Poll: Victoria police given permission to fine swearing

[lizabeth19]

America. Land of the free. And land of taking your freedom away.

I think you mean Australia, mate.

 

[Scars Unseen]

Personally, I have no problem with this law. It's worked in Whistler, BC and is designed mainly for those too obtuse to develop any social skills. It helps the police cut down on belligerent attitudes and like most fines of these sorts, you usually need to go beyond the call of decency to incur a fine.

Part of living in a society is sharing a common level of decency and I for one don't like, nor appreciate, the downward slide that society has taken over the past few years.

And suddenly I feel compelled to summon forth XKCD on the matter...

 

[Belated]

America. Land of the free. And land of taking your freedom away.

And Australia used to be one of the nicest parts of America too...

Jeez, someone smearin' America on this? If anything, this is a time for Americans to be proud of their nationality! If any politician tried to fine swearing in the US of A, he'd be forced out of office within a week and probably assaulted by every passerby he passed by. We, for the most part, understand that Freedom of Speech is the most important right, and it means ALL speech, not just speech that most people agree with. Unlike a certain island country with an even more corrupt government than our own, and lots of kangaroos. Seriously Australia, I can sympathize. You guys have video game censorship, games that aren't even allowed into your country, and now they wanna fine swears? I'd be damn pissed if anybody tried any of that shit in The States.

Free Speech is a sacred thing. If there was ever a cause worth dying over, that is it. Not that I'm suggesting you actually go that far.

 

[Valdus]

Start using obscure swears or make some up. If everyone does it eventually the law will change to make the new swears illegal whilst not caring about current swears. Swears are offensive simply because people take offense to them.

If everyone in the world was to suddenly say "These words are acceptable" then within a week no one would be using them anymore and within two weeks a whole new list of swears would appear.

 

[mexicola]

Awful fucking idea. I fucking disagree.

 

[Engarde]

I have no problem with this, as I am yet to meet a policeman who goes out of his way to arrest every minor crime he sees like jaywalking, so I doubt everyone who curses will be fined, but if someone does so at the police, then they are fair game and deserve it. Plus I never really swear so it doesn't bother me.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well I guess Yahtzee's reviews will get quite expensive

 

[little.09]

as someone from Victoria it is bullshit, words are tools that we use to convey meaning. restricting words we are able to use skews our meaning and anyway they are just words they do no harm.

 

[ethan22122]

I believe people should be allowed to swear, but that does'nt mean that they should swear loudly in a crowded area just because they can.

 

[crotchdot]

This law was introduced by the Victorian Attorney General, Robert Clark. He's also the guy who, based on comments he's made recently, is looking like he's going to prevent us from getting an R rating for videogames when the Attorney Generals meet next to discuss the matter.

 

[sora91111]

I'll say what ever the fuck I want to say!
*Australian cop starts writing ticket*
Damnit.

 

[Aaron Kehl]

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

In science, a theory is not a guess, not a hunch. It's a well-substantiated, well-supported, well-documented explanation for observations.

 

[zombieeater6000]

Fuck no
i'd organize swearing protests of doom if that happened here

 

[Munstalanda]

There already laws in place that prevents swearing in the UK against Police, I'm assuming Aus has a similar system. But for swearing casually is a different matter. It's not hard to avoid, and I feel that maybe we should have more respect for those around us. My grandparents don't mind swearing, they just say "People who swear have a very limited vocabulary." I completely agree, we don't need to swear to get our point across, do we? Maybe this law will prevent people thinking it's cool to walk down the street swearing like there is no tomorrow. Also, if you feel swearing is no big deal, then this shouldn't effect you, surely if you feel swearing is on the same level as the word "Poppycock" then I guess you'll hardly ever need to use it.

"Swearing is bad" is an opinion. And I know this is true because I disagree with it; hence, it is an opinion and not fact. You cannot make and enforce a law which is based on an OPINION - that is bias. That is unbalanced, and that is unjust.

That's flawed logic. Just because you disagree with something does not make it an opinion or fact. E.g. in the 16th century, people disagreed with the assertion that the world was round, for various reasons. However, this is a fact.

It's actually quite complex to define what should and should not be a law. I don't think you can do it using sweeping generalisations.

Technically, the world being round is a theory. Just like the theory of gravity.

Just sayin'.

The world being round is not a theory - it's a fact. Saying that gravity is a theory is wrong, gravity is also a fact. What you're referring too is Newtons theory of gravity, which almost all scientists agree with but no one can prove it yet (I don't even know why it's called a theory anymore.)

 

[Capt. Crankypants]

Wow, I appear to be one of a minority of people who don't think this is a bad idea. Besides, not really new info guys, Police have had this ability for quite a while, and I agree with it. It fits into the rest of the public nuisance laws, is it that bad? Others like it include begging, urinating in public, noise pollution, etc. If you're swearing to a degree that is unacceptable to the public/people around you, then yes, you should be asked to stop. If you ignore the warning, (and why would you?) then why shouldn't you be fined?

Basically, go ahead, swear, it's natural and fine, but stop complaining about your right to free speech being invaded, and have a little respect for the people around you.