What the hell kind of a police force do we have that can make a comment, regarding the arrest of a pensioner over a social media post, that his bookshelves contained ‘very Brexity things’? As if the presence of the police in his house was not bad enough over a social media post, while he languished for a day in police cells. What goes through the mind of one of our boys (or girls, or transgendered persons) in blue, to think that ‘Brexity’ type material was A) worth noticing B) worth recording, and C) that there was something inherently dodgy about this?
The ‘things’ referred to by the police included The Spectator and a book by Hitler’s representative on earth, Douglas Murray. What are these people taught at basic training? Apart from state secrets, which would be illegal, and instructions on how to make a bomb (albeit easily available on the Internet) which could legitimately raise concerns, there is nothing illegal in owning any book in the UK.
Despite a petition to that effect, it is not even illegal to own a copy of Mein Kampf by serial invader of other counties Adolf Hitler (frankly, the more I hear about that man, the less I like him*). Surely, if it not illegal, it should be no concern of the police what anyone has on their bookshelves. If it is of no concern, then they should not even be looking, considering or recording what they see at a glance.
You can imagine the scenario when a bunch of coppers arrive, egged on by one of the perpetually offended, outraged by your opinions, and PC Freshman starts rifling through your books: “Aye, aye Sarge. We got a right one here. History of the Vikings. Perhaps our man is planning a little raping and pillaging.”
Seriously though, if the police are going to start scanning my bookshelves when they come to investigate me for a non-crime hate incident (something I feel is eminently possible), then they may as well just blue light it over tout de suite and handcuff me now.
I have scanned the shelves of my office and it is all there; clear evidence that I am a deranged, right-wing racist who is a danger to society. Amongst the many gems which, I am sure would make any police officer feel their visit had not been wasted, are the following:
Exhibit A: Hitler’s War by David Irving – Holocaust denier (the book does not actually say what everyone thinks it says)
Exhibit B: The Bell Curve by Richard Hernstein and Charles Murray – mentions race and IQ (once)
Exhibit C: Margaret Thatcher (all three volumes) by Charles Moore – it is compulsory for everyone but swivel-eyed right wingers to hate her
Exhibit D: Franco by Paul Preston – clearly likes dictators
Exhibit E: Atatürk by Andrew Mango – ditto
Exhibit F: Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth by Gitta Sereny – blimey!
Exhibit G: Islamic Empires by Justin Marozzi – must be planning to blow a few up
Exhibit H: The Diversity Delusion by Heather MacDonald & The Diversity Illusion by Ed West – need I say more
Exhibit I: The Madness of Crowds by Douglas Murray & The War on the West by Douglas Murray – just like that other bloke that got arrested
Exhibit J: Free Speech by Andrew Doyle & The New Puritans by Andrew Doyle – believes in free speech Sarge!
Other items that should be taken into consideration: Spycatcher by Peter Wright (actually, that was illegal when I first had it); Where we are by Roger Scruton; Green in Tooth and Claw by Niall McCrae; The Skeptical Environmentalist by Bjørn Lomborg; A State of Fear by Laura Dodsworth; The Accountability Deficit by Molley Kingsley, Arabella Skinner and Ben Kingsley (no, not the bloke who played Ghandi); The Long March by Marc Sidwell; Time to Think by Hannah Barnes; and Multiple copies of The Spectator and The European Conservative.
And, just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse:
The Complete Works by William Shakespeare
The Complete Poems by Philip Larkin
The Holy Bible by Various
Banalysis: The Lie Destroying the West by Frank Haviland
So, there you have it, officers of Humberside Thought Police ‘Service’, I have saved you the bother of having to look through my shelves. I have catalogued all the offending items for you.
…is that a siren I hear?
*Marcus Brigstocke (comedian)
Roger Watson is a retired academic, editor and writer. He is a columnist with Unity News Network and writes regularly for a range of conservative journals including The Salisbury Review and The European Conservative. He has travelled and worked extensively in the Far East and the Middle East. He lives in Kingston upon Hull, UK.
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I am a retired policeman and I agree with you.
”when they come to investigate me for a non-crime hate incident” (something I feel is eminently possible)
Ditto Roger though I am beginning to fear that the N. Ireland Police Service must be out dealing with actual crimes as they seem a bit tardy getting around to cuffing me and hauling me down to the clink for the 3rd degree treatment. Perhaps they have bigger fish to fry and are out dealing with actual crimes. Now there’s a RADICAL thought!
No doubt serving my ’11’ in the Andrew, several years as a ‘Special’ arresting ratbags and patrolling in Gipton and Harehills (Leeds. They were always shitholes before they became 99% 3rd world ones) plus 26 years service at HMPS must make me a prime suspect that I may not be entertaining the ‘correct’ thought processes in my skull and in need of ‘re-education’ to put me less ‘right’
Come and get me! ;o)
There are many of us who may get a knock on the door who have the temerity to view the whole British establishment going fascist.
Wasn’t ‘The Madness of Crowds’ written by Charles Mackay
I’m amazed and shocked at this revelation – young, overweight, bearded and tattooed PCs actually know what a book is or have the mental capacity to attempt to judge if it’s ‘far-right’ subversive or Barbara Cartland romance. Unbelievable on so many levels, I suspect all books are viewed as suspect by today’s plod and indicative of the owner being able to think, which is of course a thought crime in the making.
This is presumably why the police, who were once revered and supported by the wider population and who policed ‘by common consent’ are now, it seems, substantially despised by that same population. Unless comprehensively reversed, this trend does not bode well for future civic/societal relations.