US bars friends over Twitter joke

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BodomBeachChild

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The Sun is there. The Sun is also not real news. You don't read National Enquire or Fox News for news. Move along, citizen.
 

DeleteThisAcc

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Treblaine said:
You joke about killing my family you can bet you aren't going to be invited to my house... especially if of recent someone in my family has been murdered and there are people out there still seeking to attack us.

I can see the same principal applying with any country.
"I am going to bang your sister with my 25cm battle hardened cannon. It will be nice explosion!"

Sounds like death threat?

If I was one that was barred from the USA over that joke, I would find any hollywood movie where they use "destroy" instead "get drunk" or whatever and sue them for misinforming me about american culture ( that would loose, yet it would be so fun....)
 

Patrick Buck

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Oh. My. God. FUCKING REALLY?
Thats insane. In that case, I almost want to make a twitter account, and have every single update bashing america. Because That is nothing but insanity.
 

Treblaine

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MetalMagpie said:
Mr.PlanetEater said:
Frankly if you make a terrorist joke about destroying the U.S. or any country for that matter you probably deserve to be barred from entering said country. Similar to making a Holocaust joke when you're about to enter Germany or Israel. :/

That said if they had mentioned destroying the south specifically no one would give two shits...and in fact they'd probably supply them...not that I know anything about that.. >.> <.<
Treblaine said:
You joke about killing my family you can bet you aren't going to be invited to my house... especially if of recent someone in my family has been murdered and there are people out there still seeking to attack us.

I can see the same principal applying with any country.
He wasn't making a terrorist joke. Or even a threat.

In this country, saying you're going to "go out and destroy [insert name of location]" means to go out and get staggeringly drunk there. Much like "paint the town red".

It can be seen as quite a laddish (or even aggressive) phrase, much like "I'd rag that 'til it bled" (which means "I'd be very happy to have sex with that woman" - in case you don't have that one either). But it isn't intended to be malicious and it certainly isn't intended to be taken as a serious threat!
Hey, I LIVE in this country and that turn of phrase does not follow.

It's quite bloody obvious he was making a joke about "destroy america" echoing the rhetoric of the likes of Iran and North Korea, at the very least that was the intended double meaning and they apparently never clarified it when any 24 year old must have known what they were saying.

It's unlikely malicious, but it is definitely callous and insulting. And considering it is a privilege to visit another country you aren't a citizen of (not a right) that is easily removed by putting your foot in your mouth. The "destroy america" line probably jsut got their attention but it was likely the uncorrected intention to desecrate graves - an explicit offence - that got them barred entry.

The "it was a joke" is no defence. You can turn anything around to be a joke, the point is jokes can hurt and what starts as a joke can be real.

And I'd expect the same here. If some yank joked about "fucking the royalty" they might mean it in "royally fucked" sense, but if they also stated they were goign to dig up Jade Goody / Diana Spencer's grave then they can get right back on the next return flight and bugger the hell off. Joke or not, that voids privilege to visit.


Arkaniack said:
Treblaine said:
You joke about killing my family you can bet you aren't going to be invited to my house... especially if of recent someone in my family has been murdered and there are people out there still seeking to attack us.

I can see the same principal applying with any country.
"I am going to bang your sister with my 25cm battle hardened cannon. It will be nice explosion!"

Sounds like death threat?

If I was one that was barred from the USA over that joke, I would find any hollywood movie where they use "destroy" instead "get drunk" or whatever and sue them for misinforming me about american culture ( that would loose, yet it would be so fun....)
And they would then point to the widely known threats against america from the various despotic regimes using the same "destroy america" term, it's quite clear their "joke" had a well intended double meaning. And of course their stated intent of desecrating celebrity graves doesn't so much fit the definition of "joke" more a bizarre hollow threat of an actual crime. Indicating to commit crimes - whether in jest or totally serious - is a sure fire way to get your entry visa voided to ANY COUNTRY.

Visiting another country as a guest is a privilege.

If someone was heading a house party and was stupid enough to make a rape joke only to be overheard by the host who was the victim of a violent and serious sexual assault... they could expect to be kicked out of the party. It doesn't matter if it was a joke or a genuine endorsement of rape, either way that'll void any privileges of invitation.
 

MetalMagpie

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Treblaine said:
Hey, I LIVE in this country and that turn of phrase does not follow.
Do you live in London? If so, I'm surprised you haven't heard it. Maybe you hang out with a more civilised crowd than me. ;)

Anyway, this discussion is getting far too serious for a silly piece of non-news. If the USA was going to bar every Brit who made a terrorist joke or a flippant comment, most of our comedians would be on the list!
 

Pebblig

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4RM3D said:
EDIT 1: I am not familiar with UK news sites. So, I don't know which are 'respectable'. But it seems, from the posts here, The Sun has a bad reputation. Well, let me link a few more news sites then...
ANYTHING other than The Daily Mail. They just spout fascist bullshit 24/7.

This seems rather amusing, tempting to start a facebook group and get several thousand people banned from the US?
 

Treblaine

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MetalMagpie said:
Treblaine said:
Hey, I LIVE in this country and that turn of phrase does not follow.
Do you live in London? If so, I'm surprised you haven't heard it. Maybe you hang out with a more civilised crowd than me. ;)

Anyway, this discussion is getting far too serious for a silly piece of non-news. If the USA was going to bar every Brit who made a terrorist joke or a flippant comment, most of our comedians would be on the list!
I have heard the word "destroy" used vaguely in that way that borderline-illiterate idiots like that seem to be able to use ANY active verb as a synonym for getting drunk, but even then it is used in self referential way as in:
"I got destroyed/wreaked/smashed/killed/capsized/occupied/sloshed/bashed last night"

Not "We destroyed other people"

Also, the thing about comedians is you KNOW when they are making a joke because they tell them in a comedy act and are accountable to the performance house/network and comedians tend to be celebrities were their entire life can be well tracked. A twitter comment is not a public and vetted performance, it is essentially a very loud conversation that can be overheard around the world.

And all this did was draw attention, I think what got them denied entry was when they explicitly stated their intention to commit a felony crime: illegally exhuming and desecrating a grave, of a former celebrity no less.
 

Treblaine

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henritje said:
America trying to take over the world and playing World Police.
Yeah, enforcing their borders in their own jurisdictions, imagine what it would be like if every country did that. What does the United States think it is... some sort of nation or country in its own right? Pah. [/sarc]