Thursday, June 09, 2005
POLICE CRACK DOWN ON GAY-BASHING MENACE?
Violent homophobic attacks have been on the rise so undoubtedly it’s good to see that the police is doing something about it and getting to grips with it, right? Well, yes and no. No I’m not normally inclined to be in much agreement with these fellows on domestic policy, but I can’t help but wonder whether Laban Tall and the English Castleman are perhaps on to something here.
I mean, what to make of this story:
Violent homophobic attacks have been on the rise so undoubtedly it’s good to see that the police is doing something about it and getting to grips with it, right? Well, yes and no. No I’m not normally inclined to be in much agreement with these fellows on domestic policy, but I can’t help but wonder whether Laban Tall and the English Castleman are perhaps on to something here.
I mean, what to make of this story:
A student at Balliol College was arrested and detained in custody for a night after he verbally abused a police horse early on Monday morning . . . Brown was fined for “causing harassment, harm or distress”, after he repeatedly called the officer’s horse “gay”. . . The arrest was made at 2.20am on Monday morning, and Brown was in a state which he described as “pissed out of my head”.
I’m not sure whether calling a horse gay is homophobic, because surely with the horse being unable to voice this itself it's nice of outsiders to clarify its sexual identity, although I would leave that open for debate. I do doubt however whether it can really be said to meet legal definitions of inciting homophobia I very much doubt. I can also see that the police ought to give someone a good earful for ignoring their authority. But am I the only who thinks this is just out of all proportion:
He had tried to escape the police by hiding in a doorway in Ship Street, but was found after back up had been called for. A total of six policemen were involved in making the arrest.
This inevitably reminds me of last December’s story on the child who got suspended from school over some topless pics. No wonder respect and behaviour is so down in Britain when the authorities simply have no sense of proportion.
Labels: law & order, nation
