Free Your Bollocks

A woman in Britain was apparently hauled in by police for wearing a popular shirt that reads "Bollocks to Blair." (HT) What's interesting about this one is the rather close parallel to Cohen v. California, in which the Supreme Court ruled, over three decades ago, that a jacket bearing the words "Fuck the Draft" was protected speech—and that the wearer shouldn't have been arrested. As Justice John Marshall Harlan then wrote:

This case may seem at first blush too inconsequential to find
its way into our books, but the issue it presents is of no small
constitutional significance.
[….]
To many, the immediate consequence of this freedom may often
appear to be only verbal tumult, discord, and even offensive
utterance. These are, however, within established limits, in
truth necessary side effects of the broader enduring values which
the process of open debate permits us to achieve. That the air
may at times seem filled with verbal cacophony is, in this sense
not a sign of weakness but of strength.

Comments

[Alex]

I believe Virgin Music was charged with profanity over the Sex Pistol's "Never Mind the Bollocks." Richard Branson won at trial after he had a professor testify that the term "bollocks" was an affectionate term for clergymen. Or something like that.

[Hakluyt]

You have to remember that in Britain freedom is more circumscribed.

I love the bit about "upsetting" a 70-80 year old woman. Freedom of speech means in part the freedom to say, write, etc. what others may not want to hear, see, etc.

[April]

I don't even know what a "bollocks" is. I feel so naive.

[Isaac Bartram]

As I wrote elsewhere.

I guess that those who are considering emigrating to find more freedom than here in Jesusland can scratch Old Blighty off their lists of potential destinations.

Although I notice it was in a rural area. Possibly cops in London would not have reacted this way.

[Jeff P.]

I thought we settled this shit when the student wore pants made from an American flag on Room 222.

On the flipside, this could have been considered a protest, like if the wearer had a sandwich board with the phrase. Demonstration laws are pretty strict in England.

Blimey, the Vicar's here! Where're my trousers?

[Julian Sanchez]

"Freedom of speech means in part the freedom to say, write, etc. what others may not want to hear, see, etc."

Hell, that's arguably ALL it means. You don't need to invoke "freedom of speech" if everyone loves what you're saying.

[Dogzilla]

"Bollocks" is a lot like "Poppycock" but a bit more crude. Maybe.

[JMoore]

It should, in all fairness, be noted that the Brits are more restrictive of speech (literally..you know, as in the spoken word), but in many ways are more permissive of expression in general. The best example of the difference between US & UK mores is the little-remembered movie "Scandal" from, IIRC, the late 80's. For the American release, some scenes of nudity were edited, but all the dialogue was retained. For the UK release, all the visuals stayed in, but some racy dialogue was stricken.

In America: say whatever, but don't bare a nipple.
In Britain: strip down & paint the flag on your arse, but keep your mouth shut

[JMoore]

bollocks are balls...as in testicles...but the use is similar to "bullshit"

[Thomas Paine's Goiter]

Was this posted to H&R:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/attackonlondon/story/0,16132,1575532,00.html

[Thinkaboutit]

Please, citizens of the U.S. and the U.K. - please stop ignoring Canada. It is one of the things about being a citizen of such a vibrant and cabaple country that is most annoying, being ignored! Please pay attention to us!

As a (now emigrated) Canadian, I feel somewhat duty bound to make the case for Canada in this arena.

Canadians also contribute to "verbal (and sartorial) cacaphony". And Canadian authorities also contribute to suppression and political correctness. Please, give credit where credit is due.

BTW notice the repetitive use of the word "please". This is to demonstrate that I have not completely forgotten my early immersion in Canadian culture, Even though I now happily live in the U.S. I still find the tendency toward politeness tugs at me.

I respectfully refer you Reason's own Daily Brickbat of 9/8:

Fashion Police (9/8)
It isn't illegal in Canada to wear a T-shirt that has a picture of a gun and says "Rule no. 1 be armed." But Toronto police say they are going to crack down on people wearing them anyway. "The seizure of the shirts may be in question, but if you are wearing one of these shirts you are going to be hassled by the cops," said Sgt. Rob Hargan. He says police have already seized two shirts from people wearing them. "We don't want people wearing them and we don't want them on the street," he said

[Thinkaboutit]

Please, citizens of the U.S. and the U.K. - please stop ignoring Canada. It is one of the things about being a citizen of such a vibrant and cabaple country that is most annoying, being ignored! Please pay attention to us!

As a (now emigrated) Canadian, I feel somewhat duty bound to make the case for Canada in this arena.

Canadians also contribute to "verbal (and sartorial) cacaphony". And Canadian authorities also contribute to suppression and political correctness. Please, give credit where credit is due.

BTW notice the repetitive use of the word "please". This is to demonstrate that I have not completely forgotten my early immersion in Canadian culture, Even though I now happily live in the U.S. I still find the tendency toward politeness tugging at me.

I respectfully refer you Reason's own Daily Brickbat of 9/8:

Fashion Police (9/8)
It isn't illegal in Canada to wear a T-shirt that has a picture of a gun and says "Rule no. 1 be armed." But Toronto police say they are going to crack down on people wearing them anyway. "The seizure of the shirts may be in question, but if you are wearing one of these shirts you are going to be hassled by the cops," said Sgt. Rob Hargan. He says police have already seized two shirts from people wearing them. "We don't want people wearing them and we don't want them on the street," he said

[Thinkaboutit]

Ooops... sorry for the double post - I am new at this...

[MJ]

The is similar to Cohen v. California, maybe, except that it happened in the UK, where I doubt US 1st amendment jurisprudence will matter much.

[Ruthless]

This thread reminds me of the issues in the book I'm reading: Jefferson's Vendetta by Joseph Wheelan.
Seems Chief Justice John Marshall was struggling with English precedents about "constructive treason."
Thanks largely to Ben Franklin, "treason" in the US required an overt act of war witnessed by two people.
The test case (before Aaron Burr) involved one John Fries in 1799.
The Feds would not have caught Fries had it not been for his dog which barked. It's name was Whiskey.

Nothing new under the sun, eh?

[Eric II]

Canawhat? Oh yes, the place with the talking TV polar bear and the freeze-dried version of soccer.

[Amy Alkon]

For me, the high point of Cohen v. California is this statement:

"It is nevertheless often true that one man's vulgarity is another's
lyric"

Sometimes the "wrong" words communicate much, much better than the "right" ones.

[Andrew Ian Dodge]

Metalheads, especially Cradle of Filth fans in UK, have been known for getting ticked off by PC plod for CoF shirts that said "Jesus is a Cunt" and shirts by a band called "Anal-Cunt". Personally I find neither of those shirts as offensive as people who run around with a symbol of the most murderous tyrannies on the planet in form of the "Hammer & Sickle."

[Ian Sumerell]

The girl arrested at the country show is not the only girl. A girl in Hereford is going to court next week for having a "Bollocks to Blair" car sticker in the back of her.

Welcome to the police state under Blair!