THE United Kingdom is broken and descending deeper into censorship and illiberalism.
Any nation that criminalises speech to such an extent a YouTube prankster is convicted of a criminal offence for a joke involving a “Nazi pug” has lost its way.
Scottish man Markus Meechan, known as Count Dankula, could face a stint in jail after being found guilty of a hate crime last week for teaching his girlfriend’s beloved pug puppy to salute Hitler and to react with excitement to the vile phrase “gas the Jews”.
Now, it may not be champagne comedy but plenty of people, including many Jews, found the video funny.
What’s more important is it’s abundantly clear that the video is a work of satire and Meechan isn’t a Nazi or promoting anti-Semitism.
Indeed, it is clear that he loathes Nazis. At the start of the video, which has seen Meechan subjected to a two-year legal ordeal that could ultimately land him in prison, he explains the motivation behind the joke.
Read the article by Rita Panahi in the Herald Sun (subscription required).