Clare In The News

CptSternn

Why is it whenever we read about Clare in National news it is never good?

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/lsquoi-get-daily-racist-abuse-for-being-a-coloured-taxi-driverrsquo-2980239.html

Last time it was about how the council hid EPA reports.

pappyodaniel

It just happens that this incident happened in Ennis. Racism is a very common problem for black taxi drivers all over the country. This incident went to court and because Mr Omoifo spoke up against racism when given the opportunity to do so in front of the media it has been highlighted nationwide.
I don't believe this incident highlights Ennis to be a hotspot for racial inequality, it's the country as a whole.

ollaetta

Matt Cooper had him on Today FM this evening. Discussion was about racism against taxi drivers in general rather than just in Ennis.

colm_mcm

I actually met that guy a few times through work, he's a really nice guy.

Balagan

I hope the Mods never have cause or choose to delete these responses to this sickening news story. They really are very telling and extremely depressing.

Basically, it can be summed up as 'Ennis is racist but then so is everywhere else.'

Nothing to express shame or regret. Nothing about what can be done to improve the situation. Or even if it should be improved.

What was that quote again about how all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing?

User Friendly

did anyone see Martin whites response on tv3 to this incident. it defies belief.

Balagan

User Friendly wrote: »

did anyone see Martin whites response on tv3 to this incident. it defies belief.

"There would be no racial abuse in this town, never has and never will be".

Indeed.

http://www.tv3.ie/news.php?request=&tv3_preview=&video=44045
Story begins at 03:33

Atilathehun

Every week end of the year, taxi drivers of all races, creeds and colours get drunken abuse and grief from "wait for it", passenengers of all races creeds and colours.
This case was highlighted because it went to court, and it seems more newsworthy because it's a black guy getting beat up by a white guy.

Suppose the bleeding hearts on here will now say I'm a member of the KKK:eek:

pappyodaniel

Atilathehun wrote: »

Every week end of the year, taxi drivers of all races, creeds and colours get drunken abuse and grief from "wait for it", passenengers of all races creeds and colours.
This case was highlighted because it went to court, and it seems more newsworthy because it's a black guy getting beat up by a white guy.

Suppose the bleeding hearts on here will now say I'm a member of the KKK:eek:

I'm a white, Irish taxi-driver and I witness this type of racism on a regular basis. Not just from paying customers but more worryingly, from fellow taxi-drivers. Indigenous Irish drivers against Nigerian drivers, Indian drivers against Polish drivers but mainly white (Irish) against black (African).
There's a simmering hatred of the black drivers mainly because business ain't great due to the amount of new taxi license holders on our roads and it really is dog eat dog at the taxi ranks. I don't work out of the ranks anymore, mainly due to the bickering and sheer childishness of the drivers.
Hell I've even been punched, kicked and been the victim of a failed robbery at a taxi rank but I've never had racist abuse directed at me at the same time.

dr.fuzzenstein

Sadly when times are tough people will vent against minorities it seems, it's the same in Germany where there is a very dangerous and extremely violent element of skinheads and neo nazis.
Personally I don't get it, I only categorise people into two groups, bastards and nice people and I don't really care where they come from and what they believe.
Abusing someone on the basis of what they look like is wrong and sick in the head, but sadly it's everywhere on this planet. It's not a white monopoly, but this doesn't make it any better.
And I also believe that Ennis is no worse than anywhere else, but this kind of sh*te cannot be tolerated.

CptSternn

We have Nigerians and the Polish, America has Mexicans. When times are tough, some people like to point fingers as those who are different.

The reality is the ruling class, those with multiple homes who have so much money they can't spend it perpetuate this idea to keep us fighting amongst ourselves.

It all comes back to the distribution of wealth. 1% in this country owns 34% of all the wealth. The top 10% controls like 85%. That means the rest of us 90% of the population are fighting for 15% of the wealth that is left, the scraps.

People are quick to turn on people around them and ignore the fact puppet masters on a level most cannot comprehend are the ones we should be focusing our angry towards.

Think of it this way -

It was explained to me by one of my econ professors many years ago with this very story (which is why it is a bit dated so bear with me). JKF Jr., who at the time was still alive, had some court debacle and his finances ended up in the paper, which is why he used him as an example. He had so much money in the bank, that even if he stayed in bed and didn't go to work, he made $5400 a day. He made that off the interest alone on the money and investments he held.

Think about that. If you said forget work today and stayed in bed, how much money would you MAKE? If you aren't one of the few who make money staying in bed then guess what? You are part of the 99% out here who are paying him and others like him for that privileged.

It comes down to interest. WE pay it, they get it. We borrow money from banks for cars, homes, etc. We PAY interest, the rich EARN interest. The divide between rich and poor is not quantified in monetary value, but in INTEREST. Either you are getting it or you are part of the masses paying it.

People should wake up to the fact it's not a colour thing, it's not a country thing - we fight among ourselves for the scraps that the privileged drop, people should wake up and realise that is exactly what they want us to do - as long as we engage in such activity we will not be able to unite with our fellow workers of all races and colours and actually enact change and stop the abuses being doled out to us from the ruling class.

Workers unite.

dr.fuzzenstein

Thank you my Captain!
And it's always been thus, there seems to be a small percentage who have the knack to amass power and money and liberally excercise that control over the rest of us.
There is a layer of society that is so vastly rich and powerful that the demise of the state would have little bearing on them.
Collapse in currency? They're way ahead and have their money abroad, in assets or currencies that are stable.
And it only works because we work like dumb schmucks and pay taxes like the a-holes we are.
And people who say "Dare You Not Question!", either have all the wit and guile of a three month old kitten, or are part of the problem, rather than the solution.
Anyone who says that as far as they are concerned nothing is going on, because of the absence of absolute proof, should get their head examined.
None so blind as those who do not wish to see.

Tora Bora

CptSternn wrote: »

We have Nigerians and the Polish, America has Mexicans. When times are tough, some people like to point fingers as those who are different.

The reality is the ruling class, those with multiple homes who have so much money they can't spend it perpetuate this idea to keep us fighting amongst ourselves.

It all comes back to the distribution of wealth. 1% in this country owns 34% of all the wealth. The top 10% controls like 85%. That means the rest of us 90% of the population are fighting for 15% of the wealth that is left, the scraps.

People are quick to turn on people around them and ignore the fact puppet masters on a level most cannot comprehend are the ones we should be focusing our angry towards.

Think of it this way -

It was explained to me by one of my econ professors many years ago with this very story (which is why it is a bit dated so bear with me). JKF Jr., who at the time was still alive, had some court debacle and his finances ended up in the paper, which is why he used him as an example. He had so much money in the bank, that even if he stayed in bed and didn't go to work, he made $5400 a day. He made that off the interest alone on the money and investments he held.

Think about that. If you said forget work today and stayed in bed, how much money would you MAKE? If you aren't one of the few who make money staying in bed then guess what? You are part of the 99% out here who are paying him and others like him for that privileged.

It comes down to interest. WE pay it, they get it. We borrow money from banks for cars, homes, etc. We PAY interest, the rich EARN interest. The divide between rich and poor is not quantified in monetary value, but in INTEREST. Either you are getting it or you are part of the masses paying it.

People should wake up to the fact it's not a colour thing, it's not a country thing - we fight among ourselves for the scraps that the privileged drop, people should wake up and realise that is exactly what they want us to do - as long as we engage in such activity we will not be able to unite with our fellow workers of all races and colours and actually enact change and stop the abuses being doled out to us from the ruling class.

Workers unite.

Ah yes! Let the workers unite, and seize wealth and power from the, wealthy.
It's been tried before you know. USSR.

Need I say more.

CptSternn

Tora Bora wrote: »

Ah yes! Let the workers unite, and seize wealth and power from the, wealthy.
It's been tried before you know. USSR.

Need I say more.

It worked for a while Trotsky put Marx into practice. Lenin was brilliant. Stalin wrecked the whole thing. Stalin was to socialism what GW Bush was to democracy.

All it takes is one corrupt leader to bring down what others spent their lifetimes building.

Our country is no different, as we are seeing now.

dr.fuzzenstein

CptSternn wrote: »

It worked for a while Trotsky put Marx into practice. Lenin was brilliant. Stalin wrecked the whole thing. Stalin was to socialism what GW Bush was to democracy.

All it takes is one corrupt leader to bring down what others spent their lifetimes building.

Our country is no different, as we are seeing now.

The problem is that the principle is sound, but as humans we are barely evolved apes, our instinct is to make sure we get the biggest banana, keep everyone else from having it and with that big banana (no pun intended;)) win over as many girls as possible.
I say girls, because maybe that instinct is stronger in the cavemen than the cave women (don't kid yourself into thinking we have evolved since then)
So once you find your banana tree, you have to keep others away from it.
And I suppose the US government has offered a nice, tasty bunch of bananas to the apes in government.
You would be surprised how easy every problem in our lives can be broken down into monkeys and bananas.
The original idea of Communism was that the bananas don't just belong to one monkey, all monkeys should work together to get as many bananas for the whole tribe as possible.
Sadly, in human evolutionary terms, corporation for the common good is a fairly new fangled idea and hasn't caught on with everyone yet, a lot of people still say "fcuk that, them's MINE bananas".
And that's what Stalin did, he worked out how to corrupt the system into everyone giving him all the bananas, whilst pretending to work for the common good.
For humanity to work together for the common good over personal gain will take another few millenia whilst evolution catches up.
We are barely sentient and intelligent, so a lot of the things we do are barbaric and savage, because that's what we are.

Tora Bora

SOCIALISIM: You have a farm, with one cow, you work hard and get a second cow. The government takes one and gives it to some lazy bastard, who gets out of bed at noon, and tunes into Sky TV, on his 60 inch PLASMA (with subsidised TV licence):o

Balagan

pappyodaniel wrote: »

I'm a white, Irish taxi-driver and I witness this type of racism on a regular basis. Not just from paying customers but more worryingly, from fellow taxi-drivers. Indigenous Irish drivers against Nigerian drivers, Indian drivers against Polish drivers but mainly white (Irish) against black (African).
There's a simmering hatred of the black drivers mainly because business ain't great due to the amount of new taxi license holders on our roads and it really is dog eat dog at the taxi ranks. I don't work out of the ranks anymore, mainly due to the bickering and sheer childishness of the drivers.
Hell I've even been punched, kicked and been the victim of a failed robbery at a taxi rank but I've never had racist abuse directed at me at the same time.

Thank you for this post. I imagine it was not easy to write. Do you think anything could be done to address the racism? After all, we are not born with racist attitudes but are taught them. More severe sentences would be one thing but really that is bolting the stable door too late. Are schools doing enough? Unions could really lead the way but from the union reaction to this story http://www.thejournal.ie/taxi-drivers-group-not-aware-of-racist-abuse-problem-320521-Jan2012/ , it seems unlikely.

Nevermind_

CptSternn wrote: »

Lenin was brilliant.

:eek:

Are you for fecking real?
Your knowledge of history is as warped as your knowledge of economics.

Lenin was not averse to mass murder, google a few things like the bread wars, or the sytematic murder of clergy.

And on topic, mods what the hell has this got to do with clare?
If you want to rant about extreme left ideas then take it to the politics forum where there are plenty of knowledgeable people to debunk your myths.

Balagan

I posted on topic, Nevermind, and would be very interested if you had anything to share in response as to how we can address the racism which even posters here accept is common, especially in respect of taxi drivers, and the recent court case and subsequent interview with the victim plainly shows that Ennis is no exception.

Insect Overlord

Nevermind_ wrote: »

And on topic, mods what the hell has this got to do with clare?
If you want to rant about extreme left ideas then take it to the politics forum where there are plenty of knowledgeable people to debunk your myths.

Lay off the back-seat modding, please. The thread was started in this forum because the event that inspired it happened in Clare. Simple as that.

dr.fuzzenstein

Tora Bora wrote: »

SOCIALISIM: You have a farm, with one cow, you work hard and get a second cow. The government takes one and gives it to some lazy bastard, who gets out of bed at noon, and tunes into Sky TV, on his 60 inch PLASMA (with subsidised TV licence):o

Capitalism:
Children were sometimes hit with a whip to make them work faster. In some factories, children's heads were dipped into cisterns if they became drowsy and sleepy. Children were also punished for arriving late for work or for talking to the other children and adults who were working. Apprentices who ran away from the factories were also punished. One of the systems to punish these children was called weighting. The supervisor would tie weights to the child's neck and make him or her walk around for everyone to see. This resulted in severe back and neck problems. Children who were sick were also put into specific parts of the factory isolated from the other workers. They were given harsher tasks to do. A typical workday consisted of working from 12AM-11PM.[1]

Nevermind_

Insect Overlord wrote: »

Lay off the back-seat modding, please. The thread was started in this forum because the event that inspired it happened in Clare. Simple as that.

@mods: my apologies, what I meant to say was what have posts on communism vs capitalism got to do with racism and taxi drivers in clare. I wasnt questioning the thread legitimacy but I take the back seat modding charge on the chin.

@Balagan, again apologies that wasnt directed at you, I should have phrased my post better.

I'd actually agree with you balagan that the taxi drivers union should be doing more to address this, but I dont think they want to shine a light on a subject that embarrasses them. Indeed their own membership may well be of a divided opinion on the importance of the subject.
From my own experiences I've never had a problem with a foreign taxi driver in Ireland regardless of skin type.

Balagan

The Mayor of Ennis thinks Ennis is not a racist town, apologizes to the man who was "supposedly" attacked and thinks the man who attacked him 'had his own problems'.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0112/1224310142603.html


So the way forward is to do absolutely nothing because nothing needs to be done because, according to the Mayor, there is no racism in Ennis.

It's called leadership.

Lady Chatterton

The Major of Ennis was also interviewed by Matt Cooper this evening on "The Last Word". It made for extremely uncomfortable listening.

CptSternn

'Supposedly attacked'? Does the mayor really think yer man faked the whole thing and the Gards arrested an innocent man?

Balagan

Balagan wrote: »

The Mayor of Ennis thinks Ennis is not a racist town, apologizes to the man who was "supposedly" attacked and thinks the man who attacked him 'had his own problems'.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0112/1224310142603.html


So the way forward is to do absolutely nothing because nothing needs to be done because, according to the Mayor, there is no racism in Ennis.

It's called leadership.

Correction I made an error in the above message. The Mayor of Ennis, Michael Guilfoyle, is reported in the Irish Times piece as stating at the Ennis town Council meeting that Ennis is not racist etc., but the apology to the man who was "supposedly" attacked was made not by Mr. Guilfoyle, the Mayor, but by Councillor Frankie Neylon. The journalist reported that after the meeting Mr. Neylon accepted that the taxi driver in question had been the subject of an assault.

Lady Chatterton

Link to Matt Cooper's interview with Mayor Michael Guilfoyle.

Part 1 (starts at 27:30)

http://media.todayfm.com/listenback/98/thursday/1/popup

The interview continues here

http://media.todayfm.com/listenback/98/thursday/2/popup

User Friendly

MrsD007 wrote: »

The Major of Ennis was also interviewed by Matt Cooper this evening on "The Last Word". It made for extremely uncomfortable listening.

What part of the interview with Guilfoyle was uncomfortable listening,sorry "extremely uncomfortable listening"

Lady Chatterton

User Friendly wrote: »

What part of the interview with Guilfoyle was uncomfortable listening,sorry "extremely uncomfortable listening"

Yes, and embarrassing too. Racist attacks on Taxi Drivers only happen in Dublin :rolleyes:

pappyodaniel

User Friendly wrote: »

What part of the interview with Guilfoyle was uncomfortable listening,sorry "extremely uncomfortable listening"

It was terrible from the moment Guilfoyle started his interview. He said nothing of substance and he didn't denounce the racial attack, so overall he done a terrible job representing the town of Ennis on a national radio station. It was an embarrassment and thankfully Matt Cooper wrapped it up fairly lively.

User Friendly

MrsD007 wrote: »

Yes, and embarrassing too. Racist attacks on Taxi Drivers only happen in Dublin :rolleyes:

Thats not what he was referring to. he was talking about punters not taking the first taxi in the rank.