I think you’re taking a single, disputed incident and presenting it as if it’s how the UK normally works.
I agree this video is a disgrace, but the issue wasn’t simply “an old lady was arrested for saying she opposed genocide.” The circumstances are more complicated than that, and there are ongoing legal and factual disputes about why the police intervened. Reducing it to “you get arrested in Britain for criticising Israel” isn’t an accurate description of UK law.
People in the UK publicly criticise Israel, the UK government, and the police every single day. There have been countless pro-Palestinian demonstrations involving hundreds of thousands of people. If merely saying “I oppose what Israel is doing” were grounds for arrest, our prisons would be overflowing.
The same applies to facial recognition. There are legitimate debates about police use of the technology, but saying “you can’t refuse it” or implying people are routinely detained because the computer thinks they look like someone else leaves out a lot of important legal safeguards and oversight.
The US and the UK both have genuine issues around policing and civil liberties, but it’s not helpful to compare the worst anecdote from one country with the worst anecdote from the other and then claim one is fundamentally free while the other isn’t. Reality is more nuanced than that.
I think you’re taking a single, disputed incident and presenting it as if it’s how the UK normally works.
I agree this video is a disgrace, but the issue wasn’t simply “an old lady was arrested for saying she opposed genocide.” The circumstances are more complicated than that, and there are ongoing legal and factual disputes about why the police intervened. Reducing it to “you get arrested in Britain for criticising Israel” isn’t an accurate description of UK law.
People in the UK publicly criticise Israel, the UK government, and the police every single day. There have been countless pro-Palestinian demonstrations involving hundreds of thousands of people. If merely saying “I oppose what Israel is doing” were grounds for arrest, our prisons would be overflowing.
The same applies to facial recognition. There are legitimate debates about police use of the technology, but saying “you can’t refuse it” or implying people are routinely detained because the computer thinks they look like someone else leaves out a lot of important legal safeguards and oversight.
The US and the UK both have genuine issues around policing and civil liberties, but it’s not helpful to compare the worst anecdote from one country with the worst anecdote from the other and then claim one is fundamentally free while the other isn’t. Reality is more nuanced than that.