Billy TK vs Vinny Eastwood vs Counter Spin vs Chantelle Baker vs Free Speech

In the wake of middle class propaganda docudrama Fire and Fury, the Police have suddenly woken up to online extremism and clamped down on Chantelle Baker and Counter Spin…

Police arrest and charge far-right Counterspin Media pair in Christchurch with allegedly distributing objectionable material

Two people with links to a far-right and conspiracy theory website have been charged by police with allegedly distributing an objectionable publication.

Kelvyn Alp and Hannah Spierer were arrested by police in Christchurch today, the Herald understands.

The duo has links to Counterspin Media, which broadcasts conspiracy theories and discredited Covid-19 misinformation.

In a statement from police tonight, a spokesperson said two people were arrested in Christchurch today over alleged offences under the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993.

…in the same week Billy TK and Vinny Eastwood were on trial for being dicks during lockdown…

Covid-19 lockdown breach trial: Defendants Billy TK, Vinny Eastwood testify

Lockdown critic and former political hopeful William Te Kahika acknowledged in the witness box today that police had given him two warnings prior to an alert level 4 protest that he risked arrest if he went through with it.

But he was surprised nevertheless when he was taken in custody while among a crowd of about 100 supporters outside TVNZ last August, on the first day of the strict nationwide lockdown for the Delta variant, he told an Auckland District Court judge today as the testimony phase of his trial wrapped up.

That’s because the prominent conspiracy theorist believed the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, which calls for protections of freedom of speech and assembly, should have superseded any lockdown orders, he testified.

“I could not be silent,” he said as lawyer Paul Borich QC eventually stopped asking questions so that his client could deliver a long, impassioned soliloquy about his controversial Covid-19 views, including the frequently criticised claim that the Delta variant was no worse than the flu.

…For the record your honours:

I knew Hannah Spierer 15 years ago. She was a passionate environmentalist and progressive activist who was admired by a lot of her friends and peers. Some time ago she left the activist community and went bush and never came back to the trail. The person I see now is almost unrecognisable from the person I knew.

I’ve never met Kelvyn Alp. As far as I am concerned, he’s a far right lunatic with the skill set to cause harm who has turned his hand to hate grifting. A most despicable fellow.

The only interaction with Chantelle Baker was a recent Platform interview where I said I had no respect for any of her work and that she was a religious fear grifter. As far as I am concerned she’s not a a Dr or scientist or even a journalist, she’s just a person with an opinion, and it’s not a particularly well thought out opinion. The attempt to upbraid her to the level of superstar journalist fearlessly crusading for truth is about as realistic as Donald Trump the gymnast.

I’ve bumped into Billy TK once by accident when he was seated across from me at a breakfast and I over heard him talking strategy on his phone. Oh Billy you rascal.

I’ve known Vinny for years around the activist community, he’s a pain in the arse but not an enemy of the State, he’s far more of a threat to himself than anyone else.

The sudden detention, trial, arrest and censorship of these people demands scrutiny and clearly defined values protected because the sudden stomp of the State’s boot on anyone of us with this amount of knee jerk political reaction caused via middle class media echo chambers demands of us that this isn’t mob justice.

Baker, TK, Vinny and Counterspin are wrong on almost every point of delusional nonsense they argue, but they have the right to argue delusional nonsense!

For those demanding the book be thrown at these people, remember how quickly that can escalate to the boot and how quick it can come back the other way.

This isn’t about right or left, this is about fundamental principles that underpin our democracy, and we should be resilient enough to examine clearly what is going on and be brave in articulating what should be protected.

Chantelle Baker – Fuck off! Instagram and Facebook are private companies, if they decide you breach their community standards (and let’s be honest, those standards are pretty fucking broad), if you can’t maintain Facebook level civility then there’s the door and don’t let it hit you in the arse!

Vinny Eastwood – He’s fucking harmless. He’s the kind of performance artist activist any basic democracy should be able to tolerate. Yes he shouldn’t have done that stupid protest, but the Black Lives Matter protest also went ahead during the lockdown so let’s not start playing coy games of who is the most virtuous protester here. Slap him on the wrist and give him some PD. This is where State leniency matters and mercy is the strongest hand we can play.

Billy TK – He’s more problematic, Vinny’s a puppy, Billy TK is the one that teaches the puppy to piss on your couch. He’s clearly more of the King Grifter here, but again, he’s someone who got caught up in the sweep of events, Facebook live fame (the worst kind of fame) gave him a sense of power, the cash flowed in, he grifted, the whole thing imploded, he suddenly finds God. Again, I argue for mercy. Billy TK was a product of a sweeping hysteria of fear that is natural and normal in a. once in a century pandemic. Yes he manipulated people, but they were the people on the fringes whom Jacinda had failed to be transformative for. He didn’t happen in a bubble eh? Fine him a lot, give him some PD and again show mercy. Don’t jail him, that will martyr him. For the love of Christ, don’t martyr him.

Counter Spin – Whatever fucking clown is responsible for knee jerking the arrest of these two should be taken out the back and slapped until the stupid comes off them! This reeks of a knee jerk with no forethought. These two are the real fucking deal, to snap them with this bullshit is like arresting a Mafia Boss on a driving infringement. They’ve been charged with refusing to provide their computer passwords, so fucking what! Anyone with half a fucking brain would refuse to give the cops your passwords and fight it out in court, charging them with that is bullshit. The objectionable material sounds like a copy of the Christchurch Terror attack, that’s hardly earth shaking in any way shape or form. WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED Is the SIS get judicial warrants and have spied on them legally, put together a strong and clear case and arrest them for that, what has happened is some bullshit ill thought out knee jerk to generate charges which they will fight and gain even more legitimacy from. It’s like the State can’t help but make things worse here! If they had been seen as the real legitimate threats that they are, this would have been handled with the professionalism and care that it demands, instead of that we’ve had a panicked Police anxious to look like they are doing something because woke Twitter is getting angry.

Comrades, we need to be careful here, shit be cray out there and identifying what’s a real threat and what isn’t could determine enormous and sudden avalanches on the steep slopes of democracy in the melting snow blankets of late stage capitalism.

People saying shit we don’t like and protesting isn’t a threat, people with capacity and platform to act out their violent revenge fantasies against a society they despise are a threat.

You can stand for free speech while standing against political violence.

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