You thought Oriana Fallaci to stand trial for "defaming Islam" was bad? How about cuffing, jailing, and fining an Oxford student for . . . wait for it . . .
Sam Brown, an Oxford University undergraduate, inquired of a mounted policeman on Cornmarket Street: "Do you know your horse is gay?" Also, "I hope you’re comfortable riding a gay horse."No prizes for guessing the author of this amusing piece about the jaw-dropping absurdity of Britain’s "Incitement to Religious Hatred" Act. Amusing? Yes, very much so--but every bit as much alarming as it is amusing. When situations like this become reality, satire looks less and less like satire--and when satire is impossible, stupidity--or far, far worse--is inevitable.Within minutes, young Mr Brown was surrounded by six officers and a fleet of patrol cars, handcuffed and tossed in the slammer overnight, after which he was fined �80. A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police told the student newspaper Cherwell that the "homophobic comments" were "not only offensive to the policeman and his horse, but any members of the general public in the area."
"Offensive to his horse"? Well, you never know. If any constabulary is keeping a full-time equine psychologist on staff, it’s bound to be Thames Valley. Even now, the horse may be on one month’s stress leave at home on full pay, with his feet up listening to Judy Garland on his iPod. Whoops, sorry. We don’t know whether the horse in question is, in fact, gay. It may be just the way he trots.
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