THIS week Scots YouTuber Mark Meechan, better known to many as Count Dankula, was found guilty in a court of law of being ‘grossly offensive’ and convicted of a hate crime. The charge was based on a video he uploaded in 2016 depicting him having trained his girlfriend’s pug to respond to phrases like ‘Gas the Jews’ by lifting its paw up in a sort of canine Nazi salute.
Speaking as both a comedian and a person with Jewish heritage I am torn on this situation. In all honesty I laughed when I saw the initial clip of a tiny hapless dog unwittingly aping a symbol of ethnic hatred. I even chuckled (more through shock than amusement) at the first utterance of the phrase ‘Gas the Jews’. By the third use of the phrase I switched it off.
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This wasn’t because I found it offensive or that I undoubtedly have fewer family members due to this systematic genocide, but because by then I found it tiresome, the idea perhaps more suited to a six-second Vine than a repetitive barrage of the dodgy material. Having scoured Dankula’s social media accounts he generally doesn’t seem like the type of guy whose content I subscribe to.
I am generally liberal with progressive attitudes; however, I believe that part of living in a progressive society includes not jailing people who might have offended you with a video of their dog, unless of course animal cruelty is involved. It worries me that the only people who appear to be vehemently arguing this case are the worst types of Alt-Right trolls; cultural pantomime villains who generally seem sickened by the idea of positive progress.
These include that EDL leader who looks like a furious potato and that Milo character whose surname I flat out refuse to learn how to spell. They’ve been quick to champion Dankula as some sort of Alt-Right martyr, bastardizing what could be a rational debate about genuine free speech into a frenzied campaign to legitimise the Pandora’s Box of inarguable hate speech.
I feel I’m not alone in expressing that charging someone for what was intended as a joke sets a worrying precedent, but anxious to not be seen as part of the aforementioned group who wrongfully use the term ‘free speech’ as an excuse for spreading hatred and genuine racism. I am more generally troubled by an increasing trend of an ‘Us against Them’ attitude, whereby if you happen to have one opposing opinion it is immediately assumed you share all the opinions of said group. A crap and problematic joke it may have been; but far from a crime. Prince Harry once wore a swastika as a joke but I doubt he’ll be seeing the inside of Bar L any time soon. It’s all about context. Please enjoy my cartoon of a pug that looks like Hitler. What Hitler did wasn’t funny but pugs often are; acceptance of the latter isn’t denial of the former.
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