It looks like in England it’s illegal to call things what they are.
A young man who attended a recent protest against the Church of Scientology was served with a summons for holding a sign that accurately stated “Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult.” Apparently, the officers on the scene of the Anonymous-organized protest banned the word ‘cult’ on the basis that it is “abusive and insulting” to the Church.
When advised to remove the sign, the teen quoted a ruling made by a Mr Justice Latey, in which the CoS was described as a “cult” which was “corrupt, sinister and dangerous”. This didn’t matter to the officer who then gave the boy a court summons and removed the sign herself.
From an American position, this turn of events is absurd considering our foundness for free speech, but hopefully the British courts will realize that 1) Justice Latey is completely right and so is this teen, and 2) protests are best non-violent but they don’t need to be ‘nice.’
Good luck, unnamed teen crusader of truth!
Link. (via Boing Boing)
