Scotland Sets Precedent that “Offensiveness” is a Crime

Free Speech on the Rocks

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Mark Meechan, a Scottish comedian and self-proclaimed “shit-poster,” has been found guilty of a ‘hate crime’ yesterday in court. For a bit of context, here’s a report of the video (which I believe has been taken off Youtube) when the news first broke 2 years ago -

Essentially, Meechan filmed himself teaching his girlfriend’s dog to do the Nazi salute according to the command “Sieg Heil.” He clearly outlines the ‘lightness’ of this activity as a way to ‘take the piss’ out of his partner who reveres her puppy to no end.

And yesterday, after years of court proceedings, public scrutiny, and actual harassment, the court found Meechan guilty of being “grossly offensive.” Meechan now faces time in prison and GPS monitoring.

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Here’s the report by the BBC - http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-43478925

And by the Washington Post - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2018/03/21/for-weeks-he-trained-a-dog-to-do-a-nazi-salute-the-man-was-just-convicted-of-a-hate-crime/?utm_term=.8492a9ad5789

Let me know what you think about this. I’m in the boat of Ricky Gervais in that we should not underestimate what kind of precedent this sets.

A “victimless” crime is not a crime and this is a prime example of self-victimization being used as a bludgeon on those one disagrees with. No matter on whether you believe his actions were funny or deplorable, cheeky or childish, this whole affair becomes only an issue about free speech.