Model of Grenfell Tower burned on a bonfire. People arrested. The world has gone mad

I saw this story this morning and experienced another Twilight Zone moment.

Here are a few excerpts from the article followed by my comments.

Grenfell fire survivors have condemned as “callous and sickening” bonfire party-goers who burned a model of the tower with brown faces at the windows.

Video footage shows a group of white people lifting it onto a ready-made bonfire, and laughing as it goes up in flames.

A group of white people you say!! I think they might be going for the racist/hate crime angle.

The film, apparently shot for bonfire night in a back garden where there is a George cross flag in the background, shows cut-outs of faces at the windows. Brown paper had been used for most of them.

If they used brown paper for 'most' of them doesn't that mean they must have used other coloured paper to represent the other nationalities that died? They still haven't really got to the point but I reckon it's coming.

Mocking cries of “help me” and “stay in your flat” are heard as the flames take hold.
Other onlookers say: “Jump out the window” and “All the little ninjas getting it”.

Campaign group Justice 4 Grenfell said the footage had caused "great alarm and distress".
"This is clearly a hate crime, and as a society we should never tolerate these types of blatant acts of hatred."

Clearly a hate crime? Really? There are all sorts of things burned on bonfires every year on bonfire night including effigies of various people including Donald Trump, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair but unless you are burning an actual real person surely it cannot be considered a crime of any sort. It might cause offense to some people but how the hell can it be a crime?

Justice 4 Grenfell highlighted that there have been calls recently for social-media platforms to block and instantly remove hateful content.
"We have an expectation that the police will look into this robustly and that the perpetrators will face the full force of the law."

Now we are getting to the point. Forcing social media companies to remove 'hateful' content before it can be seen and using the 'full force of the law' to deal with those who cause upset or offense.

“To intentionally use and mock the Grenfell Tower fire in this way will cause deep pain and offence to the bereaved, survivors, the local community and all of the emergency services who will never forget that night. It cannot be justified on any level.”

That is an opinion and while I might agree with it, nobody should be arrested or face a penalty for making a joke, regardless of how offensive it might be. It's quite worrying that this needs to be stated.

“Someone has planned this – gone to the trouble of getting the cardboard and brown paper and designing it.
“They must be sick. It’s premeditated racism.
“The pain from the Grenfell tragedy will never ever leave those affected. Even people living nearby who witnessed the fire are still struggling.
“I’m so angry. There will be a demonstration if the police don’t take this seriously.”

Premeditated racism? Demonstrations if the police don't take it seriously !!!! There was another fatal stabbing in London yesterday (that's about 5 in the past week I think) but people honestly believe that the police should take time out from preventing and dealing with actual crime to investigate and use the 'full force of the law' to investigate a bonfire in which nothing was harmed apart from a paper model of Grenfell Tower and some people's feelings.

The world is going absolutely mad and just when I think it can't get any worse I read stories like the one linked. What do you think? My position is that freedom of speech is and should be absolute because words or videos on the internet do not cause physical harm to others and once you allow people in power to decide what can and cannot be said we are on a slippery slope. Sadly, in the UK we are nearly at the bottom of the slope.

Thanks for reading

Stay Safe

Jim