Self-described Nazi becomes first person jailed in Australia for performing outlawed salute
Self-described Nazi becomes first person jailed in Australia for performing outlawed salute
Jacob Hersant, 25, was sentenced to one month in prison for performing a Nazi salute after lawmakers in the state of Victoria outlawed it.
Summary
Jacob Hersant, a self-described Nazi, was sentenced to one month in prison, becoming the first person in Australia jailed for performing an outlawed Nazi salute.
Convicted in Victoria for making the salute outside a courthouse in October, Hersant’s act followed new legislation banning the gesture.
Magistrate Brett Sonnet justified the sentence, citing Hersant’s intent to promote Nazi ideology publicly.
Hersant’s lawyer argued that his actions were nonviolent and claimed they were protected as political expression, stating plans to appeal the ruling on constitutional grounds.
It's the tolerance paradox, you can't tolerate these people and have a peaceful democracy. This is the answer.
Self-described Nazi
Yeah, there's a term for that: Nazi. Just call them that.
I think it's to clarify that it's not coming from the judgement of the newspaper. The Nazi himself is calling himself a Nazi. So, there's no doubt about it.
Since I doubt he is a certified member of the National Socialist Party, I'd argue the more accurate term would be "neo-Nazi".
Yeah, who the fuck "desrcribes" themselves as a Nazi? Ah right, a Nazi would do that.
It should be “self-avowed”
Didn't we used to kill Nazi's and celebrate their demise in movies like Indiana Jones?
"My support of political ideologies which directly propose genocide is completely non-violent, trust me bro."
As long as you comply
And you aren't part of thee group were genociding
Do it again 😉! Let's rack that baby up to 20 to life!.... How many years did he get?
It's literally in the summary. 1 month.
Y'all are so used to boot licking that you pretend it is a fashion accessory.
It's pretty absolutely bullshit to be jailed for wrongthink and a hand gesture. That's some Winnie the Pooh shit.
I have a reason to post a Riker after what happened in the U.S. on Tuesday! Oh god, it's better than therapy...
Good.
It was a mistake letting Nazis and others practice their terrorist views in public. Freedom of expression is not and never should be an absolute right.
I understand why people seem to think we should tolerate these views, because "muh free speech," but to them, I say:
Imagine being his lawyer and having to come up with an argument to defend him. Yeesh
A lawyer one time said that his job when defending someone that couldn't be defended is guaranteeing that the prosecutors do their job property just because the guy is totally guilt
This dude looks so much like the Austrian neo-nazi Martin Sellner that it's actually uncanny. I genuinely thought this was him. Maybe they are long lost brothers?
The pictured dude in the article is apparently
Tim Smartt, the lawyer for Jacob Hersant, arriving at court in Melbourne, Australia, on Friday
and not the shithead himself. But I don't disagree
Nah, it's definitely him. It looks to be an error in the caption. Or his lawyer looks uncannily like his client.
The canaries are dying.
I don't like Nazis for sure, but I also don't like people being jailed for expressing their views and speech. So my thought would be to get like two or three hundred protesters together and all go to that courthouse and make that salute and make them arrest every one of them. If the court system wants to waste their own time and tons of taxpayer money, prosecuting people for free speech, then let them do so. Kind of like Iran using $2,000 drones to cost Israel $2 million missiles.
"I don't like Nazis" "We should get 300 people to give the Nazi salute outside a courthouse". Shut the fuck up. Shut the fuck up. Shut the fuck up. I say this with all the sincerity in my heart, you are a moron and you are part of the problem. You are contributing to the rise of alt-right and fascist leaders around the world. There is zero leeway in this argument, everything Nazi related is bad and none of it should be tolerated.
Hate speech is not free speech. That's as simple as it gets. Most rational countries understand this.
300 Nazis outing themselves and going to prison to (hopefully) be rehabilitated with counseling?
Don't threaten me with a good time.
(I am aware the prison system is not super fantastic in Australia, but we're miles ahead of the US, and some of this 300 may actually be dissuaded. And also, they're Nazis, so. If you believe your fellow human beings are animals, then you don't get free speech, sorry.)
Australia doesn't have the first amendment because we aren't the US. We do however think that if you want to talk shit and start fights, we have the legal right to tell you to calm the fuck down with extreme prejudice, see exhibit a.
Not how it works. Gestures, like words, have a meaning. Even in the USA, saying certain words in certain ways can get you arrested; harassment, threats, etc. This gesture is meant to convey threat and to harass religious and racial minorities. There is no other reason to make the gesture.
This gesture is meant to convey threat and to harass religious and racial minorities.
I'd even take it a step further and say it's a gesture made by a very dangerous minority that threatens the vast majority.
Nothing says "I'm willing to forgo my humanity to wage pointless violence on literally the rest of the world." like the cringiest dipshit salute ever devised.
I'm Canadian. We have hate speech laws. 99% of us are never going to be hindered by or in any way affected by these hate speech laws. Because 99% of us aren't going around being Nazis and calling for violence and the extermination of ethnic races.
I'm sorry, since when was being a nazi in public in any way tolerable? We aren't talking about "I don't like cereal" here, the nazis were arguably one of the darkest times of our history. Trying to revive it is absolutely not acceptable.
No, fuck off with your take. That is free speech taken to a literal extreme. Allowing free speech to this extent encourages fascist and Nazi movements to flourish. Nazis should feel uncomfortable or unable to express these views.
Eco warriors should worry about being imprisoned for going to demonstrations. These are the kinds of things that can happen when you give your government power to jail people they do not like.
Edit: What happens if Australia's equivalent of Donald Trump gets in office and enact the policy mentioned above?
