Thanks.MaxwellEdison said:Snipped previous comments for simplicity.Vanguard_Ex said:I don't mean a right as in a politically or legally granted right, I mean a right as a normal person just trying to go about their daily life as usual. If you would never use the privilege of being horrendous to someone, why complain about the lack of it?
That's all good apart from the fact that the very thing we're discussing here is not related to physical harm. We're talking mental harm here. I think this kind of thing goes a little past simply offending people. Offending someone is a crude joke or mocking their hairstyle, however the word isn't really strong enough to describe being racially abused on a public tram carriage. You're right, maybe the government delves too much into private lives at times, and I wouldn't go as far as to dispute whether or not arresting her would make a real difference to her behaviour. But justice must be seen to be done.
No, I don't think you have that either. People will be crazy assholes, and we need to be able to get over that. And again, that argument doesn't make sense - there are a lot of things that I think should not be jailable offenses that I don't partake in and I consider terrible. "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
And I *seriously* doubt that this caused mental harm to anyone. Someone moron spouting abuse is not traumatic - note the first complaint lodged by another rider was "Watch your language, my kid's here." Justice has not been done. No one got harmed, and no one has been taught a lesson. Justice shouldn't even enter into this discussion.
I know, morons and creeps are unavoidable in society but we here tend to have what is often referred to as a 'nanny state'. I won't get into that because it's probably neither here nor there.
People keep bringing up that quote but in this particular instance it unfortunately fades a bit as it is illegal to incite racial hatred in public in Britain (I know you're aware of this).
I didn't say traumatic, it doesn't have to be that much of an infliction on someone, the same way a punch to the face may not be crippling but is still an assault. When I say 'Justice must be seen to be done', I don't mean I feel that justice is being done. It's more of a term to dictate how punishment for a wrongdoing has to be seen to be done otherwise people will be grossly dissatisfied. Although you don't know that anyone there has been affected by it.
I think we should just drop this, as much as I'd love to discuss it it just seems to be going in circles as we swat each other's points aside. Really cannot be arsed. Feel free to have another rebuttal.