The sad state of British Human Rights - Gough might stay behind bars for LIFE!

[richinud]

The sad state of British Human Rights - Gough might stay behind bars for LIFE!

"Get your trousers on or face life behind bars: Naked rambler warned he will be re-arrested each time sentence ends"

  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1242831/Stephen-Gough-Put-trousers-face-life-bars-Naked-rambler-given-maximum-security-jail-threat.html

Rich.

http://www.naktiv.net/legal/

[rumdiary]

That's apalling, yet another sad commentary on the state of the UK currently (to go along with budget cuts to make the rich richer and the undertaking of illegal war elsewhere etc.).

[JA]

so ridiculous. the guy is entirely harmless. i have so much respect for his determination and selflessness. because of people like him, nudity may one day become far more acceptable.

[Professor]

Its not just Britain, there is intolerance all over the world. I know of no place or country that is free, just, and tolerant. Oh, sure, many claim to be, like the USA, but that is not the reality. The reality is a poor and honest man doesn't stand a chance and high power suits can get away with murder. Why must we respect the law when it clearly does not respect us? (note: I didn't say anything about disrespecting people, only to point out the absurdity of the situation: conform or face imprisonment) When did it become a crime to be different? He didn't kill anybody, he didn't steal anything, he didn't rape anybody and yet is imprisoned. I am tired of hearing people condemn the man, because if this would have happened in Nazi Germany their responses would be different I am sure.     

Thought crimes and victimless crimes like this are based on the premise that being offensive is a criminal act. That people have a right not to be offended. People do have a right to be offended, to make up their own minds. Once the state gets in your head and in your language and tells you what you can and cannot think or say, you have problems. once the state can condemn you for being human and say you are guilty because you are, you have problems. Then we all are threatened by inequality. Democracy is not freedom, either. Getting people to form a majority consensus does not give them the right to enforce it on all the people. That is not freedom.

[Lochsmith]

The Law is what it is. He knows the consequences of being naked in public, so he's prepared for the repercussions.  The law is be repressive, but all he's doing is getting press and no action.  There are better ways to change the laws.  It's harder to convict a flash mob than is it a single person.  I'm sure you're not allowed to have world naked bike ride day by yourself everyday of the year, but it does happen when there are lots of naked people participating in the organized event. 

Some people are just not ok with seeing him naked on the street and no change in the laws would prevent that anyways.  He would just be offending his neighbours even more than being locked up.  What's the point in having a freedom to do something when everyone around you hates you.  Besides, there are plenty of places and friends he can meet where he does have the freedom. There are better battles to fight than this.

I can't see how he is comparing himself to Rosa Parks and the segregation movement in the states.  There were innocent black men being hanged and burned alive on crosses.  He's not a modern day Rosa Parks when there is no threat of being beaten and raped and killed for standing up for your rights as a human.  There are no nudist underground railroads.  Poor freedom fighting parallel. 

So stay naked everyone, but keep it legal.  The more good press we have, the more accepting others will be.

[Dario Western]

Why should public nudity be illegal in the first place?  It does not kill, harm, or maim anybody.

[Lochsmith]

I agree Dario, but it is.  One day it might change. 

[Storm29]

I definitely think this "naked rambler" is in the wrong, though I think it's a bit extreme to throw him in jail. Besides the fact that he probably has tome mental issues that he needs help with, he doesn't seem to respect other people if he's walking anywhere and everywhere while naked. Would anyone in here actually walk totally nude from their house to the park or to a store? As much as you'd like to, it may not be the best idea. Not because of laws, but because at some point it would cross your mind that you might be offending people. And I know, there's nothing wrong with a naked body, but the simple reality is that there are people everywhere that are offended by unsuspectingly encountering a naked person on the street. This will never change. Gough's actions show no respect to these people. Most nudists I've met seem very respectful and polite and practice nudity only in appropriate places/settings. If anything, Gough gives nudists a bad name, in my opinion.

I also agree it's a bit extreme for Gough to compare himself to Rosa Parks. Rosa Parks stood up for an entire race of people that had been unjustly treated in the US for hundreds of years. Nudists have absolutely nothing to complain about compared to what African Americans experienced back in Rosa Parks' day.