In America, you can say n*gger all you want, and it’s considered protected speech under the Constitution. Even though free speech is not absolute, it does still protect people from being prosecuted over insults, even if those insults are racially motivated.
In the United Kingdom, however, you can be prosecuted for hate speech. One man who used the N-word to address a black man found this out the hard way. Christopher Jones was initially charged by local authorities and courts with racial abuse for using the word.
Jones, a fan of rap music, maintained that he is not a racist, just a fan of rap music who grew up listening to the word being used.
“I am not a racist,” he told The Sentinel. “It was used as slang. For me it is a term of endearment, not something racist.”
He continued, saying, “I like hip-hop and it is a word that is used all the time in music.”
A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said Jones had “repeatedly shouted [the word] from a window to a group on the street” on Sept. 10 of this year.
“Mr. Jones accepted that he used the language alleged but denied it was motivated by hostility,” the representative added. “This was accepted by the magistrates and Mr. Jones was acquitted.”
Posted By: DAVID JOHNSON
Tuesday, January 29th 2013 at 1:59PM
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