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Arrested for Singing Kung Fu Fighting?

#21
Rune Bivrin said:
Well, I suspect there is a case of the police not wanting to be accused of willfully ignoring suspected racism and thus being racist themselves.

However, I'm not entirely convinced that he was in fact "arrested". Maybe just "brought in for questioning".
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I think what happened was he was technically arrested, but released on "street bail" which allows the police to let someone go free on the spot if they agree to voluntarily attend the police station for questioning. I don't think (from what I have read) that he was ever held by the police.
 
#22
nutdog said:
Kung Fu Fighting is assault? I guess that makes I Want To Hold Your Hand sexual harassment.
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Who said anything about the song being assault? I was responding to your post about people with thin skins being able to get people arrested. That's what, to use your statement as a definition, assault laws are (ie a perceived threat of violence). You seem to be suggesting that a law like that is a problem. So for example, if someone merely threatens their wife with a beating, but never actually does it, and they were arrested, you would see that as a problem.

I think the law in this case of the singer (who was not charged) was some sort of anti-racial harrasment law.
 
#24
Mark Latimour said:
Who said anything about the song being assault? I was responding to your post about people with thin skins being able to get people arrested. That's what, to use your statement as a definition, assault laws are (ie a perceived threat of violence). You seem to be suggesting that a law like that is a problem. So for example, if someone merely threatens their wife with a beating, but never actually does it, and they were arrested, you would see that as a problem.

I think the law in this case of the singer (who was not charged) was some sort of anti-racial harrasment law.
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I don't know what you're talking about. I'll try to muster up some outrage and get back to you.
 
#29
Sometimes I really wish that these "shocked and offended" articles would go away... how boring this article would be if it were written exactly as the situation happened though. No way to sell outrage with something written with facts only.
 
#33
burk48237 said:
This:hiding:

When someone singing a song you don't like even brings the police to your location, freedom doesn't exist there. :eyebrow:
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Well...I hear where you're coming from but here's another wild what if:

What if a band started deliberately singling out and humiliating someone based on their race by playing song that's been known to be used as such? They see a guy of a certain race and they start on him to 'be funny".. If I seen a band be that ignorant, I'd be happy that the police slapped them on the arse for being that ignorant.

In the case in the article, it looks like the "victim" probably claimed such, so the police had a word with the "antagonizer" found it unfounded and let him go. Big deal...

The real issue to me, is whether a band (or whomever) doing that should be a crime at all? It's wrong, yeah, but a crime? I dunno
 
#35
MatticusMania said:
Yeah, I dont see racial insensitivity as a crime that would necessitate police involvment. Now if there were some form of assault I would be singing a different tune.
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I think that this article is a good example of how having a law like that might be bad and quite possibly a huge waste of time and effort for the police or anyone involved for that matter. There's just way too much left open for interpretation.
On the flip side, very few would not thoroughly enjoy seeing some racists getting their butts handed to them. There should be some sort of negative consequences for that sort of behavior, but who knows...
 
#36
Relic said:
I think that this article is a good example of how having a law like that might be bad and quite possibly a huge waste of time and effort for the police or anyone involved for that matter. There's just way too much left open for interpretation.
On the flip side, very few would not thoroughly enjoy seeing some racists getting their butts handed to them. There should be some sort of negative consequences for that sort of behavior, but who knows...
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Sure, but I dont equate racial insensitivity to actual racism. There is a line somewhere between racial humor and being a racist, otherwise almost every comedian could be considered racist.
 
#37
MatticusMania said:
Sure, but I dont equate racial insensitivity to actual racism. There is a line somewhere between racial humor and being a racist, otherwise almost every comedian could be considered racist.
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Yeah, that's what I mean in regards to it be too open for interpretation - the band claims that it was just singing a song, "victim" claims a deliberate act of "racism"... BOTH may be 100% right in their own minds. HOW do you codify that into law??
 
#38
Yeah, I getcha there. I think the simple answer is that you dont. I'm pretty sure its not illegal to be a racist (as much as we might like it to be). The 1st amendment would protect someone in the US if the perceived racism was just song lyrics and the singer making some slanted eyed face. Until it could be classified as assault, this is just an instance of a facepalm followed by walking away.

Im not sure whether free speech is protected similarly in the UK than it is here.
 
#39
Mark Latimour said:
Bingo. FWIW the police have said that they won't be charging the singer and that, as should be the case, anyone is entitled to make a report to the police if they feel they have been the victim of a crime. The police's job is to investigate the crime and determine whether there is sufficient evidence to charge someone. I suspect something is being left out of the story with regards to why the singer was arrested rather than interviewed at the place where the police met him. However, it other just seems like the police where doing their job and someone needs to grow a thicker skin.
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+1

I think there is more than meets the eye to this story. Let's also say that the Sun is only useful for one page, and one page alone!
 
#40
Relic said:
Well...I hear where you're coming from but here's another wild what if:

What if a band started deliberately singling out and humiliating someone based on their race by playing song that's been known to be used as such? They see a guy of a certain race and they start on him to 'be funny".. If I seen a band be that ignorant, I'd be happy that the police slapped them on the arse for being that ignorant.

In the case in the article, it looks like the "victim" probably claimed such, so the police had a word with the "antagonizer" found it unfounded and let him go. Big deal...

The real issue to me, is whether a band (or whomever) doing that should be a crime at all? It's wrong, yeah, but a crime? I dunno
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Why? Seriously, why get the police and the law involved? You can get up and walk out, you can ask the bar or venue for a refund. You can refuse to patronize that band and go on line and make others aware they are racists. Look I'm part Jewish and I know there are skin head bands out there that are anti-Semitic. Big deal, as long as their songs don't say kill the Jews, let them show off their ignorance.

You hit the nail on the head at the end. The problem is there is a group of people who have nothing better to do than impose their morality on the rest of us. And what better way to do that than the bigoted prosecution of hate speech? Think about all the misogynistic stuff in rap today. If Kung Foo Fighting is worth calling the police, then do we need to call out the National guard to stop the promotion of violence against women at rap concerts? Where does it end?

They stuff that was satirical joke about political correctness in the 80's is now sadly becoming law in many Western countries.
 

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