Justin Lee Collins is a vicious, violent thug and it is an absolute fucking disgrace that he only got 140 hours community service for harassing, stalking, and scaring the ever-loving shit out of his ex-partner. He deserves to be in jail but he is not because the judge bought into every myth about domestic violence possible.
There is nothing I can say about Collins that the Fleet Street Fox has not already said more eloquently here:
Judges know the power of words. They know that hearing "140 hours community service" is not as frightening as "six months' jail", and they also know that stealing a case of mineral water in a riot is not as serious as assaulting your partner over a period of seven months.
They also know, because the High Court ruled on this in July, that only words which contain a genuine and intended threat can be considered criminal. The judge in that case said people "are free to speak not what they ought to say, but what they feel".
So idiots who write unfunny jokes about murdered five-year-old April Jones, set up silly Facebook pages mocking the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, complain about British soldiers in Afghanistan or upset the grieving by writing about having sex with the dead are - and this is important - not criminals. They're idiots, they're offensive, but they cannot in law reasonably be thrown in jail.
But they were.
A man, famous or otherwise, who reduces his partner to a constant state of fear, who assaults her, bullies her and admits only the part of her story she was canny enough to catch on tape IS a criminal. Justin Lee Collins is a thug, a bully, and a liar. He CAN be reasonably jailed.
But he wasn't.
I don't think that was because he was famous, or because he could afford a good lawyer. I think it was because a change in the law recognising that words said by a partner are part of domestic abuse, and equally as if not more damaging than a punch or a smack, will not be in force until next March so it was impossible to prosecute this little toad as he should have been.
And it's also because we get incredibly angry about the words we see written down, forgetting that means we can tear them up, delete them or burn them, and not about the words we hear which wriggle into our heads and stay there until we are able to shake them out.
The most important words in your whole life are not the ones you see but what you hear - hello, goodbye, I do, I'm pregnant, it's bad news I'm afraid. You might forget precisely what was said, but they change your life one way or the other and you never forget where you were, and what you were doing when you heard them.
If only judges heard what everyone else does.If you haven't already clicked the link to Fleet Street Fox's article, do so. Now.
Then, read Eva Wiseman's Naming and Shaming article in the Guardian. We need to start naming and shaming these violent misogynists. It's a disgrace that Charlie Sheen who has got form for domestic violence against more than one partner, "accidentally" shooting then girlfriend Kelly Preston in the arm, as well as the abuse of prostitutes now has another hit television series.
I'm sick of Chris Brown who violently assaulted his partner Rihanna.
I'm sick of Mike Tyson who has a conviction for rape and a history of domestic violence. I'm sick of the rape apologists who've financially supported Tyson's new career as a "motivational speaker". I'm pissed off at Spike Lee for directing Tyson in a one-man play which whitewashed Tyson's violent history. I'm pissed off at the rape apologists wearing Tyson's branded clothes.
I'm sick of the child rape apologists claiming that Roman Polanski's status as an "artiste" is more important than the child he drugged and sodomised. I'm pissed off at every child rape apologist who stood up and gave the man a standing ovation at the Oscars.
So, I'm with Eva Wiseman. Let's start calling these "men" out for what they really are: violent misogynistic thugs who deserve our contempt and our hatred. Let's do her dickhead detox.
James Brown: domestic violence*
Hugh Grant: abusing a prostitute
Ched Evans: rapist
Sean Connery: domestic violence
Ike Turner: domestic violence
Mel Gibson: probation for domestic violence [not to mention the issue of racism]
Harry Morgan: domestic violence
Tupac Shakur: sexual abuse
Richard Hatch: domestic assault
Tracy Lawrence: domestic abuse
Dennis Rodman: domestic abuse
Mickey Rourke: domestic abuse
Sean Penn: domestic abuse
Paul Gascoigne: domestic violence
Stan Collymore: domestic violence
Bill Wyman: child rape**
R. Kelly: domestic abuse [amongst some other horrifying accusations]
Micheal Lohan: domestic violence
Larry Fitzgerald: restraining order for domestic violence
Santonia Holmes: multiple arrests for domestic violence
Tommy Lee: domestic violence
Alec Baldwin: emotional abuse
Steven Tyler: child rape**
Iggy Pop: child rape**
Jerry Lee Lewis: child rape**
John Peel: child rape**
Jonathon King: child rape
Gary Glitter: possessing child pornography and child rape**
Johnny Thunders: child rape**
David Bowie: child rape**
Jimmy Page: child rape**
*I'm using both domestic abuse and domestic violence because the terms reflect the legal status of the crime in the jurisdictions in which the men were charged.
** None of these men were convicted of child rape. But, that's because we live in a society that celebrates male violence and doesn't give a shit about children.
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