Althought not really comforting, it does strike me as comforting that other governments wastes as much or more money as the Norwegian one. What gives light to the situation is when the judge set forth in a court case reacts to it. This was the case in an article in The Times
A man who called a police surgeon a “f***ing Paki†was advised yesterday by a judge: “Next time call him a fat bastard and don’t say anything about his colour.â€
The judge gave the unusual advice after describing the decision by the Crown Prosecution Service to prosecute the man for a racially aggravated offence as “a nonsenseâ€.
“A gratuitous single piece of racist abuse was uttered as the surgeon left. This was the charge on which the full weight of the law had been brought to bear. My comments were not intended to make light of racist remarks.
“I fully accept that in a circumstance and time they can be both offensive and distressing to those to whom they are addressed. When made by a drunk towards an obviously highly professional, educated and respected member of society in a position of clear authority over the defendant, I found it hard to conceive that it could be taken as seriously upsetting abuse.â€
“It struck me as disproportionate to have brought this particular charge on its own to the Crown Court.â€
