A word on 'online abuse'

Readers may or may not have seen today Merseyside Police's rather amusing walkback after a group of coppers were photographed in Wirral in front of a van-mounted sign claiming, rather ominously, that 'being offensive is an offense', forcing Liverpool's finest to release a statement clarifying this as, er, complete bollocks, and reassuring the public that taking the piss is not, in fact, a criminal offence. 

I mention this because it pertains to some rather concerning comments made by the Steve Party recently, in response to some (admittedly pretty nasty) comments made towards Deputy Inna Gardiner, in which she was called a 'filthy NIMBY' and told the sender hoped she died of COVID-19. Grim stuff, obviously. Long-time readers will be well aware that I have no great love for Mrs Gardiner; I can fondly remember the time that Tony Bellows accused yours truly of such wild offences as 'anti-semitism', 'extreme language' and 'vitriolic... politics of the tribe' after I had a few, possibly poor-taste, choice words to say relating to Mrs Gardiner's time at the Israeli Ministry of Education (charmingly, these slanders were accompanied with a comparison of my blog to the painting of Nazi swastikas on the walls of the local synagogue, as well as, hilariously, accusing me of violating the Public Elections (Jersey) Law 2002). Nevertheless, telling someone to die of COVID is obviously out of order, and I hope the guy who sent Mrs Gardiner the message in particular keeps getting rinsed in public, as he was - majorly - on Facebook in the days following the incident. 

Point is, is this criminal? Should it be? I don't think so - it's my position that people who reveal themselves with such public nastiness eventually get back what they've put in, and you shouldn't face the force of the law for this kind of thing unless you're directly threatening violence or another actual criminal offence. The court of public opinion is sufficient in this case - the police do not exist to coddle you, however vile the abuse you receive happens to be, and, thankfully, they often aren't interested in these people's complaining (one particular nonce springs to mind - regular towngoers or residents may have noticed the repeated antics of this individual, reporting the shouts of 'paedo' and 'nonce' he regularly receives while walking down the street, to the police, only to run into complete indifference from all but the most bored of officers). The Steve Party, however, have taken pains to express their disagreement with this kind of thinking - in a recent Facebook post which (rightfully) denounced 'trolling' and anti-social online behaviour, they struck the tone of an angry Year 5 teacher threatening to keep the kids in at playtime, urging islanders to "to take a moment to reflect and consider the impact of their comments before posting" and threatening to "develop or support legislation to bring this behaviour to an end". 

Now, what, exactly, does that mean? Stricter laws governing what can and can't be said online? Fines for insufficiently deferential comments towards States members? A criminal offence for being mean? 'Hate crime' legislation being extended to cover members of the public being impolite online? God only knows. It's a very interesting window into the worldview of these people that they seem to think the response to people being rude about them online is to lock those people up, rather than - shocker coming up - improve their performance as members of the Assembly, and it's rather telling that the figures rallying around the call for an 'end to abuse' are such tribunes of the people as Jim 'slit your wrists' Perchard, former senator and current mugging victim Philip Ozouf (once described by an insightful VfC commenter as having done more damage to Jersey than the Luftwaffe) and Deputy Jeremy Maçon, the regular target of less-than-lovely comments about his hairdos, sartorial choices and employment history. Not particularly hard to clock that people like this are less interested in ensuring civil conduct in political debate and more in handing their perennial online trolls large fines and possible prison sentences for being rude about them on the internet. What you fundamentally have here is a massive cope on the part of this motley crew due to their own public image problems - the mindset of the classroom sadsack who won't stop harassing the teacher to send the kids who wind him up to the Headteacher's Office.  

And, as we all know, there's only one response for that kind of person: 

A reader writes on the Prolapse Party...

A new political Party is now on the scene in Jersey. 

Three ‘political heavyweights’ feature as the faces of the party.

Senator Steve Pallett has put himself forward as party leader. As an established sea swimmer, Steve doesn’t mind being thrown in at the deep end - he’ll be used to weathering the choppy waters of local politics. Talking to JMlR, the Senator said that they did not have any particular policies, as they were hoping members of the public would come forward and write their platitudes for them. He added that he wanted the Party to be a ‘broad church’, so it seems that the party will seek cater for a wide palate of political tastes. Mr Pallett, who has been a vocal critic of the John le Fondré government, and spoke strongly in favour of the Vote of No Confidence against the Chief Minister, said that they did not want to be an opposition. “Just see us as a critical friend,…but without the friend bit.”

Deputy Steve Luce has been appointed Chief Party Whip. He explained to JMLR that he is particularly well placed for this role, as he has been a life long fan of Indiana Jones, and has an actual replica whip and hat which he acquired many years ago on a family holiday to Universal Studios. He said that he would not be afraid to use it to give party colleagues a good Lash if anyone steps out of line. He added, ‘There is only room for one Luce cannon in the Party, and that’s me.’

Taxi Drivers will think that all their Christmases have come at once, with the appointment of Eddie Know-All as the Party Treasurer. An accountant by trade, it is hoped that Eddie will know the cost of everything and the value of being a team player, as he takes up his new role at the party helm. Known to be an ambitious politician, he is looking for a political comeback that may even see him as Chief Minister – if so, he would be the First Noel to take on that prestigious post.

Other newbies are also hoping to make a name for themselves, getting elected on the coat tails of these three political giants:

• Former Chef de Police, Mo Pertwee has been appointed as head of the St Clement Party Branch. His main driver is the preservation of Green Lanes in the Parish, and dealing with excess speeding.
• St Brelade shop owner, Ken Hervé-Parkes has been chosen to be in charge of the St Brelade Branch
• Local historian and conservationist Ray Cystwill lead the campaigns for the country parishes.

Asking for quality candidates to come forward for the 2022 elections, Progess Jersey's Equality Officer, Les Bihan, said that the party were considering allowing women to join the party, but it would need to be put to a vote of the interim committee before that could happen. 'We believe that there is no reason why a woman shouldn't be candidates, but they would need to be elected on merit, not just because they weren't called Steve.'

Anyone wishing to join the party is asked to contact Frank Walker or Philip Ozouf in the first instance.