Blasphemous t-shirt offends again
Jesus is a Cunt news! The Cradle of Filth t-shirt which has been getting its wearers and distributors into legal trouble since 1997, has hit the headlines again.
A boy in Perth, Australia, was arrested and charged with “offensive behaviour” after a police officer spotted him walking down the street.
The Rev Matt Hunt of Helenswale Baptist Church:
It’s fairly common language these days to express sadness, anger or hurt. It’s a degrading word to use and Jesus is anything but that. It’s like calling white black.
When someone comes to the point of saying Jesus is the devil or Jesus is ‘expletive’, the Bible does say be very careful because you’re on thin ice.
Lawyer Bill Potts said that the arrest highlighted the need for an Australian Bill of Rights:
If a person was wearing the shirt in a church or a religious rally where it was specifically intended to offend or cause disruption, then perhaps the prosecution might stand a chance.
However, to criminalise juvenile or boorish messages is to bring the law into disrepute. The police are acting like the thought police and censors.
Unlike Matt Hunt and his imaginary friend, cunts, knobs and arseholes can both serve a practical function and be a source of pleasure to consenting adults.
On that basis, if the T-shirt wearer should be charged with anything I’d suggest false advertising.
Some impressionable sod could get their hopes raised.