What did Stephen Bennett say? “Don’t come over to this country and treat it like your own. Britain first.” Other than that, all we get are vague characterizations of what he wrote, as apparently the Manchester Evening News doesn’t want to be hauled up on charges itself for reporting about what he said. So we hear instead that “one comment he made concerned Asian women, another was likely to be offensive to Muslims.”
For that, he got “a 12-month community order, with 180 hours’ unpaid work.” Unpaid work is slave labor. For the crime of offending Muslims. It doesn’t appear, at least from this report, that he called for any violence; he was just grousing and saying that Muslims in the UK should obey UK laws, which is a perfectly reasonable demand.
By punishing Stephen Bennett for this, Britain has shown that it is no longer a free country, but a country ruled by dhimmis anxious to bow to their Muslim overlords. If Muslims in Britain make remarks that non-Muslims consider “grossly offensive,” would they be prosecuted and sentenced to slave labor? What do you think?
Said Bennett: “Is this about that Muslim thing on Facebook? I’m getting locked up for sticking up for my own country.” Quite so.
Note also how everyone concerned discusses whether or not Bennett is a “racist.” What race is Islam again? What race is jihad? No matter how many times I’m told, I can never remember.
“Online troll caught out after posting ‘grossly offensive’ anti-Muslim comments on police Facebook page,” by Chris Osuh, Manchester Evening News, August 5, 2016:
An online troll ended up in the dock after posting comments ‘grossly offensive’ to Muslims on a police website.
Dad-of-seven Stephen Bennett, 39, made inflammatory remarks on Greater Manchester Police’s Facebook page, in response to an appeal for information in a sex case with an Asian suspect.
One comment he made concerned Asian women, another was likely to be offensive to Muslims.
Bennett, of Wythenshawe, also wrote: “Don’t come over to this country and treat it like your own. Britain first.”
He made the comments despite his mother-in-law and sister-in-law being Muslims, his lawyer told the court.
The response sparked outrage from Facebook users who feared his remarks would set people against each other.
When Bennett was arrested by officers in an 8am house call, he said: “Is this about that Muslim thing on Facebook? I’m getting locked up for sticking up for my own country.”
Bennett later admitted an offence under the Malicious Communications Act….
One Muslim witness told police he was concerned the ‘irresponsible’ comments would ‘incite hatred’ and be a ‘potential tool for radicalisation’.
Another Muslim personally offended by the remarks challenged Bennett online, telling him ‘act your age’.
People in the wider community were also offended, prosecutor Gavin Howie told court, with one female Facebook user describing his remarks as ‘offensive to all women’.
Mr Bennett’s lawyer, Andrew Higginson, said his actions were ‘difficult to explain’, adding: “There’s more to him than what one sees on Facebook.
“It’s a sad indictment of the state of our social and political discourse that whilst one is shocked, one is not particularly surprised comments like this are posted.
“It’s increasingly common for comments posted on social media to be featured in criminal cases. These platforms provide an amount of anonymity. People can say things they wouldn’t dream of saying face to face.
“His mother-in-law and sister-in-law are Muslims, he gets on with them very well. He has insisted he does not have racist sympathies, he struggles to explain it.
“It may be that the more people are exposed to offensive opinions, the more they are normalised to people who then feel it’s acceptable for them to post them.”
Sentencing, Recorder Andrew Long told Bennett he found it ‘impossible to believe’ he would have posted the ‘grossly offensive’ comments unless he was ‘at least a sympathiser’ with those who expressed such views.
The judge said ‘running the risk of stirring up racial hatred in the present climate’, was ‘very serious’ describing it as ‘conduct capable of playing into the hands of the enemies of this country’.
Sentencing him to a 12-month community order, with 180 hours’ unpaid work, the judge added: “Your remarks damaged the community in which you live, and it’s the community that you must repay.”