Oh my, we are becoming a nation of over-sensitive souls!
Rother District Council were aghaster than aghast to read an e-mail received by their planning department. It came from a company objecting to an application from a woman to put a mobile home on land overlooking the Battle of Hastings site.
It had been written by a company employee, Paul Osmond, and included the words “it’s the ‘do as they likey’ attitude I am against “.
Where we at the Daily Moaner would have screamed “Typo !” (we’re very naive), the Council collectively clapped its hands over its ears, because they decided the comment was “racist”. Why? Because it rhymed with the word “pikey”, and if you permit people to say that, it will make your head explode.
So naturally, they ran to the po-lice station to tell Inspector Plod. And he sent some minions — Plodettes — over one Sunday afternoon, to arrest — not Mr Osmond — but the IT manager of the company, because why not?
The Plodettes were gentle but firm. They told the poor bastard he could either go to the station voluntarily, or he could go in handcuffs. They stole confiscated his computer. They took his wife’s computer. They took his fingerprints. They put his DNA on their database. They put him in a cell for four hours. All on “suspicion of committing a racial or religious offence “.
And all the above because someone on the council decided ”it was an offensive comment, so we got in touch with the police “.
Since when did pen-pushing, paper-shifting under-worked and over-paid council bastards get to decide what is offensive and what is not? Or what is legal and what is not? And since when did our wonderful police automatically carry out their orders?
If any particular wording within this article should prove offensive to the delicate sensibilities of council officials, or to the even more sensitive feelings of policemen everywhere — good! That is what blogs like the Daily Moaner are for.
Come and get me — copper!

My read is someone on that Council has some sort of problem with this man. If I were that man, I would bloody well find out who it was.
As for the problem, I doubt the Council member in question would enjoy the way it got solved….
Comment by Pertinax — January 11, 2010 @ 5:46 am
You may well be right… he may have “previous”… the guy in question just wants the matter to drop, whether from shyness or wanting a quiet life, we’re not sure.
And of course, we have to bear in mind that the original story came from the Daily Mail, where pananoia reigns supreme.
Comment by lenko — January 11, 2010 @ 10:39 am