Recently, a video of a man getting arrested for Facebook posts in the UK made the social media rounds. In the video, he wasn’t told that he had threatened violence or planned crimes. His posts were said to be hateful, and for that he was going to be drug out of his home and taken in for prosecution.
The obvious American response to this was the cyber equivalent of the middle finger. Because people in the UK weren’t allowed to speak out against the police there without fear of getting their doors kicked in, Americans picked up the slack. Some Americans even suggested that force should be used against the government in the UK to either get them to stop violating freedom of speech or to remove them from government entirely.
But, what I didn’t expect was to see the Bobbies double down and claim the power to extradite people overseas who they think are “keyboard warriors”:
Before I get into my reason for violating UK law from overseas, I want to first cover some family history. You see, the first Sensiba in North America was a Hessian serf who was pressed into service as a mercenary. In other words, the UK was paying German nobles to use slave soldiers to put down rebellion in the colonies. As you could imagine, this wasn’t something he wanted to do, and as soon as he got the chance, he fled the mercenary force. Knowing they’d hunt him down relentlessly, he had little choice but to join the Continental Army and help fight a common enemy.
Since that time, the UK would like us to think they’ve become a better place. Sure, they abandoned slavery in 1803, roughly 60 years before the United States, and have since reformed to better respect the rights of the people living in the UK. But, they never fully became a rights-respecting Republic. During the 20th Century, freedom of speech actually declined along with what little gun rights subjects had.
So, like most Americans, you can imagine that I’m not excited at all about the idea of submitting to UK rule remotely in 2024. Not only did several ancestors fight to keep this from happening in the 1700s and 1800s, but we’ve gotten better at respecting rights in the United States while the UK has largely gotten worse in recent decades.
I have zero hatred or even bad feelings toward immigrants who were foolish enough to move to the UK. I also understand why people born there stay. I can’t blame them since it is their home, unless of course, they are part of the problem. And some of them are.
Which brings me to there is one group of people I have an utter disdain and hatred for: tyrants. It is my sincere hope that agents of the crown who would arrest people for saying mean things online find themselves facing people who have decided to be citizens instead of subjects. I hope that these people use whatever force is reasonable and necessary to alter or abolish the government of the UK and provide new guards for their rights.
I sincerely hope that UK authorities reform themselves instead of further abusing the people they were supposed to serve, but if they don’t and they think they have some right to use force to continue tyrranizing the public, well then violence will certainly visit that country. But unlike America, where the Second Amendment was put in place to protect citizens from a tyrannical government. The Brits have allowed what gun ownership rights, and thereby their ability to resist tyranny when all else fails, to dwindle.
While expressing this likelihood is not illegal under United States law (at least not yet!), I’ve probably violated at least two to three UK laws expressing my disgust for government officials like “Sir” Mark Rowley and expressing my hope that they either stop being tyrants or are forced out of power by any means necessary to end their commission of crimes against their people. Heck, I may even be labeled a terrorist now according to “Sir” Mark Rowley. Who knows?
If you’re a UK official and think I’m a “keyboard warrior” who must be brought to the UK for trial, I dare you to try it and see how fruitless you are. But, you probably know that there are no valid grounds for extradition (the forum bar prevents it) and you likely also know that your embassy and consulate security aren’t up to the task of reprisals you’d likely face if you were to somehow start nabbing U.S. citizens and hauling them off to a kangaroo court thousands of miles away. We don’t even let our government get away with stuff like that, so you know it wouldn’t fly if you tried it.
But, there is an honorable alternative to being sniveling little brats who want to make idle threats online (I think this is the very definition of “keyboard warrior”). You could always grow up and act like public servants instead of pretending you’re somehow above the people who pay your paycheck and pointless TV licensing fees.
Editor’s Note: Virginia State Delegate Nick Freitas offers his usual interesting and humorous take on the British suggesting they can try and come get American’s if they’d like, but they should first remember the lessons of the Revolutionary War.
“Which brings me to there is one group of people I have an utter disdain and hatred for: tyrants.”
Then why do you vote for them??
Excellent question.
Just who ARE you voting for this go around?
Are you French? You have a lot of room to talk…
‘Tis a nom de plume. My ancestors have been on the North American Continent for four hundred years. New Amsterdam, 1623 to be exact.
Our humble (I use the word lightly) author Ms. Sensiba votes Democrat when it suits her environmental ideology and s-e*x*u*al identity.
How close to the Fort Orange region?
Excellent take. The US government should seek a formal response from the UK regarding his statement honestly.
Which US government are you talking about? The one already violating the Constitution on a daily basis? That one?
We’re actually still waiting for our a response to our letter from 1776: The Declaration of Independence.
…For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences…”
Only one of our many complaints at the time.
It appears the English are slow learners.
Unfortunately there is a political party in this country, and a significant percent of our electorate who will vote for them, all too willing to support this form of tyranny.
“start nabbing U.S. citizens and hauling them off to a kangaroo court thousands of miles away. We don’t even let our government get away with stuff like that”. Ummmmm, President Trump just underwent a kangaroo court experience in New York City.
I think many people are waking up. Enough people? And in time to avoid having it shoved down our throats from the top down? As Reagan said, one generation away. This could be that generation.
Nice try, Jen.
You want the government to dictate what vehicles we drive and our energy use. Such policies are the very definition of tyranny.
“… nabbing U.S. citizens and hauling them off to a kangaroo court thousands of miles away. We don’t even let our government get away with stuff like that, so you know it wouldn’t fly if you tried it.”
The Federal government, along with nearly half the state governments, do that sort of thing all the time, usually to people exercising a Constitutional right.
Just ask Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, Rudy Guliani, Donald Trump, and a few others.
And a bunch of so called “insurrectionists” are currently jailed for pretty much nothing. No Jennifer America(along with the Brits)is rapidly devolving into a “V for Vendetta” state. They can try to kidnap you or worse. Have fun out there😧
“going to be drug out of his home”
No one is ‘drug’ out of their home, no one is going to be ‘drug’ out of their home. They are dragged out of their home, or one drags them out of their home, or one will drag them out of their home, or one has dragged them out of their home, or he/she will be or was going to be dragged out of his/her home.
“…he was going to be dragged out of his home…”
“going to be drug out of his home” – the ‘use of ‘drug’ here is a certain U.S. dialect ‘improper English’ use of the past tense form of the verb ‘drag’ which is ‘dragged’.
“…he was going to be dragged out of his home…”
Gees, a grammar Nazi!
Oh for cripes sake. I very rarely do that, but this dialect use stood out to me as I know someone who uses it the same way.
We kicked their limey ass’s twice and saved them twice. The first 2 times it was for freedom. The last 2 are proving to be a mistake.
“Head of the Met Police Sir Mark Rowley warns even people abroad will be arrested for mean posts.”
Well, what he actually did further was threaten to extradite U.S. citizens from the U.S. for talking about the riots on social media/internet or being critical of the U.K. government response in, basically, using armed force against innocent people exercising free speech on the internet being critical of the government.
Take note of this. A disarmed U.K. population being oppressed and terrorized by their armed government. Take note of this carefully, this is the underlying marx -ist socialist type feudal tyranny showing through, and that has always been there in the U.K. and all of Europe – take note of this very carefully as this is what Joe Biden wanted to do to us, to turn us into a citizen disarmed country where the peoples rights were controlled by government and the armed government would be free to do something like this any time they wanted (except Joe, and now Kamala and Walz, revealed the end game too soon and its worse going for full blown marx -ist so -ci- alist com – munism)
Hey U.K…..
Ya know, your tyranny did not work here before and a bunch of everyday people got together with, compared to the British army at the time, inferior weapons of all types from guns to swords and soundly kicked your Redcoat butts out of here. So in the spirit of the Americans who once before a long time ago said “nope, not here!” to this type of tyranny from you… Fuk You!
My read of that particular exchange from reading BBC articles on this, reading all the quotes, was they they were talking about UK citizens living abroad (“bring them home”). Nevertheless, some other calls recently have been clear and unambiguous threats to prosecute citizens of other nations. Even if they don’t think they can actually do it, threats chill free speech.
The problem was you were reading BBC articles on this.
The British government threatened to extradite American citizens from the U.S. to be jailed in the U.K. for violating their rules about political speech online.
Rowan Atkinson has a YouTube video where he very eloquently rips the “Section 5” a new one.
The same Rowan Atkinson who is personally blamed by the UK government for the downturn in EV sales.
I saw that video where he did section 5
In today’s world it can be a crime for an individual to be mean.
So why is acceptable, lauded even, for a government or agents of that government to be mean against an individual?
Government always has been the true bullies cudgel.
People are such panzies now. Whaaaah whaaa they said something mean. Get over it. Whatever happened to sticks and stones
I don’t have the copy of my US declaration of independent handy right now.
So I guess I’ll just have to do this by memory. I believe it says in our declaration of independence that one of the reasons why we declared independence. Was because people who offended the crown, were taken back to England for trial.
Instead of being tried in a court on american soil.
“Which brings me to there is one group of people I have an utter disdain and hatred for: tyrants.”….yet you admittedly support and vote for them.
Seriously….why is this hypocrite still a contribute here?
Folks did not come to America for religious freedom- so much. They fled the Crown, worst than communism. Your family, wife, husband, children, land and life were not safe from the Crown. I have no use for those wretched in bred imbeciles. The French got their revolution right! So did the Germans after the November 1918 revolution which unfortunately led to something as bad as the Kaiser, perhaps worse.
Good post!
Washington was supposedly given the opportunity to claim the title of king of the United States but he declined. He said that after seeing European royalty he didn’t think it was a worthy title.
Careful Jennifer. If they do manage to nab you, they may make you room with Al.
Congratulations Jennifer on being able to trace your family history. Back to the revolutionary War. Wonderful!!
Perhaps it would have been better to allow England to be continously attacked and bombed. By cruise, and intercontinental ballistic missiles. ICBMs
This reminds me of the regrettable incident during which a Clackamas County Sheriff’s Deputy lost bowel control as well as bladder control on my back porch before he bravely ran away. When they insisted on prosecution, my attorney and I motioned to dramatize the incident for the jury by showing them video of the scene in MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL where brave, brave Sir Robin bravely ran away.
The United Kingdom is Europe’s version of California where ya have the right to pretend you have rights if they allow it.
“Before I get into my reason for violating UK law from overseas, ”
?
you are an American citizen in the U.S. .
you don’t need to give a reason for exercising your natural Inherent, constitution codified, human right to free speech. You have not violated any U.K. laws by voicing your views or opinion no matter what they say. They are like all tyrants are to others in other countries – making loud noises and threats about enforcing the power they do not have over you.
You are not a victim, stop trying to sound like you need to apologize for exercising free speech.
Love Freitas’ Xmas present line