“Following riots and looting in late November, sparked by a knife attack on children in front of a school in central Dublin, Irish authorities have decided to speed up the processing of the incitement to hatred law,” Aleksandra Rybińska wrote in wPolityce in early December. .pl. The columnist then noted that ‘we can of course be happy that this does not apply to us, that in Poland we are far from such politically correct terror. Still”. The topic has now been taken up by Wojciech Mucha. “Well, the ‘ideals of the European Union’ also seem to be a source of truth for the current authorities. Combined with the current actions of the government (attack on the media , journalists and opponents) this would provide her with a powerful instrument of pressure,” the journalist wrote on the X website.
Aleksandra Rybińska: “Prison for a meme?”
In her text, Aleksandra Rybińska presented in detail what the Hate Speech Act provides for.
Under the new regulations, any deliberate or reckless statement or behavior that could incite violence or hatred against a person with certain characteristics will be punished. The range of features protected includes: race, color, ethnicity and sexual orientation. Someone found guilty may be subject to a fine or imprisonment for up to five years. The law is deliberately formulated in broad terms. There is a lack of a clearly defined concept of hate, which the new regulations should combat. Prime Minister Varadkar himself gave some indication when he declared that those taking part in the November protests were ‘full of hatred’. So hate can be anything, depending on who is doing the judging. You can also go to jail for possessing books and movies that are considered offensive, even if the person hasn’t shared them with anyone. She will be found guilty of distributing this content ‘until proven guilty’. The same goes for memes, photos and videos on your phone. However, it is sufficient to assume that a certain act or thing ‘could have offended’ someone to be punished
– we are reading.
The bill is undoubtedly the most radical legislation of its kind yet seen in the West. As we read therein, “racism and xenophobia constitute a direct violation of the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, that is to say, the principles on which the European Union is founded and which are common to the Member States.” It is not difficult to imagine what its consequences will be: censorship, including preventive censorship
– alarmed a columnist from the weekly magazine “Sieci” and the portal wPolityce.pl.
Ed. Rybińska pointed out that famous MMA fighter Conor McGregor had already found out about this.
He wrote on Twitter that he understands the “frustration of the Irish people” over rising violence, such as the knife attack on children in Dublin, although he “does not support rioting, vandalism and shoplifting.” He added that if the government does not protect the Irish people, “he will”. This was enough for the Irish police to launch a hate speech investigation against him. McGregor’s comments also prompted an immediate response from Irish Deputy Prime Minister Michel Martin, who described them as ‘utterly disgraceful’.
– we read in the mentioned text.
We can of course be happy that this does not apply to us, that we in Poland are far from such politically correct terror. Still. After all, the Civic Coalition has similar totalitarian tendencies, and this KO with its annexations will soon rule us. Just a few days ago, KO’s Barbara Nowacka announced that a hate speech bill would be drafted within “a few weeks” that would protect the LGBTQ+ community, which is reportedly “being harassed from the pulpit and from offices.” ”
— Aleksandra Rybińska wrote in early December.
CHECK THE DETAILS: Jail time for a meme? The Irish authorities will restrict freedom of expression. The future Polish government shows similar totalitarian tendencies
Censorial tendencies
What has changed since the publication of the above text is that KO and its attachments actually rule. The subject of the Irish law, which introduces harsh penalties and restrictions on civil liberties in the name of combating so-called Hate Speech, including in the context of the center-left coalition government in Poland, has now been committed by Wojciech Mucha.
As journalist Mucha noted, Irish solutions completely blur the concept of gender. This concept is no longer related to the biological condition of man, but is the result of new social and individualistic constructions, which leads to everyone defining gender in their own way.
Under proposed regulations in Ireland, we could be guilty of a hate crime if we own a book, photo, meme, newspaper or anything else that is critical of a ‘protected’ group – including racial and sexual minorities, transgender people and migrants. (illustration attached). It is a “crime of preparing or possessing material that may incite violence or hatred against persons on the basis of their protected characteristics.” Yes, possession
— Mucha wrote on the X platform.
The journalist also presented the opinion of the Irish Freedom Party politician Daithí Ó Fallamháin, who stated that the new legal solutions are not the original madness of the Dublin government, but are the result of strictly defined instructions from the European Union, which Ireland – wanting to be an EU leader – implements without much thought.
This is what @DFallamhain of the Irish Freedom Party points out (statement in the next tweet) – the impetus for Ireland’s new law on so-called Hate Speech comes directly from the EU, which may also have some meaning for us given the statements from the new government about a so-called ‘return’ to the mainstream of EU policy
– wrote Wojciech Mucha.
For example, in the Irish project there are direct references to the mysterious ‘scheme’. This “scheme” is nothing more than a document in relation to which the law must be understood (read). The timetable is a framework decision of the EU Council from 2008. The matter is complicated, as is the case with EU legislation and their “recommendations”. Well, the exact wording of Ireland’s law on so-called Hate Speech was not directly dictated to the local government by the EU. As Fallamháin argues: “the EU adopts so-called guidelines that outline what should be included in the legislation of EU member states”
– added.
As noted by the Irish politician quoted by Wojciech Mucha, it was the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who strongly urged in her State of the EU speech to end the list of crimes resulting from hatred or crimes based on race. religion, origin, sexual orientation, etc. This list is constantly growing with no end in sight, which is a serious warning for all EU Member States.
Polish context
Regarding the Polish context, Mucha presented the statements of politicians from the narrow parliamentary majority, who point out that the introduction of, for example, civil partnerships is a “civilization necessity”, and another issue is that Tusk’s government will deal with the so-called Hate speech.
There is therefore a legitimate suspicion that the Irish scenario can also be applied in the Polish case, where Tusk’s government will unwittingly implement reforms in the spirit of censorship and political correctness.
However, this is not enough for totalists in Poland, so we can expect a similar ‘project’ to appear in Poland soon. Will it be a copy of Irish? Well, the ‘ideals of the European Union’ also seem to be a source of truth for the current authorities in our country. Combined with the government’s current actions (attacking the media, journalists and opponents), this would provide it with a powerful instrument of pressure.
– wrote Mucha.
And although we do not know what the left, NGOs, various legal castes and other so-called women’s strikes and people who have already begun to steal this “right” from us, you better hide your books, delete memes, think about what you write and say. This is advice for 2024.
– he emphasized.
READ ALSO: The opposition wants to prosecute ex officio for hate speech against LGBT people. Internet storm: “Do you want censorship?”; “What about the penalties for mocking Catholics?”
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Source: wPolityce