The Police Have Better Things to Do Than Patrol Twitter

Twitter is not the business of the police, and users should not be reporting people for what they say. We have to accept that opinions are not right or wrong. No one is the guardian of the correct answer. This is not and exam and you are not the invigilator.

"Reported!" they tweet, followed with a snazzy tag for @metpoliceuk.

A huge number of my tweets cause people to take offence and go running to the boys in blue to share their outrage.

I have been reported for everything from ebola to the Palestine conflict, from fascism to anti-Semitism and am yet to see the benefit of this to the British taxpayer. Even Simon Danczuk (the MP for Rochdale) went crawling off to his local IPCC mate to see if an offence had been committed when he didn't like my feed.

But I remain unconvinced. Twitter is not the business of the police, and users should not be reporting people for what they say.

New communication laws have curtailed our right to talk freely. As one detective inspector explained on my phone at 2am: "people have taken offence, and therefore an offence may have been committed".

This sums up Nation Outrage perfectly.

However, the distinction between what is offensive (legal) or grossly offensive (illegal) is a fine line - and a subjective one - which protects our right to freedom of expression: "that includes the right to say things or express opinions... that offend, shock or disturb the state or any sector of the population."

We have to accept that opinions are not right or wrong. No one is the guardian of the correct answer. This is not and exam and you are not the invigilator.

People's usual grounds for establishing whether something is right or wrong is whether they agree with it personally. If they agree - it is right. If they disagree - it is wrong. This is an arbitrary system based on their own dubious beliefs.

I believe we should all be free to say as we please. As long as we are prepared to accept there is an equal and opposing view and respect the right of others to disagree.

You cannot oblige people to conform. This predilection for group-think became woefully apparent during the IVF debate between Dolce and Gabbana and Elton John.

No matter with whom you agree, both have an equal right to a view and we should be tolerant of it. Demanding a boycott in response to an opinion is one step away from censorship.

Life is not a beauty pageant and you cannot demand the beauty pageant answer. I don't want to save the world or negotiate world peace. And I look crap in swim wear. Deal with it.

I just want to continue to have my basic human right to say what I think on Twitter.

If you disagree and your best comeback is that you are going to rape me with a machete - then that is indicative of your lack of intelligence.

But be reassured. I won't be reporting you to the police. I am holding on to the belief they have better things to do. I suspect you still live at home with your mum and floss your teeth with your toe nails.

If you can't handle the debate, stay away from Twitter. If you want to scream "Reported!", be sure to copy @metpoliceuk. You never know, it might make you feel powerful.

Beyond The Ballot is The Huffington Post UK's alternative take on the General Election, taking on the issues too awkward for Westminster. It focuses on the unanswered questions around internet freedom, mental health and housing. Election news, blogs, polls and predictions are combined with in-depth coverage of our three issues including roundtable debates, MP interviews and analysis

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