Comment by TechDebtDevin 16 hours ago
I also have spent 6 months in a USA jail for what ultimately resulted in my pleading to a misdemeanor, and never was a crime. My world view is likely a lot different than yours, and the white vans do exist. They are here RIGHT NOW.
I think your mistake is believing that the development of infrastructure for one purpose will be cleanly stopped at a well-demarcated point once the original purpose is served.
When you build the infrastructure for squads of goons to kidnap people, then pour gasoline on the fire by massively increasing their funding, suddenly, a whole lot more people become “deportable.”
I was jailed on a bullsh*t "hate speech" statute, because I said the f slur to a cop (who turned out to be gay, my PI proved this wasn't even true in my civil suit, but that didn't matter, they stuck me with this, along with some other cop related bs (said I coughed on him and tried to give him covid, assault on a police officer) This was the government trying to ruin my life because I hurt a cops feelings. You clearly haven't dealt with authorities much.
In my state there is no intent required, so if a word can have multiple meanings in different contexts, the government gets to decide how you intended to use that word and what meaning you meant. So sorry, you're so wrong. There isn't much difference from what i said to this very annoying cop, and what a lot of people say online. Also, this never would have happened if I had said it to a regular person and not a cop.
edit: So yes, I literally was jailed and forced to admit to a hate speech crime (alford plea) because of something I said to a cop. And you think this is all in my head??
"In my state there is no intent required, so if a word can have multiple meanings in different contexts, the government gets to decide how you intended to use that word and what meaning you meant. "
By "my state" do you mean one of the United States of America? Or are you speaking of somwhere outside the USA?
If I understand the story, sounds like you got prosecuted for assault with a hate crime enhancement.
What do you think happens in the Dominican Republic if you call a cop that? It says more about you and the US that you thought you’d get away with it. I doubt there is any country in the world where personally offending a cop like that might not result in the cop abusing their power over you.
> It says more about you and the US that you thought you’d get away with it.
"Get away" with free speech against a police state? Are you serious?
Ah yes, the UK does this kind of thing with Section 5 Public Order act making it basically illegal to swear in front of cops.
Not quite the same thing as just saying something online, although the US has now developed special police for that. From the part of ""free speech"".
> and the white vans do exist. They are here RIGHT NOW.
The comment was that white vans would take them away for posting something sarcastic online