Anne McGee 💙 #BLM

Family, friends, NHS 💙, Leeds, running, dogs. Trying to do my bit to make stuff better

[Auschwitz Memorial @AuschwitzMuseum]

The infamous Hitler salute was one of the key visual symbols of Nazism.

This salute, ingrained in history as a representation of oppression, dehumanization, violence, and unimaginable suffering and murder, is far more than a physical gesture; it’s a reminder of a dark era of humanity, defined by antisemitism and other ideologies of hatred.

It is an emblem of the Holocaust and other horrifying crimes perpetrated by Nazi Germany, along with such symbols as a swastika, a Totenkopf (death's head) or runes that shape the name of the SS.

Sensitivity to these historical contexts is essential, as such gestures and symbols, even used unintended, resonate and evoke distress, particularly for those who bear the scars of that tragic history.

In the picture: Inauguration of the SS hospital at Auschwitz II-Birkenau.

Our online lesson presents basic information about the Nazi ideology: https://t.co/1Y4QIvblBF

[Adam Schwarz @AdamJSchwarz]

"Migrants, illegal or legal, weren't responsible for austerity. That was the Conservative government. Migrants were not responsible for Brexit. Migrants were not responsible for Liz Truss' failure of leadership."

Brilliant audience contribution 👏

#bbcqt

[Torsten Bell @TorstenBell]

Here’s a short story about who wins and loses from the status quo of our inheritance tax rules - and about, what you might politely call ‘sub-optimal’ journalism🧵

[Farrukh @implausibleblog]

Tim Farron, "The unpleasantness about this debate is only matched by the lack of proper information" #BBCQT

"85% of refugees settle in the country next to where they come from"

"The French take 3x more refugees than we do"

"The Germans take 4x more refugees than we do"

"If you put us back in the European Union, we are 19th in the league table when it comes to the number of refugees we take per capita"

"Do we need deterrents? Yes. The best deterrents is competence. If we assess people when they arrive - and they are not illegal immigrants - they are people seeking asylum.. From Sudan.. Afghanistan.. Iran.. Syria.. 90%+ turn out to be genuine refugees"

"If we have a competent government, and we haven't had one, let's see about this one.. And you assess them quickly.. And return the ones that are not refugees"

"That is your deterrent"

"Rwanda was a waste of money.. If they spent that money on case workers we could have processed these people, returned the ones that weren't refugees in a humane way, and let th eones who are genuine refugees, become British, pay their taxes, be part of our country, and we should be proud to admit them"

Very well said @timfarron 👏

[sam @samcramerrr]

Getting sick of repeating this so I’m going to just put it into one long post/maybe thread that I can share with people.

No-one has been jailed for harmless social media posts during the riots. Every single person who was jailed broke the law. They were not jailed for ‘jokes’ or ‘silly posts after a couple of glasses of wine’. They were jailed for publishing written material online to stir up racial hatred, for inciting violence, or for breaking other related laws.

In the UK, free speech is protected, but there are clear limits when it comes to posting violent threats or inciting racial hatred online. Several laws ensure that this kind of harmful content isn’t just shrugged off as "free speech”.

Under section 18 of the public order act 1986, it’s a crime to use "threatening, abusive, or insulting words" with the intent to stir up racial hatred, or even if it’s likely to do so. This means you can be arrested for posting something that could incite hatred, even if no one actually acts on it. It’s still a crime.

Then there’s the serious crime act 2007 (specifically sections 44 and 45), which makes it illegal to encourage or assist a crime online, including violence. Again, the key here is that your intent or the likelihood of causing a crime is enough to get you into legal trouble, even if the crime doesn’t actually happen. It’s still a crime.

The communications act 2003 (section 127) also plays a role, making it an offense to send messages that are “grossly offensive” or “menacing”. So, if you post something that’s threatening or meant to harass, you can face charges regardless of whether the threat is carried out. It’s still a crime.

Lastly, the new online safety act put in place in 2024 (before Labour were in power, for you ‘two-tier Keir’ lot) ramps up accountability, requiring platforms to remove harmful content and holding people responsible for posting it. Elmo doesn’t seem to care about this right now, but it’s still in UK law.

Here are three examples of people locked up, and why they were locked up:

1) Jordan Parlour: 28 year old from Leeds, jailed for 20 months after he posted on Facebook urging people to attack a hotel housing asylum seekers. His posts were intended to incite racial hatred and violence, leading to his arrest and conviction under the public order act 1986. He pleaded guilty.

2) Wayne O’Rourke: 35 year old from Lincoln, sentenced to three years in prison for using his large social media following to stir up racial hatred. He posted inflammatory content encouraging others to join in anti-immigrant violence, which led to his arrest and then sentencing. His arrest was not for anti-establishment content, that was simply mentioned in the case. The charges were very clear and he also pleaded guilty.

3) Tyler Kay: 26 year old from Northampton, sentenced to 38 months for his social media activity. He reposted messages calling for hotels housing asylum seekers to be set on fire, which the court found to be a clear attempt to incite racial violence. He initially contested the charges, but evidence shown in court proved his guilt, and he was convicted.

The first two were not forced to plead guilty, the evidence was clear. It’s nothing to do with discounted sentences, and there’s no evidence to suggest it was, they just didn’t have a leg to stand on.

In the UK, free speech doesn’t mean you can say anything without consequences. The law draws a line when speech becomes harmful, especially when it threatens violence or incites hatred. The law in the US is different because the first amendment offers more protection, even for hate speech, unless it directly incites imminent lawless action. The UK focuses more on preventing harm before it happens, recognising that words can have serious real world consequences.

[Anne McGee 💙 #BLM @AnneIngleson]

@stephlawrence5 @LCHNHSTrust Huge congratulations on a wonderful career Steph - it was fab to work with you for some of it! And much love & all good wishes for an exciting new chapter ahead of you - enjoy the freedom 😀😘

[The Olympic Games @Olympics]

🥇🥈🥉 The final medal ceremony of Paris 2024 is for the women’s marathon. A highly symbolic way to wrap up the first-ever Olympic Games with full gender parity. 💜

#Paris2024 #ClosingCeremony

[Cycling on TNT Sports @cyclingontnt]

Lewis Richardson shares his Great Britain flag with fellow boxing medalist, Cindy Ngamba ❤️

Ngamba represented the Refugee Olympic Team at Paris 2024 after being denied British citizenship this year. She has lived in the UK since the age of 11 🇬🇧

[Anne McGee 💙 #BLM @AnneIngleson]

❤️❤️

[Claire Brown @ClaireBrown5]

Silver for Katarina Johnson-Thompson! Amazing! 🥈

This pic is of a huge new mural in Liverpool by Paul Curtis 🤩

#olympics #Paris2024

[British Athletics @BritAthletics]

Two warriors 🫶

Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Nafi Thiam brought of the best of each other during that incredible heptathlon 👏

#WhereItStarts | @teambelgium

[Jay Motty @JayMotty]

This is better than any speech from a politician we’ve heard recently 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[Anne McGee 💙 #BLM @AnneIngleson]

Excellent thread about the realities of the asylum system 👇

[Jennifer Blair @SqueakinglyJen]

So much about the immigration and asylum system is just completely unknown to people day to day. Some examples:

[Matt Daniel @mattdaniel01]

Liverpool, Walthamstow, Oxford, Bristol - beautiful scenes from up and down the country of communities coming together in the face of hatred this evening.

THIS is who we are, THIS is what we should be striving for.

[Stan Collymore @StanCollymore]

10,000 now at anti fascist rally in Walthamstow, East London.

[Andy McDonald MP for Middlesbrough & Thornaby East @AndyMcDonaldMP]

One said, 'I'm just doing an hour before I go to work.'

Hundreds turned out at 8am to help clean up Linthorpe Road and streets in central Middlesbrough.

After yesterday's violence and destruction, today's community action shows our city at its best.

[Professor Chris Whitty @CMO_England]

I am immensely proud that the NHS I work in is one of the most multi-ethnic and diverse organisations in the world.

NHS colleagues and emergency workers from many countries and faiths work around the clock to serve every UK community. You have my utmost appreciation and respect.

[Lucy Easthope @LucyGoBag]

There is NOTHING more important today than the families of the three little girls. I have some insight into what will have been asked of them this week, the tasks they have had to complete that no parent would ever imagine having to do. The disrespect showed to them shames us all

[Graeme Marshall @ElderMarshall]

This!