And now make way for "word crimes"

This wasn't supposed to happen here

[Reprinted from Issues & Views December 2, 2002]

There are so many voices out there--on the ideological right and left--but it seems to make no difference. The Founders' Constitution grows more threadbare by the minute. An American citizen has already been jailed for saying the word "nigger" (white, of course; there would not be enough jails to incarcerate the blacks who use the expression), so the precedent has been set--punishment by the state for the use of an "incorrect" word.

As such word crimes made their way into the legal systems throughout Europe and even in England, most Americans who were paying attention still did not believe that the Bill of Rights could ever be gutted to such a degree. Writes Paul Craig Roberts: "Both the U.S. and Europe now have crimes of opinion, a defining feature of Oceania in George Orwell's 1984. Americans and Europeans are subject to arrest and imprisonment for words judged offensive by the therapeutic state. This frightening departure from Western tradition is justified in the name of curtailing hate and advancing human rights."

Today's England seems to point the way to the American future. The BBC reports a chilling scenario that recently took place there. Hate crime raids. You got it. Police raids against people who are known to think certain thoughts. To investigate "allegations of racism and homophobia," claims the BBC, the police, in November, raided 150 addresses across London. In England, a "threat" is now defined by the person who claims to be threatened. Harsh words can constitute harassment, if the targeted person claims that such words made him or her "fearful of bodily harm."

According to the BBC, 27 people were charged, as a result of the raids, with most being arrested "on suspicion of making racist threats and of homophobic harassment." Claims the BBC: "The raids signal the start of a day of police action against 'hate crime'--offences against people on the grounds of their race, faith, religion, disability, or sexuality."

Back here in the USA, you now rarely hear the expression, "It couldn't happen here." Maybe it's because we know that we're slipping and sliding away from a personal option like, "I don't approve of the language you use, so I'm no longer going to socialize with you." - to - "I don't like the language you use, so I'm going to call the police."

Words can offend, even when they're painted on posters and signs. That's what some Florida protesters learned when they demonstrated at a public rally in Tampa during a visit by President Bush and his brother Jeb, the state's Governor. Some of the posters by the anti-Bush demonstrators called for an investigation of the 2000 presidential election. After the police insisted that such signs be put away, the protesters asked why the same demand was not made of the carriers of pro-Bush signs. Their temerity resulted in handcuffing and forcible removal from the grounds. Two of the arrested were charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing; both charges were later dismissed. Needless to say, the ACLU has filed a lawsuit against the city of Tampa for violation of free speech rights. It couldn't happen here?

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