In 1998, the UK government introduced a law designed to deter harassment called the Anti Social Behaviour Order or ASBO. The law has been controversial - some hailed it as a great way to deal with wayward punks whereas in other instances, something like this happens:
Daniel Cope, 13, was devastated when eight-year-old Milly disappeared from the family home.
He spent hours hunting for the pet with his parents before printing off 100 posters with tortoiseshell Milly's picture and putting them up on lamp-posts near the family home in Whitstable, Kent.
Just three days later, Daniel's mother Heather, 43, received a phone call from a community warden telling her they had to come down. [...] 'She said it came under an anti-social behaviour act and we could face an £80 penalty. I just burst into tears when she told me, I couldn't believe it.'
The only way that this could have been ASBO is if the neighbors considered the posters vandalism or defacing public property. But to me it really seems as if the law is designed to create scapegoats and give neighbors excuses to harp on other neighbors.
I agree that it would be nice to have a similar law in the United States, but this story (and other similar to it) show that too much power can be given to the people.
Psychiatrists are being this crap and should be stopped.
There is a lot of this going on in the UK at the moment. Expect more until the next election.
There is a lot of this going on in the UK at the moment. Expect more until the next election.
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."