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Thursday 21 November 2019

Transgression

Possibly the most important piece of news of the day is easy to overlook. Our hero is no high profile politician or media personality, no minor royal with the emotional intelligence of a lump of mince, no virtue signalling pop star but a previously unknown 53 year old former policeman called Harry Miller. The story is featured in today's Telegraph

You will know me as a pretty laid back and socially liberal sort of blogger; if male readers choose to browse the internet dressed as Eartha Kitt or wearing outsize Victoria's Secret undergarments, I really don't care. I really, really, don't care. Being libertarian in outlook means so long as you're not harming anyone else, you can do as you like. However, I fundamentally believe that there are only two human sexes, biologically, and anything else can be classed as either make-believe or a psychological disorder. Now you may not have realised that writing that may lead to this blog entry being recorded by the police under their Hate Crime Operational Guidance (2014). Something similar led to plod banging at the door of Harry Miller -
Mr Miller, a married father of four, was investigated by Humberside Police earlier this year after a Twitter user complained that he shared a 'transphobic limerick'. Even though no crime was committed, his sharing of the limerick online was recorded as a 'hate incident' and he was described as a "suspect" in police reports, the court heard.

Mr Miller, who was previously an officer for the Humberside force, accused the police of "creating a chilling atmosphere for those who would express a gender critical position".

"The idea that a law-abiding citizen can have their name recorded against a hate incident on a crime report when there was neither hate nor crime undermines principles of justice, free expression, democracy and common sense," he said.
Mr Miller has succeeded in putting the police guidance before the courts for judicial review. The case continues. We must not only wish him every success but be ready to support the costs of an appeal should the case continue in the higher courts.

16 comments:

Stephen J said...

Yes these days it does not seem that momentous for the police to go off at half cock.

It does not seem that long since we were discussing their predilection for sex with miners, until they closed all the mines.

Or their excitement at the prospect of locking up celebrities, famous big-wig politicians or those in fancy dress....

But burglary?

Nah, not when there is the prospect of an errant soldier doing something despicable in a war, thousands of miles away, being brought to book aged 85... Get them before they get away.

Can anyone see the pattern here?

Yes, nothing has really changed, burglary was only important when it was the elites that that were being burgled, as soon as it was ordinary folk that had somehow got some property to lose, they seemed to lose interest at that point in that particular crime.

The purpose of the police is to protect, the elites from the hoi-polloi, and they are still doing a very good job. Ever since the Bow Street Runners preceded their creation, it has never been a service, but rather a loan of some beef for anyone that can afford it.

This is repeated throughout British life, for instance, I realised last week that I have been getting above myself.... I mean, fancy expecting a political party that might represent my interests being allowed the oxygen of publicity... It is only by a silken thread that people based political parties are not banned from the social media sites, the only place where the Brexit Party has found an ability to freshen the political arena, but you have to go into deep search mode to find an alternative voice now, amongst the hordes of establishment remainers,

DeeDee99 said...

The marvellous Brendan o'Neill has an article on Spiked Online! under the Free Speech heading: "Telling the Truth About Trans is Not Hate Speech"." It's well worth a read and a listen to the Interview Clip. You Tube has warned/threatened the organisation which carried out the interview that it will be banned from You Tube if it doesn't conform to the LGBT Agenda.

I wonder if the LibDems realise yet that their promotion of the Transgender Agenda (and consequent loss of "rights" for real women) is a major vote-loser?

I will be ready to contribute to a crowdfunding for Mr Miller, if necessary.

JPM said...

When you say "recorded" I assume that was by the police?

If so, then this seems like merely yet another incidence of the police using their discretion wrongly and in an inflammatory manner.

They seem to do this consistently, in order to mislead the public that the law is other than it is, I think.

For instance, they will seldom move on travellers occupying private property after breaking and entering, and yet use any amount of violence to remove students peacefully occupying public property as a sit-in.

I doubt that there was any legal requirement for the police to have acted as they have here, and I suspect that they have in fact broken Human Rights law.

But the headlines create the desired public response.

DiscoveredJoys said...

Jobsworths always apply 'the rules' relentlessly to the people who are unlikely to be awkward. If applying 'the rules' is going to be difficult, take a lot of effort, or upset a member of the elite (or their lawyers) then the alleged infringement will be found 'not in the public interest'.

So... to what extent has the Police Service become a bunch of jobsworths? And why? And what should we do about it? I suspect we must choose between making the senior police managers a fully elected position as in many places in the USA or working harder to immunise the Police Service against woke relativism. Neither would be without problems.

Poisonedchalice said...

"Hate crime" - "thought crime". Not much in it is there? This whole nonsense needs to be slammed into reverse and ultimately abolished altogether.

formertory said...

Does anyone happen to have the wording of Mr Miller's transphobic limerick?

Dave_G said...


The Police already take liberties with DNA sample recording and, more recently, have taken to keep facial recognition details - all without proper permission from those concerned.

The gradual shift towards creating 'laws' that bring about social control (speech, thought, whatever) is happening with nary a whisper of comment or complaint from the politicians too - no doubt it is encouraged by the EU therefore overlooked by the people that should be keeping an eye on it.

Complacency. That's what's allowing it to happen. But the likes of Mr Miller (not married to Gina perchance..... /jk) is standing up for us all where WE should be taking a lead.

jim said...

Seems B stupid to me, hope the cops get an ear-bashing from the judge.

The 'limerick' is published in the Speccy and here the real crime is revealed - a crime against poetry - it's not a proper limerick.

Anonymous said...

This whole 'gender' thing is dangerous nonsense.

It crept in like the modern equivalent of stockings on Victorian piano legs by Americans blocked from using the 's-word' on the internet, much the same way as a 'negro' became a 'black'. Then its real purpose became clear, to denote a self-defined state of being. (As an aside it has always been for outsiders to describe what they see, the mountain doesn't get to choose its name or the bird its species).

Now 'gender' has infected officialdom and its use makes no sense. We have the NHS and registrars producing forms that request 'gender' yet the health service needs to know our biology and it is our biology that was recorded on civil records for the last 250 years.

The joke, if joke it is, is that the actions of the militant feminists to make the female sex 'top dog' in all areas is now nullified, there 'no longer' being a female sex, being replaced by the female gender that is open to all of us to self-declare to be as and when we feel.

Why are we going along with this madness? Because, far from being a liberally tolerant society, we all live in a state of fear, especially if we are employed or hold any public office.

JPM said...

Anon, the problem is not generalised though society.

I maintain that it was a deliberate, headline-grabbing action by perhaps as few as just one individual in the police.

If his motive was create a widespread, but mistaken concern such as your post displays, then his actions have been successful - yet again.

The wording of the rhyme is immaterial. It is already established that no law was broken by it.

A judicial review and clarification of police guidelines is indeed probably the way to proceed, since the existing ones credited the police with using common sense and balance, and some clearly cannot be relied upon to do that, nay, can be relied upon cynically to abuse their discretion to mislead the public as to the law.

Raedwald said...

Sorry Smoking Scot - those links risk my google blog status, but please repost if you like with the video titles but sans the URLs so anyone interested may google them for themselves ...

RAC said...

DM.....
"Right to be offended does not exist says judge as High Court hears police are recording 'hate incidents' even if there is no evidence for them"

Smoking Scot said...

Understood.

Stated my intent. If that results in just one more person being aware, then job done.

Peter Barrett said...

We are in the midst, we are told, of a crisis of mental health in our young people. Here is just one of the multiplicity of reasons, the adult neuroses of the left foist on the youth of this country (and others in the western world). Are you a boy-child, a girl-child or do you chose something else (yes, it is a matter of choice apparently). Your parents and teachers are not to impose your gender on you, your identity is slowly stripped away under the forced pretence of choice.

Ted Treen said...

One of the most frightening aspects was the zealous Plod informing Mr. Miller "No crime has been committed, but I need to check your thinking".

So now they openly admit to being thought police?

Span Ows said...

Outstanding title for this blog-post! :-)