It makes them look absolute laughing stocks . Graham Linehan is entitled to his opinion, an opinion shared by many. When did they become so politicised?

In the meantime, my hairdresser , like many other victims of crime, has her car stolen outside her house, not interested! said she can supply them with video evidence of it being stolen, not interested! umpteen people all over the nation have to put up with "oh don't tell us we're far too busy to address your insignificant problems" we'd far rather go after soft targets like Graham Linehan, the man needs to be made an example of

I also agree that they shouldn't be carting off peaceful, elderly protesters we live in a democracy, or I thought we did Arrest the violent ones by all means, but honestly some are so elderly and frail, they clearly wouldn't hurt a fly, what can they be thinking of.

Agreed all round - as to why on earth aren't the police acting like police any more (ie going after criminals - as that's what they are there for).

In all sorts of directions they're acting "political" - rather than as police. Looking in another direction and I think it was about 20 of them arresting one solitary elderly protester at the latest Palestine Action demonstration. It was very clear they had him specifically in their sights from feet away and all of them going after that one elderly vulnerable man!!!!

Okay…. He was defending the rights of women to be in female only spaces.

petra

GrannyGravy
easy targets that’s exactly it. Tick box, job done.
We are continuously being told that crime is dropping, bullshit.
Real crime is on the increase.

Oh goodness, you'd be amazed at how the crime rates have been manipulated in different ways over many years!

Mollygo

ronib

Women are a protected group btw.

But men aren’t allowed to defend them, only to attack them, upset them or discriminate against them . . .
Sounds about right.

Women are a protected group btw.

But other people's rights trump theirs.

I know what you mean Mollygo 🙂
If men defend women's rights, they get arrested.

ronib

What do you mean? Mollygo

Why was GL arrested? Was he attacking women (AHF just to be clear) or defending them?

Whitewavemark2PA has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation here in the U.K.

There are multiple ways the protesters could have shown their support for Palestinians, without holding posters in support of Palestinian Action Group

I like most are not party to all the reasons our intelligence agencies advocated for them to be proscribed, they have to put the safety of all citizens of the U.K. paramount.

Two high profile instances of the police overreaching their authority.

The first is peaceful supporters of PA

The second is as the OP example.

Something is happening and I feel very uneasy.

What do you mean? Mollygo

Linehan's comment about kicking a transwoman in the Ladies in the balls came at the same time as the Queen said she'd once kicked a man in the balls!

ronib

Women are a protected group btw.

But men aren’t allowed to defend them, only to attack them, upset them or discriminate against them . . .
Sounds about right.

5 armed police officers?
Talk about overkill.
If he hadn’t been a high profile person whose arrest would garner publicity it would never had happened.
I despair sometimes.

Women are a protected group btw.

GrannyGravy
easy targets that’s exactly it. Tick box, job done.
We are continuously being told that crime is dropping, bullshit.
Real crime is on the increase.

The actual meaning of the tweet has been lost on the arresting officers. “Kick him in the balls”. Let’s think about it. A woman in a woman’s space. Linehan is an absolute hero. The police have lost all sense of proportion.
I am sad that Linehan’s marriage has ended too. I read that he wanted to protect his wife and daughter. It’s a great shame that the police are too unintelligent to understand the implications here. Disgraceful.

Allira

It is not something stupid.

He is standing up for the rights of women and girls and, like others such as J K Rowling, is threatened and vilified.

Five armed police officers arresting one man who has tweeted something that someone else objected to?

The head of the Metropolitan Police has called on the government to "change or clarify" the law following the arrest of comedian Graham Linehan over posts he made online.

The police had to be seen to be doing their duty, apparently, but one or two unarmed police officers could have asked him to accompany them for a chat.
What an overreaction and waste of resources.

Sir Keir Starmer said the police must "focus on the most serious issues" when asked in the Commons about the arrest.
🤔

In his statement on Wednesday, Sir Mark said the decision to arrest Linehan "was made within existing legislation - which dictates that a threat to punch someone from a protected group could be an offence". Actually, that is a twisting of what he did say.

So presumably a woman in a women's only space has no protection in the law as women are not a protected group?

So what did he actually say? I can't imagine he was arrested for saying men are men and women are women. It must be more than that.

I think the armed officers is a red herring, they are all armed at airports. Not sure where they'd be expected to leave their guns.

Horrible. You wonder who exactly ordered the police to do this because that is the person we should blame. They were probably just doing what they were told by someone higher up. That someone should lose their job.

His interview on the BBC news last night was interesting.

Lucy Manning was emanating hatred from every pore.

Lineman was shaking and he looked ill, I hope and pray this wonderful man who gave us Father Ted is not heading for a breakdown.