Occupy Limerick

Itsdacraic

Avatarr wrote: »

Any group, who have the courage to back up there convictions with actions should be supported.

So you're an Al Queada supporter then?

Avatarr

Itsdacraic wrote: »

So you're an Al Queada supporter then?

Taking a comment out of context like that, should be beneath a genuine poster. Really cheap shot.

Happy new year Itsdacraic.

Avatarr

ninty9er wrote: »

To be able to decide whether or not to support this group I'd need to know what it is it is trying to achieve. Nobody has been forthcoming in telling me what the goal of Occupy Limerick is, which is my main criticism.

Just did a google search, there is quite a bit of information up there, when I call round to them today, I will ask them about their goals and reserve my opinion until after I give them an opertunity to present their case.

Insect Overlord

Avatarr wrote: »

Taking a comment out of context like that, should be beneath a genuine poster.

And clichéd platitudes like "any group, who have the courage to back up there convictions with actions should be supported" aren't cheap at all...

Itsdacraic

Avatarr wrote: »

Itsdacraic wrote: »

So you're an Al Queada supporter then?

Taking a comment out of context like that, should be beneath a genuine poster. Really cheap shot.

Happy new year Itsdacraic.

Huh? When you make broad sweeping statements like the above they can be taken in many contexts, don't see it as a cheap shot.

Just because a group are doing something and calling it a protest doesn't mean it has to be supported. This isn't the large scale protest the organisers like to think it is. It's the same few likely heads who'll be off protesting against something else next year.

Avatarr

Insect Overlord wrote: »

And clichéd platitudes like "any group, who have the courage to back up there convictions with actions should be supported" aren't cheap at all...

Taken in the context it was meant, no I don't believe it was cheap, I have to agree with phog comment below. Happy new year IO.

phog wrote: »

Am I sorry I started this thread some of the posts are bordering on insulting, I never thought that a simple thread on a peaceful protest would bring out so much badness in people

Insect Overlord

You can't back up your argument so you're resorting to cheap personal comments. There's no "badness" in any of my posts here. There's cold realism and cynicism, but no badness.

Put simply, none of the posters who have expressed their support for the Occupy Limerick group have backed it up with anything stronger than "fair play to them" and other empty variations on the theme.

phog

MyKeyG wrote: »

I don't believe for an instant that you thought this thread would be easy going. The occupy protests have been a source of extreme worldwide controversy so please don't insult our intelligence by claiming to think it would not follow suit here.

I didn't really, I haven't done much by way of finding out what the whole purpose of the "occupy protests" are about but from the little I know and what I like about it is that it's peaceful, unobstrusive to the general public or workers.

Re the location in Limerick, while not on a very busy pedistrian street it is one of the main arteries for vehicular traffic in the city. If it blocking car park spots or slowing down traffic they'd be objections about it's location too.


Will it result in the government, ours and any other in changing policy, I've no real idea but I hope our government will start to learn that the low and middle income workers and familes in this country have been bled enough and it's time to look elsewhere for savings or income.

I fed up hearing Enda and Phil Hogan talk about it's only €2 a week for whatever charge they're bringing in.

Avatarr

Insect Overlord wrote: »

You can't back up your argument so you're resorting to cheap personal comments. There's no "badness" in any of my posts here. There's cold realism and cynicism, but no badness.

Put simply, none of the posters who have expressed their support for the Occupy Limerick group have backed it up with anything stronger than "fair play to them" and other empty variations on the theme.

Again happy new year, I will not get drawn into a war of words on this thread.

panda100

phog wrote: »

Re the location in Limerick, while not on a very busy pedistrian street it is one of the main arteries for vehicular traffic in the city. If it blocking car park spots or slowing down traffic they'd be objections about it's location too.

I presume that the chose that spot because If they had pitched somewhere like AIB on O'Connell street it would have been met with huge objections, If this thread is anything to go by.

Itsdacraic

Avatarr wrote: »

Insect Overlord wrote: »

You can't back up your argument so you're resorting to cheap personal comments. There's no "badness" in any of my posts here. There's cold realism and cynicism, but no badness.

Put simply, none of the posters who have expressed their support for the Occupy Limerick group have backed it up with anything stronger than "fair play to them" and other empty variations on the theme.

Again happy new year, I will not get drawn into a war of words on this thread.

LOL

Kess73

Avatarr wrote: »

Just did a google search, there is quite a bit of information up there, when I call round to them today, I will ask them about their goals and reserve my opinion until after I give them an opertunity to present their case.

If you get the chance I would suggest asking what you say you are going to ask to the Occupy groups in Cork or Galway if you pass that way.

I got chatting with one of the girls involved with Occupy Galway and asked what they were protesting/stood for, and did the same with one of the lads in Cork. I got conflicting reasons.

I have also chatted with some of the group involved with Occupy Liverpool, and at least there they had people who could explain how they were standing in solidarity with those involved in Occupy Wall street, and they were able to hand me a mission statement to read in my own time as well as being able to talk in some detail about what was on it. I was then told about their website for that particular Occupy as well as what social networking sites they were on. They were also clear in that the idea was to create a process through which people could get a grip on the problems they face, and to facilitate people in their efforts to do so. Whilst I did not end up agreeing with all they had to say, I did thank them for taking the time to explain

Then when I chatted with one of those on Liddy street in Limerick I got something different again. I thanked the person for their time as they were polite, and moseyed off wondering what was the point of that person being on a street that gets so little by way of foot traffic when the other three spots (Galway, Liverpool, and Cork) all were in locations where they came into contact with people on foot all day long and also what was the point if that person was unable to go into any detail as to what they were trying to achieve in Limerick. Now I may have met someone who might be not as clued in as the others involved, or someone who really had no interest in it, but it was still someone who was meant to be there for a cause and as such should have been able to talk about what was being protested there.

Fair enough you could say that they are all there to protest something different and have a different goal in mind, but to my mind if you are going to protest something under the one banner then surely you should have similar goals and be protesting against the same things. At one of the three locations I got the impression that the person I was talking to was protesting for the sake of protesting.

I support anyone's freedom to protest and to defend their own beliefs (as long as they do not willfully harm others in doing so), but I find it harder to take a protest in a serious manner when some of the people involved cannot stick to their own scripts, or when they cannot give reasons that don't have lots of "well y'know" and "because" in place of actual sentences.

Kess73

Just spotted that there is a story on Occupy Limerick on the Leader site.


http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/local/occupy_limerick_protestor_s_car_stolen_and_burnt_out_1_3371375

Published on Saturday 31 December 2011 14:00


THE TRICOLOUR hangs in a makeshift camp on Liddy Street in the city where the Occupy Limerick protestors have made their home for the past month.


But those protesting in the hope of creating a new Ireland feel that “the country that people worked and fought for is going to rack and ruin, and being sold out from under us.”

“The spirit of the country is just dead,” said Mairead Ahern, 29, from Thomondgate, who spent Christmas day in the camp, and will ring in the New Year there too.

The industrial design graduate contemplated emigrating to Canada to find work, but decided to stay in the hope that their actions here might make some difference. “It’s very tempting [to emigrate], but I thought maybe someone should stick around and sort something out,” she adds.

College loans added to her decision to stay here, and she recently got an internship under the Job Bridge scheme with an energy renewal company but has no plans to give her up call to the movement just yet.

While other protestors went home to spend Christmas day in the warmth, she had no qualms in taking over this shift.

“Not to sound harsh, but the majority of us wouldn’t believe in the whole Christmas hype anyway. We enjoy spend time with our families, but the whole commercial aspect wouldn’t appeal to me at all,” she said.

Fellow activist Terry Irwin, 47, who is originally from the Liberties in Dublin, is here because he wants to create a better future for his 11 year-old son. “I want to look at my son and whatever way it goes say I tried to do something.”

They are among 20 regular volunteers with the Occupy movement in Limerick, which has now stretched to some 3,000 camps worldwide, manned by those who have become disenchanted with the social and economic divisions capitalism has created. All have followed the initial Occupy Wall Street movement which began last September.

But their presence in Limerick isn’t always greeted with the goodwill typified by the Christmas season.

Sitting on a couch donated to the movement, and with a sleeping bag wrapped around her for warmth, Ms Ahern said the number of people who support them and are against them is “about 50/50.”

“We have to run with the positive feedback and ignore the negative. If you listened to the negative reaction you’d never do anything,” she says.

Over Christmas one volunteer’s car was robbed and later found burnt out on the northside of the city, after they turned away some young people who approached the tent with a “bag of cans”.

“We operate a no drink and no drug policy here. This is not a place you can go if you can’t get into Nancy’s [Nancy Blake’s bar]. But we have tea and coffee here for anyone who wants to come in for a chat,” he said.

source

panda100 wrote: »

phog wrote: »

Re the location in Limerick, while not on a very busy pedistrian street it is one of the main arteries for vehicular traffic in the city. If it blocking car park spots or slowing down traffic they'd be objections about it's location too.

I presume that the chose that spot because If they had pitched somewhere like AIB on O'Connell street it would have been met with huge objections, If this thread is anything to go by.

And what's wrong with that? Do you believe that the protesters are the only ones allowed to air their views? People are entitled to their opinions, we live in a democracy, if people object they are just exercising their right to do so, just as the protesters are exercising their right to protest.

Although having read the occupy wiki page and having googled the occupy movement. I'm still none the wiser, as to what it is exactly they're trying to achieve.

Brian Lighthouse

Insect Overlord wrote: »

You can't back up your argument so you're resorting to cheap personal comments. There's no "badness" in any of my posts here. There's cold realism and cynicism, but no badness.

Put simply, none of the posters who have expressed their support for the Occupy Limerick group have backed it up with anything stronger than "fair play to them" and other empty variations on the theme.

Can I draw your attention to my post on page one of this thread?

xsiborg

Kess73 wrote: »

Just spotted that there is a story on Occupy Limerick on the Leader site.

http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/local/occupy_limerick_protestor_s_car_stolen_and_burnt_out_1_3371375

“We operate a no drink and no drug policy here. This is not a place you can go if you can’t get into Nancy’s [Nancy Blake’s bar]. But we have tea and coffee here for anyone who wants to come in for a chat,” he said.

Stab*City

RonMexico

I hate to say this but I really fail to see the point of Occupy Limerick. Indeed the whole Occupy movement suffers from a lack of cohesion and a direct message with a plan of action to back it up. Although I do think it is admirable that these people want to change the current status quo I think they are going about it all the wrong way.

Sitting in a tent on an empty street in Limerick is pointless. It plays into the hands of the people they are protesting against. Out of sight, out of mind.

They should take a leaf out of the civil rights movement in the 60's if they want to achieve something. This calls for direct action, clear leadership and a set of defined goals. Vague slogans and gatherings in tents, upsetting nobody is going to lead nowhere.

As it stands they are not far removed from entrants in a beauty pageant calling for world peace.

Mc Love

Shouldnt they be moved on?? Isnt it illegal camping? Or have they sought permission to set up there?

TheEntertainer

Ok I gotta say for 1, as someone who studied risk management and economics in UL, and for someone who agrees with the occupy movement in general, For fek sake lads, yere outside the old dunnes in the month of December. Why are ye calling it Occupy Limerick, Ye might as well call it Occupy Winter Wonderland ha ha (seeing as Santa experience was in Dunnes and the icerink around the corner) In Dublin and New York they set up outside the central banks to protest against the bankers. In Limerick, Lets protest against Rudolph I just think its funny

TheEntertainer

I also gotta say, Great Marquee. I picked one of them up in Lidl before haha.. And love the Tent made out of pallets and random canvas haha

skyguy19

Lads that is one sad state of afffairs, really an abandoned marque and a few pallets, thats it. that is serving no purpose, it embarrassing, the only good thing there is Mairead, she is one hot mama

TheEntertainer

Like the whole point of the occupy movement is to show opposition to the banks. But what we are seeing here is a waste of time. The Occupy movement on Dame St in Dublin, Thats the position an occupy movement should be placed in. The only bank around that area is Permanent TSB. The movement should be in a position outside one of the main banks such as AIB or BOI. Theyre 2 of the main institutions responsible for the mess we have in our finance markets. PTSB has a tiny market share so why would you position a movement outside a bank which consists of mainly non-commercial accounts?

phog

TheEntertainer wrote: »

Like the whole point of the occupy movement is to show opposition to the banks. But what we are seeing here is a waste of time. The Occupy movement on Dame St in Dublin, Thats the position an occupy movement should be placed in. The only bank around that area is Permanent TSB. The movement should be in a position outside one of the main banks such as AIB or BOI. Theyre 2 of the main institutions responsible for the mess we have in our finance markets. PTSB has a tiny market share so why would you position a movement outside a bank which consists of mainly non-commercial accounts?

Why dont you set up camp in a location that you think is more suited to the protest, what would be wrong be two "Occupy Limerick" sites, now that might grab some attention.

The Snipe

phog wrote: »

Why dont you set up camp in a location that you think is more suited to the protest, what would be wrong be two "Occupy Limerick" sites, now that might grab some attention.

Cause me and him would find a pub on the way and get lost :P

TheEntertainer

phog wrote: »

Why dont you set up camp in a location that you think is more suited to the protest, what would be wrong be two "Occupy Limerick" sites, now that might grab some attention.

Because I couldnt be bothered. Why would I want to camp out in this weather when I could go to the pub instead? I like to call it a silent protest. :P

gaf1983

I think initially they wanted to place the camp in Arthur's Quay park but Limerick on Ice was using this so they went across the road, perhaps they'll move to the park after the ice rink is taken down, so perhaps that's why they're not in such a prominent position.

I understand the criticism of people who just say "Fair play to them for making a stand on the issue" - (to compare them to Al Qaeda supporters as someone has done on this forum is facetious though). However, given the levels of political apathy in this country (see: Election turnouts over the last number decades) I think it is a good thing that these protesters, employed and unemployed, make a stand because at least it gets people talking about the problems facing this country. And we have big problems, such as the fact that "come March, the first payment on the promissory notes for Anglo and Nationwide will amount, with interest, to significantly more than was cut or raised in extra taxes in the entire budget". (Fintan O'Toole, Irish Times, today)

They have a Facebook page here if anyone wants to talk to them about their aims/methods here:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-limerick/311952878814872

RonMexico

The thing is they are putting zero pressure on the Government with their tactics. They'll be happy to let them rot where they are in their tents. Instead they should be picketing TD's clinics and organising protests outside city hall and bank branches/headquarters.

As it stands they are not bothering anyone who is in a position to change the current situation.

Their entire campaign needs a major re-think.

Itsdacraic

gaf1983 wrote: »

I think initially they wanted to place the camp in Arthur's Quay park but Limerick on Ice was using this so they went across the road, perhaps they'll move to the park after the ice rink is taken down, so perhaps that's why they're not in such a prominent position.

I understand the criticism of people who just say "Fair play to them for making a stand on the issue" - (to compare them to Al Qaeda supporters as someone has done on this forum is facetious though).

Show me where they were compared to Al Qaeda supporters please?

gaf1983

Itsdacraic wrote: »

So you're an Al Queada supporter then?

which was said in response to Avatarr's very poorly phrased comment in support of those in the tents:

Any group, who have the courage to back up there convictions with actions should be supported.