Brexit

[Ex-California]

A Ukip MEP candidate has defended his use of the N-word and other offensive language in a Youtube video by saying: “I find racist jokes funny”.

Carl Benjamin, who uploads footage to his channel under the name Sargon of Akkad, called a disabled person a “retard” and an Asian woman a “chink” while commenting on an anti-discrimination film.

The internet troll also repeatedly used the N-word and other racist terms in the 2015 footage, which was deleted for violating Youtube’s policy on hate speech.Mr Benjamin, the Ukip candidate for the South West constituency, told Sky News he was “not really interested in discussing any of these comments” and suggested those who found his use of racist language offensive should “go and have a cry”.

Labour MP David Lammy responded by tweeting that it was “deeply sad” that people who use the n-word were running to be elected officials in Britain in 2019.“This is an ideology of hate. It must be confronted and defeated,” he added.

During the interview with Sky News, Mr Benjamin boasted about having a huge audience on Youtube, adding: “If people want to go see them they can go watch them on my channel and see the context of them for themselves. I’m not really interested in discussing any of those.”Asked about people who found his comments offensive, he replied: “Well I’ll tell you what. They can go and have a cry and when they have collected themselves and they are ready to talk like an adult about the issues and not bring up things that they think might be offensive and spread them around the country to people who might be offended by them.

"Then we can have a sensible discussion about the issues.”He also told Sky News: “Personally, I find racist jokes funny.”

It follows his dismissal of concerns about a tweet in which he said he “wouldn’t even rape” Labour MP Jess Phillips.

Ukip leader Gerard Batten described Mr Benjamin’s comments about Ms Phillips as “ill considered” but claimed “the vast mass of people out there couldn’t care less”. He has refused to comment on the video.Nick Lowles, chief executive of campaign group Hope not Hate, called for Mr Benjamin to be sacked immediately.

“These appalling slurs show the mask slipping from Carl Benjamin, a man who likes to hide behind his YouTube persona and write off everything as a joke or as part of a free speech mantle,” he said. “Even a far-right party like Ukip and its Muslim-obsessed leader Gerard Batten must realise they’ve made a horrendous error in selecting Benjamin as a candidate.

“They must now immediately sack him, or forever be seen to be siding with bigotry, homophobia, misogyny and racism. The voters of the South West deserve better than this.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/p ... 87696.html
Just another Free Speech Warrior hiding his bigotry behind so called humour.
''It's a joke'' can never be an excuse for breaking the law or no law can ever be prosecuted. Especially when bigotted comments are used as revenue generating clickbait as in this case and that of Nazi pug man.

Bigotry should never be against the law

Are you serious right now?

Also, the best humor is subversive and offensive. Otherwise its all Sesame Street

[Ex-California]

It's a joke'' can never be an excuse for breaking the law or no law can ever be prosecuted

If your law depends on whether it is a joke or not then your law sucks. Either you have freedom of speech or you don't. Am willing to bet he wont get prosecuted and when he doesn't will you concede it was just a joke or are you already drawing a conclusion?

What is the exact law he broke anyways? Do Brits really have laws against saying something mean?

Yes they do and they don't see a problem with it. The scary thing is that the same attitude is taking root here

[Ph64]

Apparently the artist who painted this picture:



...needs to be prosecuted for painting something grossly offensive to the "Muslim community".I

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/7fbe ... 4765c271fe

The gallery covered it up after complaints, but that should be no excuse, they should be charged for being grossly offensive as well. Luckily I'm in the US, so they can't charge me for posting that image... But if I decide to travel to the UK in the future should I be arrested and charged for posting that image that is "grossly offensive to the Muslim community"??I

Inquiring minds want to know exactly what the exact legal definition of "gross offense" is, and whether it is applied equally to all members of society without bias? Some Christians might find the Monty Python skit of them singing on crosses rather grossly offensive humor, should they be prosecuted?

More importantly... Just about anything can probably be seen as "grossly offensive" by someone, somewhere. Should we just prosecute everyone, because someone somewhere was grossly offended?

[Otern]

Not true.
Count Dankula had his own comedy website and his motivation for posting the ''edgy'' pug video was to increase traffic to his site.
The judge at his trial stated that he was so motivated and it was not acceptable to cause gross offence to the Jewish community just so that he could generate notoriety for personal gain.
If he only intended to piss his gf off he would have removed it once she had seen it. He was asked to remove it but refused which is why the case ended up in court.

Do you honestly believe Dankula is a nazi, or was a nazi at the point he made and published the video?

[Ex-California]

Not true.
Count Dankula had his own comedy website and his motivation for posting the ''edgy'' pug video was to increase traffic to his site.
The judge at his trial stated that he was so motivated and it was not acceptable to cause gross offence to the Jewish community just so that he could generate notoriety for personal gain.
If he only intended to piss his gf off he would have removed it once she had seen it. He was asked to remove it but refused which is why the case ended up in court.

Do you honestly believe Dankula is a nazi, or was a nazi at the point he made and published the video?

So what if he does make money off of offending people? This should be illegal because of hurt fee fees? The whole situation is asinine.

[Montegriffo]

Not true.
Count Dankula had his own comedy website and his motivation for posting the ''edgy'' pug video was to increase traffic to his site.
The judge at his trial stated that he was so motivated and it was not acceptable to cause gross offence to the Jewish community just so that he could generate notoriety for personal gain.
If he only intended to piss his gf off he would have removed it once she had seen it. He was asked to remove it but refused which is why the case ended up in court.

Do you honestly believe Dankula is a nazi, or was a nazi at the point he made and published the video?

Define Nazi.
He clearly isn't a German National Socialist from the 1930's and 40's.
However, he did mock the Jewish community by making repeated references to the gassing of Jews which was committed by actual Nazis.

[Otern]

Define Nazi.
He clearly isn't a German National Socialist from the 1930's and 40's.
However, he did mock the Jewish community by making repeated references to the gassing of Jews which was committed by actual Nazis.

So you believe he made the video because he hates jews?

[Montegriffo]

Define Nazi.
He clearly isn't a German National Socialist from the 1930's and 40's.
However, he did mock the Jewish community by making repeated references to the gassing of Jews which was committed by actual Nazis.

So you believe he made the video because he hates jews?

No. I've stated quite clearly why I think he made the video.
The question is not whether he is a Nazi or not. The question is did he break the law by posting a grossly offensive video which is a crime in the UK.

[Ex-California]

Define Nazi.
He clearly isn't a German National Socialist from the 1930's and 40's.
However, he did mock the Jewish community by making repeated references to the gassing of Jews which was committed by actual Nazis.

So you believe he made the video because he hates jews?

No. I've stated quite clearly why I think he made the video.
The question is not whether he is a Nazi or not. The question is did he break the law by posting a grossly offensive video which is a crime in the UK.

And that is absolutely fucking ridiculous on its face, not to mention morally wrong

[Otern]

No. I've stated quite clearly why I think he made the video.
The question is not whether he is a Nazi or not. The question is did he break the law by posting a grossly offensive video which is a crime in the UK.

And that's fucking insane. He didn't call for violence, he didn't libel anyone, and he didn't harass anyone. He made a video where he asked a dog if it wanted to gas the jews, and taught it to do the nazi salute. No jews were harmed in the making of that video. No people saw that video, and went out and gassed the jews. He didn't do it in a synagogue, or played the video in a synagogue, or in any way go after any jews with the video.

He made a video that some people find poor taste. Fair enough. I get that people find it poor taste. But criminalizing poor taste is way scarier than poor taste.

If what he did was a crime, everyone in Britain is a potential criminal.