Twitter troll jailed for racist abuse

[Bassmatt]

No. I'm not. You missed the point. (It was in the half of that line that you cut off).

Which was: things simply are not black and white. I don't believe in the all or nothing approach.

Some people say censorship is bad, well, most of us agree there are some things that should be censored.

Some people say "free speech!", well, most (?) of us agree there are some things that should not be said in certain situations.

Another example: those memorial web pages where people can talk about someone they loved who died. Then some wanker comes along and posts a bunch of rude upsetting stuff on that web page. Is that "free speech" that should be protected? (I'd like 46 days in jail for that type of person!).

The World has changed.

New ways to bully kids, means new ways needed to protect kids: http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/66...e-experts-warn

New ways to breach privacy, means new ways needed to protect privacy: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/poli...-be-overhauled

Words can only harm if the "victim" allows them to.
Some famous guy said something like this once;

"I may not agree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
Pretty much sums up my attitude around this.

[SMOKEU]

Nigger comes from the diminutive of the Spanish for black so just thought I would use the Spanish for white

Fair enough. At least I've learnt something new today.

[Virago]

...Some famous guy said something like this once;

"I may not agree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it"...

Another famous guy once said "Your right to throw punches ends where my nose begins."

The internet is a good place to sit and safely throw punches - followed by lots of crying and wailing about the "right of free speech".

[Bassmatt]

Another famous guy once said "Your right to throw punches ends where my nose begins."

The internet is a good place to sit and safely throw punches - followed by lots of crying and wailing about the "right of free speech".

How is physical violence relevant to the discussion?

[Virago]

How is physical violence relevant to the discussion?

Woooosh...

[mashman]

The Finn's have still an option to take legal action in any form they choose. If they choose not to ... that is their choice to make. If they don't ... it is not because they can't.

Is it defamation of a country or somefink? I howled with laughter when I read that the Finns could take legal action. Perhaps they'd put him on a diet

Brownlee had the good sense to make his 'racist' remarks under parliamentary privilege and therefore can't be sued, arrested or any nor procedure. the speaker or his party can slap his wrist but that's all. Meanwhile the Finns have been having their own fun with it.

heh, there's always an out as a politician eh, although I wonder what legal action the Finns could have taken and who they would have taken it against given Brownlee's "protection".

I don't think it's so easy to "choose not to read it" or "choose not to listen".

I agree with KB comment. Fact is, if I ran the Zoo some people would simply be banned for posting what they do. But regardless of my distaste, I know what KB is and I choose to be here and read threads. I can choose not to read what's here, so it's my problem if I get "offended".

But say you are at the football, in the crowd, and tweets with the hash tag #manvsunited are being copied to the big screen. You can't really avoid what's posted there, and that's a case where I think the onus is on the tweeter to use their brain (or the organisers to just not do it).

(P.S. I still don't know exactly how the offended people actually saw those tweets.)

You can say "choose not to read" or "choose not to post" - but there are places where it's better to "choose not to post" or "choose not to speak".

Slippery slope? There are lots of grey (and not so grey) areas. Censorship is bad? Well, I'm happy that child porn is banned.

Oh I dunno... if you're reading something or listening to something you dislike, you can always walk away. I've seen plenty instances of this and have done it myself a few times.

A Zoo? I'd love to know where you're going with that . Social media is just that, you'll read the same comments on any forum that you'll hear doon the pub.

I agree that there's a time and a place, but being a insensitive troll/rude/cunt etc... generally knows no bounds these days.

Yahoo news censors their comments section, so I would have thought the footy folk would do the same? Sure you can highlight specific instances/times and places, but where does that end? This was a guy making a comments about a footballer on one of the largest social sites in the world, so where is the line? I know there will be eager beavers itching to draw the line so that they can fill up their prisons, but there needs to be some form of common sense applied? This guy doing time is bang out of line.

[Bassmatt]

Woooosh...

Sticks and stones bro, sticks and stones

[jonbuoy]

I'm guessing the judge has never been to a football match and heard the language and abuse hurled around. Making an example of him would be ok, fine and publicity is enough, doesn't seem fair to send him to jail for far less than others get away with.

[Virago]

The concept of the harm caused by online attacks is little understood, and easily dismissed and buried by a frenzied claim of "free speech".

As it happens, we have had an interesting online case here in NZ in the last day or two. Most people will know about the nutter who organised the skateboard festival in Auckland, and will also have seen his thuggery on TV and the interwebs.

One misguided tosser then decided to organise an on-line hate campaign against the guy. Having got his name, he did a bit of googling and came up with a business name and cell-phone number. He set up a Facebook page, calling for others to join in the hatred.

Trouble is, he got it wrong. The result, an innocent couple have had to close their business, and the cell-phone has been given to the police - who are now working their way through all the death threats etc.

And the tosser who started the campaign? No doubt he's hiding under his computer desk, whimpering about "free speech"...

[FJRider]

Is it defamation of a country or somefink? I howled with laughter when I read that the Finns could take legal action. Perhaps they'd put him on a diet

Diplomatic pressure is just as legal as any court action.

I don't believe Brownlie's comments were any more raciest than calling Austrailia a nation of sheep-shaggers ... (not that I would actually say or imply that they are)

[Bassmatt]

The concept of the harm caused by online attacks is little understood, and easily dismissed and buried by a frenzied claim of "free speech".

As it happens, we have had an interesting online case here in NZ in the last day or two. Most people will know about the nutter who organised the skateboard festival in Auckland, and will also have seen his thuggery on TV and the interwebs.

One misguided tosser then decided to organise an on-line hate campaign against the guy. Having got his name, he did a bit of googling and came up with a business name and cell-phone number. He set up a Facebook page, calling for others to join in the hatred.

Trouble is, he got it wrong. The result, an innocent couple have had to close their business, and the cell-phone has been given to the police - who are now working their way through all the death threats etc.

And the tosser who started the campaign? No doubt he's hiding under his computer desk, whimpering about "free speech"...

Actively organising a campaign of intimidation and death threats is in another league completetly to a couple of racist comments on twitter, which is what I am referring to.
This kiwi guy should enjoy a spell in jail for his crime, the guy in England I'm not so sure.

[mashman]

I'm not racist, I'm a realist.

Judging by some of the videos you've posted, you're a troll or a racist. Each to his own though.

[mashman]

Slippery slope: High school expels student for tweeting f-word

"An Indiana high school expels a student for a silly, profane tweet, even though it seems to have been sent at 2:30 a.m."

"Please prepare your best judgmental pose while I transcribe (mostly) his supposedly most offensive tweet: "F*** is one of those F****** words you can F****** put anywhere in a F****** sentence and it still F****** makes sense.""

[SMOKEU]

Judging by some of the videos you've posted, you're a troll or a racist. Each to his own though.

You're entitled to your opinion just as much as I am to mine.

[jonbuoy]

The crazy thing is, its not even the people involved making the complaint, its the people who have been offended by hearing it. How long before saying "oi you tight Scottish ginger twat put your hand in your pocket and get the drinks in" to a mate in a public place results in someone overhearing it, being "offended" and making a complaint.