Political correctness gone mad

[crazy canuck]

Ok, a jail sentence, no matter how short for offensive words on tweeter is just insane. The UK has officially jumped the shark.

I think you missed that part where it said.

admitted inciting racial hatred

I dont know what he said but in most jurisdictions that would be a serious charge.  Why he admitted to the charge is something not reported in the article you posted.  One would expect that if it was merely a "short" series of "offensive words" that at least some defence would have been made.   But after having made the admission I dont see this as poltical correctness but simply the Court carrying on with sentencing.

[Barrister]

Meanwhile, back with the colonials:

It wasn't all good news for Team "Hunger Games" over the weekend. Despite fawning reviews and record-breaking ticket sales, some fans of the blockbuster young adult trilogy by author Suzanne Collins were upset by the decision to cast an African-American actress as Rue, one of the supporting characters. Never mind that she's described as having "dark brown skin" in the original book.

As Jezebel notes, many "Hunger Games" viewers resorted to sending racist tweets over the fact that Rue (played in the film by young actress Amandla Sternberg) was black.

"Why does Rue have to be black," wrote one ignorant fan, whose Twitter page no longer exists. "Not gonna lie, kinda ruined the movie."

"Awkward moment when Rue is some black girl and not the innocent blonde girl you picture," wrote another user, whose account has also been deleted.

Of course, the occasion of "The Hunger Games" arriving in theaters isn't the first time some fans were upset with the casting. Last year, after the character posters for "The Hunger Games" debuted -- showing both Sternberg as Rue and Lenny Kravitz as stylist Cinna -- reactions on the Internet were equally harsh.

"I thought she would be white," wrote one fan.

"The Hunger Games" is out in theaters now. For more on the racist "Hunger Games" tweets, head over to Hunger Games Tweets, a Tumblr created to "expose the 'Hunger Games' fans on Twitter who dare to call themselves fans yet don't know a damn thing about the books."

Didn't know Derspeiss was a big fan of those books.

You know I'm all for busting on self-admitted racists like Lettow, but this "derspeiss is a racist" meme is completely unfair.

[Eddie Teach]

He's from West Virginia, it's a given. 

[katmai]

You know I'm all for busting on self-admitted racists like Lettow, but this "derspeiss is a racist" meme is completely unfair.

Are you sure about that?

[mongers]

Here's a capture of the tweets in question:

http://chirpstory.com/li/5261

The relevant ones start from '10 days ago and up'.

[jimmy olsen]

Absolutely heinous perversion of justice.

[crazy canuck]

I dont feel like sifting through all that.  Can you quote the bit that got him in trouble? From what I saw I have no idea why he essentially pled guilty.

[Jacob]

I couple of lines of "hahaha muamba's dead" and "suck muamba's black dick you cunt".

I mean... obviously not polite conversation, but my own reading is that it's just trash talk with no real substance behind it (esp. since there's a whole bunch of other "fuck your mother's cunt" casual banter before that).

[Admiral Yi]

Here's a capture of the tweets in question:

http://chirpstory.com/li/5261

The relevant ones start from '10 days ago and up'.

A credit to the British education system.  Hopefully his eloquence and immense vocabulary will mitigate his punishment.  We don't want to put his gift for language behind bars.

[mongers]

I couple of lines of "hahaha muamba's dead" and "suck muamba's black dick you cunt".

I mean... obviously not polite conversation, but my own reading is that it's just trash talk with no real substance behind it (esp. since there's a whole bunch of other "fuck your mother's cunt" casual banter before that).

Yes, that's my reading as well.

I'd be interested to see one of our tame lawyers exclaim how that amounts to a credible act of incitement to racial hatred.

My own view is the judge should be censured for playing to the crowd or maybe he's just part of the growing politicised judiciary we seem to have.

[crazy canuck]

I'd be interested to see one of our tame lawyers exclaim how that amounts to a credible act of incitement to racial hatred.

You are missing the point.  He admitted that his comments did so.  On the brief bit I saw I agree with Jacob's assessment and I have no idea why he would have made such an admission.  You can hardly blame the judge for the Defendant being that stupid.

[Sheilbh]

Other news articles - including from the BBC and others during the trial and the Daily Mail today - say he was charged with a racially aggravated public order offence (like incitement to violence, or intentional harassment, alarm or distress) which would be different than incitement to racial hatred.  But I'm not sure which articles are right

My own view is the judge should be censured for playing to the crowd or maybe he's just part of the growing politicised judiciary we seem to have.

What do you mean by growing politicised judiciary?

[grumbler]

You are missing the point.  He admitted that his comments did so.  On the brief bit I saw I agree with Jacob's assessment and I have no idea why he would have made such an admission.  You can hardly blame the judge for the Defendant being that stupid.

I haven't see the story where it said he pleaded guilty.  The BBC story just says that he admitted posting the remarks (which the BBC called "racially offensive"), as far as I can see.

Maybe a lawyer can explain to me where to find the story that talks about him pleading guilty, in which case I will agree with you that this was probably either a stupid defendant (not capitalized, btw, in this usage), or the result of a stupid lawyer's advice.

[Sheilbh]

I haven't see the story where it said he pleaded guilty.  The BBC story just says that he admitted posting the remarks (which the BBC called "racially offensive"), as far as I can see.

It was last week: 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-17434587

Today's hearing was just for sentencing.

[Admiral Yi]

Other news articles - including from the BBC and others during the trial and the Daily Mail today - say he was charged with a racially aggravated public order offence (like incitement to violence, or intentional harassment, alarm or distress) which would be different than incitement to racial hatred.  But I'm not sure which articles are right

It's a criminal offense in the UK to alarm or distress someone?