Only David Baddiel and Ricky Gervais, I suggested, had spoken up in his defence.
The next day, I am pleased to say, Shappi Khorsandi entered the fray with a good column for the Independent:
The terrifying thing about this conviction is that the judge sided with the prosecution who said “context and intent are irrelevant” in a joke? In a bloody joke? Context is everything in a flipping joke!
It’s happened. Like Iran, like Burma, like other countries where freedom of speech isn’t really their thing, the Scottish courts have convicted someone for telling a joke.
This story is why the Left is losing.— Femi (@Femi_Sorry) March 20, 2018
If the whole point of the joke is the very fact that bigotry is unacceptable, it's not a bigoted joke. When we condemn humour on sensitive topics, regardless of context, we justify the accusations of "snowflakerey".https://t.co/zCULEPmt8C https://t.co/uFkf8Y2QyL
1 comment:
Fuck, a man is being sent to prison in the UK for a lousy joke.
This is about how we challenge racism and bigotry in society. Or how we might look at "the joke" values.
Mark Meechan is going to gaol for dodgy taste -- and being "caught" and "punished".
---
Meanwhile the leader of the Labour Party blusters whether he liked a mural which he says he never looked at. Failure to spot an anti-semitic mural portraying stereotyped Jews was apparently difficult for a politician who has spent a life time as an expert in middle east politics.
It's all right to have dodgy friends if you are Jeremy Corbyn. It is not all right to tell crap jokes in Scotland.
Post a Comment