> Don't make threats if you don't intend to follow up on them.
Hello, Thought Police.
It wasn't a threat. It was a series of tasteless jokes.
The consequences aren't even remotely proportional. You know what would be proportional? Someone calling him out for being tasteless, or perhaps even unfriend him, or report the abuse to Facebook so he had to tone it down.
It's scary that people think this kind of "justice" is remotely ok. It's not. This is on par of a witch burning for someone not adapting to social norms.
> It wasn't a threat. It was a series of tasteless jokes.
It's a joke that looks a lot like a threat. And threats aren't funny.
The arrest was not disproportional. The corruption that happened after the arrest was of course totally crazy and wrong, but the police investigating threats is not wrong. The problem here is that they didn't really investigate it; they just tried to get him convicted by any means possible. But when someone says he's going to shoot up a kindergarten, the police absolutely should investigate.
By your logic, all of the following statements should lead to an arrest:
I'm gonna have to kill someone if I don't get to sleep soon.
You make me so mad I want to kill you!
If these kids don't calm down you'll have to restrain me so I don't kill one.
A: If they don't budge on this soon we'll have to consider some other options. B: What about kidnapping?
Plus a bunch of comedian, talk-show hosts and other free-spoken people. A joke is a joke; it's not an action and it's not a plan to action. It's irrelevant whether you personally find it funny or not.
If one would give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest man, I would find something in them to have him hanged. - Cardinal Richelieu
Please reconsider the consequences of what you are proposing.
Hello, Thought Police.
It wasn't a threat. It was a series of tasteless jokes.
The consequences aren't even remotely proportional. You know what would be proportional? Someone calling him out for being tasteless, or perhaps even unfriend him, or report the abuse to Facebook so he had to tone it down.
It's scary that people think this kind of "justice" is remotely ok. It's not. This is on par of a witch burning for someone not adapting to social norms.