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Comment by mattmanser | Hacker News Reader

Of course it should.

It's not just the protestors that have rights, the mourners do too.

Just like you've got no human right to stab people as much as you like, you can't cause other people distress at a funeral.

You're the one being incredibly unreasonable here.

Also, you can't freely protest a soldier's funerals in America, so you're also ridiculously hypocritical, sort your own country out first if you feel so strongly about this!

If you're not actively protesti g The Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act then you need to get off your high horse.

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>Just like you've got no human right to stab people as much as you like, you can't cause other people distress at a funeral.

Right. Because words that are unpleasant are exactly the same as violence, right?

Shall we jail anyone who says something that annoys, disturbs or is unpleasant to anyone else? Based on the unpleasantness in your comment, let's start with you.

Yes, it's rude and obnoxious to intrude on others, especially at gatherings like funerals. And most of us (myself included) try not to do so.

However, some folks are jerks, and will do so anyway. But making such a thing a crime rather than just removing the disruptive individual from the area is a recipe for abuse.

Who decides what's a crime or not in a given circumstance? You?

I'd note that I'm neither angry nor insulted by you. Rather, I'm trying (I hope successfully this time) to get you to see that making someone a criminal for being a jerk is a really bad idea.

Remove such a person from your sight. Shun them. Verbally abuse them right back. But the idea that someone should be criminalised for being insensitive and/or obnoxious is risible at best.

I expect you will continue to disagree with me and think I'm being nasty, disruptive and a jerk. Shall we arrest me too? How long should I spend in prison for pissing you off?

Edit: Fixed typo.

Police can't just grab people as they choose. Removing someone is achieved by arresting them. That's how the police work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrest

To arrest someone, the behaviour they're engaging in has to be criminal (i.e. chargeable).

Then the police can ask the prosecution service to charge them (the US equivalent of the DA I guess), which is the discretionary bit. This seems to be the thing you're taking issue with.

So although you don't realize it, you're basically saying you want to give the police brand new powers to grab anyone they want. That's an incredibly dangerous and seriously poorly thought out suggestion.

>So although you don't realize it, you're basically saying you want to give the police brand new powers to grab anyone they want. That's an incredibly dangerous and seriously poorly thought out suggestion.

Nope. Not intentionally or otherwise. Police have always had the "move along citizen" (with no arrest/detention at all) power. In fact, I'd say they use it far too often, at least in the US.

I'm not in the UK, and when I've visited I haven't interacted with the police, so that may not be true there. Is it?

What's more, being asked/encouraged to leave if someone is being disruptive is pretty normal and certainly doesn't require detention and/or arrest. Or even police for that matter.

Even more, (again, I'm not in the UK so not sure if this applies there) arrest records are public records and can negatively affect one's ability to get a job or housing due to the stigma around "criminals" even if they aren't actually charged/convicted in relation to such an arrest.

So no. I'm not advocating (wittingly or otherwise) for any new powers for the police. Rather, I'm agreeing with your premise that folks shouldn't disrupt solemn occasions like funerals, but I'm disagreeing with your premise[0] that such activity should be criminalised.

And I also take issue with your assertion (perhaps I misunderstood, but that's the impression I got. Please enlighten me if I've misunderstood) that the only options for police are either arrest or do nothing at all. That's absurd on its face.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32848029

If being an asshole was a crime, we wouldn't have enough prisons to keep all the convicts, yourself included.

Possibly me, too. Maybe we could be cell mates. What do you say, handsome?

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