Consider this a sequel to the Ezra Levant saga. For the moment, as in Levant’s case, the state’s hate-crime machinery requires the filing of a complaint to get it moving. Eventually it’ll move on its own, a sort of perpetual motion device seeking out and punishing offense even when no offense is taken. We’ve already seen it at work of late (although not always among state actors). Expect to see more of it in the UK and Canada in the near and not so near future:

A Muslim police officer given bacon and wine as a “Secret Santa” gift decided to treat it as a harmless if tasteless joke. But a non-Muslim colleague failed to show the same level of tolerance.

The officer who supplied the gift, 26-year-old PC Rob Murrie, was reported to his superiors for racism…

Yesterday the target of the joke, 31-year-old Arshad Mahmood, said he still regarded PC Murrie as “a good officer and a good friend”, while Muslim community leaders accused police chiefs of “overreacting” to the incident at Luton police station…

“I was called into a meeting with my sergeant, who said she was disgusted by what happened,” he said.

“I told her I knew it was meant as a joke and did not want to make a formal complaint. I just took it on the chin. But someone else in the room must have thought it was a racist incident, and reported it.”

Maybe, or maybe the presiding officer saw what happened and decided to move on it himself. The local imam says let’s forgive and forget, but it’s too late: Murrie’s quit the force and now wants to go abroad to find a new profession. One career ruined, religious tensions needlessly raised, the rap on Muslims for failing to assimilate into British culture unfairly (in this case) reinforced — it’s the perfect crime.