Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Green Senator Ó Brolcháin - Boards.ie responsible for public hysteria over recession

Options
  • 13-11-2010 1:35pm
    #1
    ToadVine
    Closed Accounts Posts: 659 ✭✭✭


    I just saw this on another website and decided it deserved a thread here.

    In the Seanad on Wednesday, Green Party Senator Niall Ó Brolcháin spoke during a debate on the effects of the recession on mental health and said that boards.ie was responsible for "creating hysteria" over how bad things are.

    Here's the quote from KildareStreet.com ...
    Another phenomenon is that of group think on websites such as www.politics.ie where many people who are wound up to 90 are writing all types of vitriolic things. Those involved are purporting to be people representing society. However bad our public broadcaster is, sites such as www.boards.ie or www.politics.ie are creating hysteria in terms of their content in regard to how bad things are and how badly people are being hammered. That is not good for mental health.

    I have to admit I'm stunned by this. I'm off to cool down for an hour or two before I comment here ... if I was to post now I'd definitely get banned :mad::mad::mad:


«134

Comments

  • Options
    #2
    Nodin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 46,938 ✭✭✭✭Nodin


    Haven't been over the other place in a while, but certainly here is no worse than the mood generally.....If the dear senator was here I'd like to see the threads linked to, tbh.


  • Options
    #3
    bleg
    Registered Users Posts: 5,848 ✭✭✭bleg


    He's just annoyed because people are posting links from other countries who state independently that the country is in dire circumstances. Switch on RTÉ and one of the main stories is how worse off Latvia are!!

    Pure propaganda!


  • Options
    #4
    genericguy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,831 ✭✭✭genericguy


    because nobody in pubs, supermarkets, workplaces and at home ever expresses their concern at the fact that ireland has been sold out from under us and our leaders are consistently spinning webs of lies about the state of the country's finances.

    in compliance with the new policy on personal abuse, i will not call him a cnut.


  • Options
    #5
    Nodin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 46,938 ✭✭✭✭Nodin


    genericguy wrote: »
    because nobody in pubs, supermarkets, workplaces and at home ever expresses their concern at the fact that ireland has been sold out from under us and our leaders are consistently spinning webs of lies about the state of the country's finances.

    in compliance with the new policy on personal abuse, i will not call him a cnut.

    It is fair comment to say he's demonstratably talking shite, however.


  • Options
    #6
    Sand
    Registered Users Posts: 12,495 ✭✭✭✭Sand


    Its seems the people of this country have lost the confidence of the government.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #7
    mikemac
    Closed Accounts Posts: 19,986 ✭✭✭✭mikemac


    There is hysteria though sometimes

    I remember another thread not in Politics forum about a friend of a friend story saying bank of Ireland were not paying withdrawals to customers

    If Liveline can start a run on Nothern Bank, boards.ie has the potential to do the same

    The mods swiftly sorted it though, fair play


  • Options
    #8
    My name is URL
    Registered Users Posts: 25,067 ✭✭✭✭My name is URL


    feelingstressed wrote: »
    There is hysteria though sometimes

    I remember another thread not in Politics forum about a friend of a friend story saying bank of Ireland were not paying withdrawals to customers

    If Liveline can start a run on Nothern Bank, boards.ie has the potential to do the same

    The mods swiftly sorted it though, fair play

    There's tonnes of hysterical nonsense posted in AH.. which is probably more visible than Politics and threads are allowed to run for much longer. And there is a lot of vitriol in what is said. I'm not saying that it isn't deserved in many cases but it's there and it's not surprising that someone has mentioned it.


  • Options
    #9
    stepbar
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,123 ✭✭✭stepbar


    There will always be hysterical people. It's a pity they wouldn't keep their opinion to themselves because more often than not, there's not a shred of substance to it. The fact boards.ie etc exist is because we, thankfully, still have some sort of democracy left. The truth should be heard, hysterics no.


  • Options
    #10
    RonMexico
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,916 ✭✭✭RonMexico


    Well maybe Senator Niall Ó Brolcháin should join up to boards and share the reasons why people should not getting hysterical.

    Maybe he can use this as an avatar.

    9204_comical_ali_jpg.jpeg


  • Options
    #11
    oppenheimer1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,084 ✭✭✭oppenheimer1


    ToadVine wrote: »
    I just saw this on another website and decided it deserved a thread here.

    In the Seanad on Wednesday, Green Party Senator Niall Ó Brolcháin spoke during a debate on the effects of the recession on mental health and said that boards.ie was responsible for "creating hysteria" over how bad things are.

    Here's the quote from KildareStreet.com ...



    I have to admit I'm stunned by this. I'm off to cool down for an hour or two before I comment here ... if I was to post now I'd definitely get banned :mad::mad::mad:

    Have a quick look over at the wild west that is politics.ie and you will see plenty of threads and posts written by people who would be best described as social arsonists. Whats worse is these people try and pass themselves off as having a deep understanding of economics... they will of course be able to link to the FT articles and blogs to make themselves appear credible. However any critical analysis will show that these people are talking through their arse and don't have a clue what they are talking about.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #12
    jd
    Registered Users Posts: 5,683 ✭✭✭jd


    He got torn apart a few times on politics.ie when he tried to debate issues on the board.
    http://www.politics.ie/members/630.html

    He didn't like the slagging he got after his performance on the Vincent Browne Show
    http://www.tv3.ie/videos.php?video=28888&locID=1.65.169&page=1


  • Options
    #13
    mikemac
    Closed Accounts Posts: 19,986 ✭✭✭✭mikemac


    Difficult for anyone to debate issues on that board


  • Options
    #14
    FreudianSlippers
    Registered Users Posts: 20,397 ✭✭✭✭FreudianSlippers


    My name is URL wrote: »
    There's tonnes of hysterical nonsense posted in AH.. which is probably more visible than Politics and threads are allowed to run for much longer. And there is a lot of vitriol in what is said. I'm not saying that it isn't deserved in many cases but it's there and it's not surprising that someone has mentioned it.
    I agree. The amount of crazy, uninformed, B.S. posts and threads in AH is almost unbelievable.


  • Options
    #15
    PeterIanStaker
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,072 ✭✭✭PeterIanStaker


    the greens will be gone soon and good riddance


  • Options
    #16
    paulaa
    Registered Users Posts: 1,184 ✭✭✭paulaa


    Hysteria or not, it wouldn't dawn on the esteemed Senator that the Irish public are extremely angry with the mess the politicians have made of this country. Like his TD colleagues, he is trying to place blame for this on others, anyone but where the real fault lies.

    They need to come down from their insulated, gold plated ivory towers and realise the depth of feeling in this country atm.


  • Options
    #17
    flutered
    Registered Users Posts: 6,670 ✭✭✭flutered


    another reason i do not watch drivel on tv.


  • Options
    #18
    bcirl03
    Registered Users Posts: 484 ✭✭bcirl03


    PeterIanStaker wrote: »
    the greens will be gone soon and good riddance

    +1, I for one cant wait.

    Ó Brolcháin is like the rest of his Green friends - a waste of space.

    He's afraid of free speech - hysteria or not and that's what it boils down to......


  • Options
    #19
    Eliot Rosewater
    Registered Users Posts: 3,745 ✭✭✭Eliot Rosewater


    I suspect that Senator O'Brolchain is merely annoyed about the freedom of speech that boards.ie and politics.ie both offer. There's no safe bubble here, and there's little scope for making silly statements without someone correcting you. This is in contrast to traditional media and debating outlets, like the papers and debating societies, which are far less accountable than the online forums.

    When you focus most of your polical attention on boards.ie it becomes hard to read the papers becase there is so much you would like to challenge!


  • Options
    #20
    hallelujajordan
    Registered Users Posts: 2,080 ✭✭✭hallelujajordan


    paulaa wrote: »
    Hysteria or not, it wouldn't dawn on the esteemed Senator that the Irish public are extremely angry with the mess the politicians have made of this country. Like his TD colleagues, he is trying to place blame for this on others, anyone but where the real fault lies.

    They need to come down from their insulated, gold plated ivory towers and realise the depth of feeling in this country atm.

    He does have a point about those who come on here purporting to represent "the people" like the post above . . .

    How many threads have we had on here calling for a revolution on the streets on behalf of "the people" . . Actions speak louder than words and the people clearly don't want revolution.


  • Options
    #21
    mikemac
    Closed Accounts Posts: 19,986 ✭✭✭✭mikemac


    Yes. I see so many threads calling for marches and action or even a new party but of course, the OP wants to sit back and someone else to organize them

    Sums up a lot I reckon


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #22
    murphaph
    Registered Users Posts: 19,018 ✭✭✭✭murphaph


    I guess the esteemed senator has just given us another reason to abolish the senate!


  • Options
    #23
    Laminations
    Registered Users Posts: 4,693 ✭✭✭Laminations


    Peopleare extremely angry but it's disorganised anger curbed by an overwhelming worry about what each of us has left along with a frustration that almost equals learned helplessness that has so far prevented violent riots. There is plenty of sense spoken on boards and many good debates but amongst the rational debate there are people venting and rightly so - this may come across as hysteria but the senator should count his lucky stars that Irish people have these conduits to express themselves rather than venting their anger on the streets, smashing up banks and storming the Dail where men like him, in such a scenario, would likely get a brick to the face.

    Is that suggestion that many may want to physically punish the political class (as there has been an absence of all other accountability so far) hysterical enough for you Niall?


  • Options
    #24
    ei.sdraob
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,376 ✭✭✭ei.sdraob


    murphaph wrote: »
    I guess the esteemed senator has just given us another reason to abolish the senate!

    Another entry to add to the Greens "cons" column


  • Options
    #25
    Manach
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 9,674 Mod ✭✭✭✭Manach


    Surely a Pro column entry: ending the senate.


  • Options
    #26
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 81,870 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    So he either thinks the content on boards and politics isnt user-generated, or he thinks the sites should take the collective approach to stifle discussion in a way not seen before.

    I think he's only picking the two examples because it's all Pub-talk, and you can't really cite anectodal "When I was at the pub mary was talkin about.." references but what you can do is link to a website that keeps an archive of 99.99% of it's discussions.

    It's a bit short-sighted, really. The discussions here merely reflect what is already being discussed in meatspace.


  • Options
    #27
    johnnyskeleton
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Politics Moderators Posts: 14,478 Mod ✭✭✭✭johnnyskeleton


    Where was he when people on boards.ie and askaboutmoney.ie were pumping property and bank shares? Did he comment then about the effects of undue positivity?

    The only difference as I see it is that there is slightly more rationality and reason on the way down as there was on the way up.

    By the way senator, if you have any problem with any paritcular post, feel free to tell the moderators.


  • Options
    #28
    ei.sdraob
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,376 ✭✭✭ei.sdraob


    johnnyskeleton wrote: »
    Where was he when people on boards.ie and askaboutmoney.ie were pumping property and bank shares? Did he comment then about the effects of undue positivity?

    The only difference as I see it is that there is slightly more rationality and reason on the way down as there was on the way up.

    By the way senator, if you have any problem with any paritcular post, feel free to tell the moderators.

    Askabout money is a bad example

    they do actively stiffle discussion (with the owner being a FF puppet) and are still over-positive (well since anything negative gets removed) on everything


  • Options
    #29
    Poly
    Registered Users Posts: 1,807 ✭✭✭Poly


    Yeah, senator, we're all here cribbin an moanin.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfjGSfuSQpA


  • Options
    #30
    murphaph
    Registered Users Posts: 19,018 ✭✭✭✭murphaph


    Looking at that video it really saddens me................that the Irish electorate returned that man and his party to government so many times :(


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #31
    johnnyskeleton
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Politics Moderators Posts: 14,478 Mod ✭✭✭✭johnnyskeleton


    ei.sdraob wrote: »
    Askabout money is a bad example

    they do actively stiffle discussion (with the owner being a FF puppet) and are still over-positive (well since anything negative gets removed) on everything

    I think it is a good example, because AAM stifled contrarian views while encouraging the popular and incorrect ones.

    The senator is complaining now that there isn't surpression of the majority view or that there isn't a more equal debate.

    Why didn't he ask for a more equal debate on AAM in 2006?


Advertisement