A Twitter user insulted a German politician, then police raided his house
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Re: A Twitter user insulted a German politician, then police raided his house
#2I didn't want to editorialize the original title, but to add to it:
1) The insult used was "pimmel", german for "dick".
2) According to netzpolitik.org, the offender was summoned by the police before that, did show up, and did confirm there that it was his account. https://netzpolitik.org/2021/andy-grote-was-fuer-eine-pimmel... [german]
Re: A Twitter user insulted a German politician, then police raided his house
#3[deleted]
Re: A Twitter user insulted a German politician, then police raided his house
#4Before the coup that happened a few days ago, my country was casually known as a dictatorship. You don't insult politicians, not especially on a public place. When you are home, you check if the coast is clear before you call the president names. Otherwise you get an armed and humiliating response, if not tragic.
Looks like lots of democratic countries are looking at us with envy and for inspiration these days.
Re: A Twitter user insulted a German politician, then police raided his house
#5[deleted]
Re: A Twitter user insulted a German politician, then police raided his house
#6There's no practical right to free speech in the EU. You americans don't know how easy you have it. Defend your rights!
Re: A Twitter user insulted a German politician, then police raided his house
#7And as an American, Germans/Australians/etc. will still insist they're more free than me because of something arbitrary like free healthcare. I don't think there's anywhere I'd feel particularly more "free" all things considered aside from maybe Mars.
Re: A Twitter user insulted a German politician, then police raided his house
#8I would like a balanced perspective on this. What do our German/European think about this? Is this expected or a random event? Does this have public support?
Re: A Twitter user insulted a German politician, then police raided his house
#9The German basic law protects people's personal honour (article 5, freedom of expression), and this goes back hundreds of years. (strafrechtlicher Ehrschutz).
>"These rights shall find their limits in the provisions of general laws, in provisions for the protection of young persons and in the right to personal honour."
This is reflected in the German criminal code Beleidigung(Insult), unchanged for about 150 years.
>"The penalty for insult is imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or a fine and, if the insult is committed by means of an assault, imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine."
This extends to everyone, not just politicians. For example, flipping someone off is not legal, and you'll be fined if someone were to take legal action. The headline of the article and the general tone of is misleading.
Re: A Twitter user insulted a German politician, then police raided his house
#10I didn't want to editorialize the original title, but to add to it: 1) The insult used was "pimmel", german for "dick". 2) According to netzpolitik.org, the offender was summoned by the police before that, did show up, and did confirm there that it was his account. https://netzpolitik.org/2021/andy-grote-was-fuer-eine-pimmel... [german]
The wordplay in that article is just fantastic. German has this specific kind of humor that is hard to describe, but definitely stands out.
Great read, thanks for linking it.