Re: [OT] Workplace banter is now a hate crime

On 6/8/2025 9:28 PM, Rhino wrote:

On 2025-06-08 3:33 PM, moviePig wrote:

On 6/8/2025 2:51 PM, Rhino wrote:

On 2025-06-08 12:35 PM, Rhino wrote:

It seems that a bit of gentle ethnic humour at a going-away party for a work colleague is now a hate crime, at least in the UK. Leo Kearse shares information about how a senior police officer underwent some ribbing from some colleagues at his going-away party (called a "leaving party" in the UK) over his Irish ethnicity and a colleague took grave offence on his behalf, leading
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Oops, I hit Send by mistake, then had to reboot the computer before I could finally get back here. Let's start again:
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Some ethnic humour at a going-away party (called a "leaving party" in the UK) outraged a bystander sufficiently to rat out the participants to the BBC, who solemnly reported on it as the hate crime they apparently think it is.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsxMj1Jge2s [13 minutes]
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While no one actually spoke to the "victim" of this "non-crime hate incident", I can't help but think he would have reported that he had a great time at the event. Only the "Karen" who blew the whistle on this event had a miserable time and apparently decided to punish the rest of her former colleagues as well.
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Leo Kearse shares information about several other "non-crime hate incidents" that each strike a reasonable person like me as absolutely ludicrous, like the barber who got a non-crime hate incident reported against him for cutting hair too aggressively.
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If these "non-crime hate incidents" *MUST* be retained in law - and I REALLY don't see why they should be - they need to have a major safeguard applied so that they retain at least a particle of sense: the "victim" of the offence needs to confirm that they really were offended and that they understand that the "offender" will retain this offence on his record forever if they proceed. In other words, if the "victim" tells the police that the "offence" was all in good fun and they aren't hurt by it in way, then the police should just go away without anyone being arrested or reported.
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I am so sick of people being offended on someone else's behalf WITHOUT even determining if the "victim" him/herself is bothered!

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Yeah, nobody likes to hear borrowed outrage.

 Baloney! There are all KINDS of people who LOVE to take offence on behalf of others without consulting them and, apparently, staggering numbers of people who nod yes whenever such a person says they were offended on behalf of others and agrees action must be taken.

Yes, I mean nobody *approves* of it when it's identified as such.

But, do you really think that the putative target of, say, starkly offensive language is always the only one with a cause of action?

 Others might be offended as well but if they are, they would need to proceed on that basis. In other words, they only get to complain if they themselves are personally offended by what happened TO THEM, not some other guy that may have been totally fine with whatever transpired.

Your example cites an Irishman undergoing some "good-natured" ribbing. But look what happens if you substitute some (even) dicier ethnicities.