And another nail…
Meet Barry Thew. Or not – unless you happen to have shared a cell with him last night. Barry it seems doesn’t like cops – not a surprise really for someone who a string of convictions for offences going back to his pre-teen years. Whilst Barry is hardly alone in this feeling though, he was the only one wandering around a town centre not far from Manchester wearing a white t-shirt with the hand-written slogan ‘One less pig. Perfect justice‘ on the front mere hours after two police officers had been murdered.
I think we can all agree that that was not Barry’s finest hour.
For this rather tasteless piece of fashion he was charged under the s4A of the Public Order Act (1986). He pled guilty and has now been gaoled for 4 months for this ‘crime’.
At the risk of repeating myself so quickly, I have to ask why. That the slogan is deeply unpleasant and was no doubt considered upsetting and offensive by the officers of Manchester police is a given but none of that should land you in court, let alone gaol.
If Barry – or anyone else – wants to walk around with that on their t-shirt then so be it. It lets the rest of us know who to avoid.
Not everyone agrees of course, as evidenced by this quote from Inspector Bryn Williams of the Radcliffe Neighbourhood Policing Team:
To mock or joke about the tragic events of that morning is morally reprehensible and Thew has rightly been convicted and sentenced for his actions.
Newsflash Bryn… people have made tasteless jokes about things since time immemorial – and will continue to do so. Some of the worst offenders when it comes to mortuary humour are those in the armed forces and the emergency services. It is a coping mechanism. Are you going to report yourself and your fellow officers next time a ‘morally reprehensible’ joke goes around the nick?
Being morally reprehensible is not a crime and locking Barry Thew up for a distasteful remark is not going to bring back those murdered officers.
“If Barry – or anyone else – wants to walk around with that on their t-shirt then so be it. It lets the rest of us know who to avoid.”
Spot on!
Unfortunately the PTB don’t seem to credit us with that level of judgement.
It strikes me that soon the north Koreans will have more freedom than the Brits.
At least now we know where all the unemployed MfS men went for work after the wall came down.
77 convictions.He was already on a suspended sentence that he breached.He also pleaded guilty to the charge against him.
Perhaps if I walked around with a T shirt on with the slogan “Kill all blacks/gays/Asians?” would you accept that as free speech?
I would because restricting such a comment (as abhorrent as it is) is to restrict free speech and that is the slippery slope which we are on. If you were to do so I would certainly wonder what your malfunction was and I wouldn’t go out of my way to talk with you but I have no problems with you wearing it.
Words are just that: words. It is actions which count.
As regards his suspended sentence, the impression I got from the reporting was that it was for a previous drugs offence and he was discovered to be in breach of that when arrested for this ‘crime’. A case of “would have got away with it if it wasn’t for that pesky t-shirt”.
And if I walked around with a T-shirt that said “One less pedo” with a picture of Jimmy Saville would I get arrested or have people cheering me on?
Sadly, despite there being no evidence other than claims from ‘victims’, you’d probably be cheered on. The mob is in the ascendant, and you stand against it at your peril…
That he pleaded guilty to the charge is irrelevant. The point is that such actions should not be against the law.
“if I walked around with a T shirt on with the slogan “Kill all blacks/gays/Asians?” would you accept that as free speech?”
Incitement is different from commentary, do you honestly not see the difference?
I was a policeman before I retired and was called all sorts of nasty names. Any serving officer should develop a thick skin and take no notice of this sort of thing.Distasteful as the T shirt is,if they cannot take the abuse, they are in the wrong job.
[...] http://www.misanthropegirl.me.uk/2012/10/12/barry-thew/ [...]
Is there any chance you could stop using the archaic spelling for “jail”? It really makes me cringe every time I see it. As if English spellings were not bad enough to begin with.
Go forth and verily fuck thyself serf!
“For this rather tasteless piece of fashion he was charged under the s4A of the Public Order Act (1986). He plead guilty and has now been gaoled for 4 months for this ‘crime’”, this is funny. I can’t imagine he plead guilty on this situation. And having him in prison for 4 months is too much.
Have to get the thinking cap on and dream up a tasteless t-shirt.