You stayed up late arguing about bananas vs. crucifixes? You bunch of plonkers
To the extent I feel that it’s a waste of police resources, I only do so because I resent that anyone would do this in the first place. It is ultimately antisocial behaviour that needs curbing.
Once we are into realms of offence based crimes it all becomes highly subjective but I nevertheless feel that mocking appearance based on race is prone to causing more distressing offence than say, mocking those with ginger hair. It’s not just ‘a joke vs a joke’ as it has to be taken in the whole context of what it means to be ginger and what it means to be, say, black. If we really boil down people mocking ginger hair folk, then it doesn’t really go any further than mocking their appearance and maybe their ability to go out into the sun. With race, say, black, there is a whole other dimension of inferring that person is actually sub-human. For a start, you have groups of people that legitimately think black people ARE sub-human. Then there is the wider historical context too internationally re: slavery and civil rights etc.
I don’t find it a very difficult distinction to make, but I do also sympathise with any person that is subject to unnecessary cruelty.
Generally, the relationship between those involved is also rather key. Strangers mocking complete strangers requires an air of default superiority (or just a global nobbish disregard to everyone). I think in the context of school, it’s all a bit of a free for all and groups of children are more cruel than adults because of their immaturity. So I think adult to adult mocking of strangers is far less tolerated by society.
