I hate the world we live in.

one might say, but he was also convicted of attempted theft of a bicycle, but the fact remains is they were letting him go, telling him to leave and it was only when he committed the horrible sin of using the 'h' word, that he was arrested. Only then did they add on every charge they could which is typical procedure.

They were not 'police officers' - they were shopping centre security guards!

True, he was an idiot to 'rattle' the bike in the fist place, and should have left when he had the chance.
But I still don't see the criminal offence in the 'racial slur' itself, if obviously made in jest.

(And by obviously...)

It's another one of those stories you don't need to look at who posted it to know who did, lol.

The guy sounds like an a*****e anyway plus the fact it's an article from the Daily Biased so I'm sure they didn't include all the facts.

It's pretty standard like 2many said, that if you're being an a*****e and the cops are called for them to charge you with whatever they can.

I got locked up for a night for calling a cop a "prick", he was being really bolshy and heavy handed with someone so I swore at him. They arrested me for 'breach of the peace'. I was drunk and being an a*****e so they used me swearing as an excuse to lock me up for the night and get me off the streets. That's a similar story that happens thousands of times every weekend in the UK.

There was no article for me on how ridiculous it was that a prick called another prick a prick but because there's a race issue involved here the Daily Sensationalist thought it'd bring in a few readers.

Really?!? So there was alcohol involved? No kidding.

Still the overall point, that you couldn't get charged with calling someone a honky in America holds water. There may be bias to the story, but the level of free speech in England is not the same as here.

I would also like to know the story behind the kids getting in trouble because they refused to pray to Allah (link on story above). Yes, learn about other religions, but why pray to them? Learn about prayers, but to actually pray? Why?

I'd have to disagree with you here, it's only non-stories like this (not knocking you for posting it BTW) that give that appearance.

You only have to watch British TV to realise that if anything you're more free to say what you want in this country than you are in the US. I'm just speaking from what I personally know here, it's not fact lol.

This is an isolated incident and I think it'd be unfair to judge the free speech of this country in general on this one occasion.

Pssht. Whatever. One of my friends got carted off to jail for simply being larger than the police officer and therefore scaring the pants off of him.

He saw one of his buddies get pulled over and walked across the street to see what was going on. Nest thing he knew, he had a gun pointed at him and was being escorted to jail for "obstructing justice". "Obstructing justice" being code for "the police officer at the scene was prevented from issuing a speeding ticket due to the fact that he'd soiled himself".

Then again, my friend is a huge, scary looking man. I would probably soil myself too if he came lurching out of the dark in my direction.

That has no bearing on the point. Obstructing justice can also mean obstructing justice, trying to prevent the police officer from doing his job.

Being "scary looking" because someone is taller than the armed police officer is not a crime and you will not find a conviction for that.

I am not talking about trumped up bs charges, or some police officer lying about what happened.

Here you do have a conviction (in part) for racial speech. You can not be convicted in the US for calling someone a honky or even a N*

I am not talking about bad language or breasts on tv. I am talking about Free Speech. You can spew all the racist words you want (regardless if they are meant to be racists or not) in America. We realize that speech that is offensive is the speech that needs protection.

Whereas in Canada, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa, Australia, India, and other places, freedom of speech doesn't include insulting words that might be offensive to a group of people. They have laws which can make so-called "hate speech" a criminal offense. Even signing international treaties to the effect. [or such is my understanding, perhaps I am wrong?]

Not so in the US. This may be an isolated incident (but it is far from the only isolated incident), but it does illustrate the differences in attitude on how important Free Speech is. The fact is this case does show that it is against the law to make hateful comments at least of certain protected groups.

As has been said many times, speech that is sweet and kind and full of gumdrops and lemonaid springs doesn't need the protection of freedom of speech laws. Speech that is offensive, even speech that is hateful does require the protection of laws.

England isn't as bad as some countries as far as limiting free speech, but it is more limiting than in the US - generally speaking.

I'm not sure if it's the case in this country that if a police officer overheard you say the word n****r, p**i, or any other racial slur that you'd automatically be arrested on the spot.

In this incident I think that it was a lot of factors that got the guy arrested and the racial slur charge was thrown in there as part and parcel of the whole incident. If the guy walked past the security guards and called them honkey's I seriously doubt it'd have been even reported or acted upon.

Talking in general though, if it was the case that in America it's not an offence to use racial slurs and it is here, I'm proud to live in a country where certain words and language is unacceptable. After all they aren't words that add anything positive to a culture or a discussion.

I've watched UK television programs, films ect that n****r and other racially offensive words are in and there's no huge hoo-hah or censorship. In news reports, documentaries where the word is appropriate to use for say, educational purposes then that's not censored either.

It's also illegal to piss in a public place here, even if it's out of plain view and you can be fined or arrested for it but that doesn't mean our civil liberties and freedom to live how we please are affected. A bad analogy I know but hopefully you see the point I'm trying to (in my own unique, bumbling way) make.

Just because you can be arrested for certain speech doesn't mean you will be or even that that cuts down on your freedom of speech, it just means that the law recognizes that there's a need to have the ability to ensure that people using that language in an offensive, threatening or abusive way can be dealt with.

I and my family have personally been on the receiving end of racist language (No, I'm not trying to be clever and say how cool or "with it" and "in touch" I am) and I'm glad that the police have the power to stop people from using such language.

Doggy, I can vouch for the fact that racial slurs in the presence of an... dammit, I just remembered that PC 6059 is a PCSO, not a person of authority.

Also, I wasn't being actually racist, just banter with a friend. He just laughed. I mean the PCSO did; my friend told me to f**k off.

But then again, in their eyes I'm a 'yoot', and expected to do such things. [Just read your last paragraph. That's exactly what I'm trying to do.]

I agree with your conclusion (paragraph two) that it is the Daily Mail spicing it up by placing extra prominence on that charge rather than that of 'rattling bicycles'.

You can, however, be arrested and charged with a hate crime for spray painting a similar word onto a fence.

Paint "Kilroy was here" or "f**k the Government" or "Bite me" and you get vandalism, maybe destruction of property. Include a racist word, and you have a much different crime.

...Though technically, most states do have a 'fighting words' statute on the books, whereby if whatever you say can stir anger in an otherwise reasonable person, said reasonable person is allowed to smack you for it. ...but it's a little-known and little-used law.
And the only speech that is *technically* 100% protected is political speech, as in on the Senate floor or in protest of a political activity.
But, overall, yes. You're right. :)

What did this guy expect? Make a security guard mad and you'll probably wind up in jail. It's just common sense.

Oh look, a typical American displaying some 'free speech' without any pre-thought. Oh, hang on, I don't live in the USA... Am I allowed to say something like that or do I need to watch over my shoulder????

Come off it 2many, that's a very narrow minded view there. This might have been a very interesting article had I not immediately offended and put on the defensive by that comment.

Well, boo freaking hoo.

Typical american pre thought narrow minded? What kind of drivel are you spouting?

It isn't narrow-minded, it is a statement of facts. Facts can not be narrow-minded or broadminded.
Your attack on me and all "typical" americans is however, quite narrow minded


Fact: There are laws in many countries that limit free speech that might offend or disparage a group.

You can be convicted for slurs or insults against certain groups in many countries, heck you can be convicted of a crime for stating that you don't believe in the Holocaust in countries such as Germany, France, and Canada.

Isolated case or not, there are laws in England (and many other countries such as Canada which make it a crime to call someone a derogatory word for certain protected groups.

Heck, the lady who job included selling hair cuts but refused to do so (displaying the product being sold is a typical job requirement) got $8000 not for discrimination, but because her feelings were hurt.

Bridget Bardot (in France, not England) got convicted and fined $23,000 for insulting an Islamic practice of slaughtering sheep

Do a little research before you get all high and might and get offended and insult me and an entire country just because a fact - not a "view" was stated.

There is a difference in the degree that speech is protected in the US and in many other countries around the world. That is a fact. If you can't accept that fact, I'm sorry, but it is how it is.

Freedom of speach may be guarenteed by your laws, but in terms of what is socially acceptable, you are way behind Europe, just read the junk stories that are printed about America - it must be true if the tabloids say so, right?

But seriously, Americans are a lot more sensitive to people expressing their beliefs than most European countries are, so I don't think the fact that you have freedom of speech laws makes any real impact.

You clearly have something against us though, perhaps you are annoyed that you can't find us on an atlas? I'm surprised you've even heard of us, can you pronounce England properly? I doubt it.

Why the hate? Why the insults? It seems you are the sensitive one. I don't have anything against you. I didn't even insult you. It is just a fact that freedom of speech laws are more restrictive in many countries other than the US. For some, like Doggylives stated, that is the preferred situation. Some don't want freedom of speech to allow insulting groups of people. Should it be? Shouldn't it be? That is debatable. Just without the petty and childish little temper tantrums that you displayed here.

That is why I downvoted you, for being so needlessly insulting.