A guy who talked shit to Tory MP Louise Mensch and threatened her children via email was given a suspended 26-week sentence earlier this month.
Zimmerman targeted Mensch after last summer’s riots when the Corby MP suggested that sites such as Twitter ought to be closed down if the police thought it necessary. Mensch was also in the public eye as a member of the Commons culture, media and sport committee, which questioned Rupert and James Murdoch over phone hacking.
Oh well in that case – obviously she deserved anything he chose to deal out.
Addressing her as the “slut of Twitter”, Zimmerman said: “We are Anonymous and we do not like rude cunts like you and your nouveau riche husband Peter Mensch. We are inside your computer, all your phones everywhere and inside your homes.
“So get off Twitter. We see you are still on Twitter. We have sent a camera crew to photograph you and your kids and we will post it over the net including Twitter, cuntface. You now have Sophie’s Choice: which kid is to go. One will. Count on it cunt. Have a nice day.”
Well if she doesn’t like that kind of thing she should just stay home and shut up.
Apparently Zimmerman wasn’t quite as anonymous as he thought.
So unfair, isn’t it? How dare they discover his identity and charge him with a crime? All he did was threaten some cunt’s children.
The Zimmerman clan has been having some major problems lately.
Has anyone checked in on Bob and Roy?
For me it is important to try to be very precise about what I think and don’t think. I have absolutely no time for many of Ms. Mensch’s views. However I have even less time for people like Zimmerman. My instinctive feeling is that a suspended sentence is somewhat lenient, but I am not privy to information that might be known to the judge and that might change my feelings about this.
Quite. I’m no fan of her views either. I’m no fan of Abbie Smith’s “views” or Victor Ivanoff’s “views” – but I don’t call them cunts and I don’t threaten them or their relatives.
Clearly this is just an example of “internet culture.” People who don’t like being threatened should not own a computer or any other electronic appliance. Also, the judge was oppressing Zimmerman and taking away his freedom of speech.
Zimmerman got a light sentence because he was a delusional old fool who the judge thought wouldn’t actually carry out his threats. (Terence Blacker, a former neighbour, provides a sort of insight here.) Thing is, Mensch had no way of knowing at the time whether he was just trolling or whether he meant it. Certainly Mensch is not short of enemies. It’s so easy for people to be wise after the event and say “See, it was just internet trolling.” It must have been terrifying. I wish the judge had taken that more into account.
By the way, his sentence is ludicrously light when compared with the absurd prosecution and custodial sentence given to Paul Chambers (the Robin Hood airport tweeter) for something that surely no one in possession of an internet connection could have taken as anything other than a throwaway joke.
I should add in England a suspended sentence is not officially regarded as being let off lightly, though the public never sees it that way. The suspension of the sentence depends on no repeat offence. If he offends again he’ll be behind bars. Though probably out again within the year if he remains on good behaviour, rather than serving two years.
Thing is, Mensch had no way of knowing at the time whether he was just trolling or whether he meant it. Certainly Mensch is not short of enemies. It’s so easy for people to be wise after the event and say “See, it was just internet trolling.” It must have been terrifying.
Funny you should mention it! I just made exactly the same point for the benefit of Paula Kirby.
http://freethoughtblogs.com/butterfliesandwheels/2012/06/everybodys-an-expert/
It’s sooooooo fucking easy for people to be wise after the event – especially when the threat had nothing to do with them anyway.
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