It was only after Miles Pickering arrived at Scotland Yard following his arrest that the police realised they had got things embarrassingly wrong.

The T-shirt worn by the Brighton engineer did not express support for a proscribed terrorist group, instead the words on it read “Plasticine Action” and inside the letter “o” was an image of the stop-motion character Morph giving two thumbs up.

Speaking to the Guardian, Pickering admitted it was designed to be an easy mistake to make, appearing to look like the logo of Palestine Action, the protest group banned under terrorism legislation last month, but text underneath the logo reads: “We oppose AI-generated animation.”

  • Akasazh@feddit.nl
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    3 days ago

    About five minutes later, the arresting officer approached him again. “He said: ‘I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news.’ I said: ‘What’s the good news?’ He said: ‘I’m de-arresting you.’

    “And I said: ‘What’s the bad news?’ He said: ‘It’s going to be really embarrassing for me.’ And then I walked free, while all the real heroes are the people that are actually getting arrested.”

    The reall heroes indeed. Still this Chad got to draw some needed attention to the outright stupidity of it all…

    • Anomnomnomaly@lemmy.org
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      3 days ago

      ‘It’s going to be really embarrassing for me’

      “As it should be, you fascist pig”… would have been my reply.

      • Akasazh@feddit.nl
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        13 hours ago

        This is exactly why I quoted that bit. Introspection is the natural enemy of fascism, and this employee isn’t deferring to outside reasoning for his actions.

        I mean outside of him feeling obliged to abide by his superiors, he’s really thinking (starting at least) for himself.

      • Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        I think it is safe to say that specific cop was just following orders that he doesn’t really agree with.
        Calling him a fascist is the same over generalization they are doing to anyone supporting the “terrorist” organization. And when you say the cop should quit rather than follow orders… you don’t know thier situation. They may have a family depending on that job.

        So what I am saying is, stop just calling everyone a fascist. It cheapens the insult for those who truely deserve it.

        • Anomnomnomaly@lemmy.org
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          22 hours ago

          Every Nazi was ‘just following orders’ did that make them less of a Nazi?

          The answer is no… going along with ‘orders’ is being complicit with them, following fascist orders makes you a fascist… so yes… he is actually a fascist… and that now makes you a fascist apologist.

          • Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world
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            20 hours ago

            So by your logic, the jews we worked in the factories helping to make the rockets for van braun were nazis too. They were just following orders. For both them and many non-jewish Germans, if they didn’t, they would have been killed or worse.

        • y0kai@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          3 days ago

          Do fascist stuff, you’re a fascist.

          I’m currently unemployed. ICE is hiring in my country. I’d rather fucking starve to death than join them or the police because I’m not a fascist.

          See the difference?

          There are fascists, and those who would rather die than be associated with them. Which one are you?

          • Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            I do see the difference, you can only see black and white. You also have no long term vision at all. But a few other people can see the value of treating people like people and blaming the system and leaders for what they forced people to do.

          • Jaberw0cky@lemmy.world
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            3 days ago

            I’m with you but have you considered joining just to fuck things up by being obstructive from the inside?

            • y0kai@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              3 days ago

              Yes, actually, but don’t believe I’d be able to do much good. I could be “incompetent” and maybe achieve slower arrests and cost them money unnecessarily, but outside of just “accidentally” burning a precinct to the ground or something else that could be done by anyone, i feel joining would just make me another incompetent fascist slowly fumbling the agenda forward.

    • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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      2 days ago

      I mean, embarrassing actions tend to do that.

      Interesting that this guy was able joke about it, that’s not really the personality I was expecting.

      • Akasazh@feddit.nl
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        13 hours ago

        Precisely why I thought that quote validated highlighting. He’s in the purgatory between following orders and thinking for himself.

        The way he brings it does endear me.