Right wing extremist group behind Dublin Protest say Gardai

MrStuffins

nullzero wrote: »

So what your saying is that these groups aren't really going to be an issue post covid and aren't really a problem at all?

I see you haven't gotten around to reading this book yet.........

nullzero

MrStuffins wrote: »

I see you haven't gotten around to reading this book yet.........

By that standard everything you write here must be tongue in cheek then.

It would certainly explain a few things.

So just to get things straight, case numbers and hospitalisations aren't coming down, the vaccination programme is actually slowing down and normality isn't being resumed?

Or were you only being sarcastic in relation to saying that these groups won't be able to protest against their freedoms being taken away when their freedoms are no longer being taken away?

Do you believe that far right groups will have more to protest about when the lockdown is over?

MrStuffins

nullzero wrote: »

By that standard everything you write here must be tongue in cheek then.

It would certainly explain a few things.

Invidious

EmmetSpiceland wrote: »

I can only assume that, this time, the Gards won’t underestimate the number of far-right anti-RTÉ thugs out there.

What's your personal estimate of the number of "far-right anti-RTÉ thugs out there," Emmet? Are there hundreds? Thousands? Hundreds of thousands? More than the Gardai can handle, seemingly, since you are now calling for drafting in the Army.

We can’t allow this lunatic fringe jeopardise our re-opening.

I bet you were saying the same thing about the thousands of BLM protesters who took to the streets last spring, yes?

nullzero

MrStuffins wrote: »

You could do with reading that book yourself.

Acosta

People are still banging on about the BLM protests when various different right and far right activists have themselves organised several demonstrations throughout the last year. I also didn't agree with the BLM demonstrations during pandemic, but at least it happened at a time when there was around 40 cases a day in the entire country.

EmmetSpiceland

Whatabout whataboutery, hmm? HMMMM??

Richard Hillman

Acosta wrote: »

People are still banging on about the BLM protests when various different right and far right activists have themselves organised several demonstrations throughout the last year. I also didn't agree with the BLM demonstrations during pandemic, but at least it happened at a time when there was around 40 cases a day in the entire country.

The George Nkencho protests were when there were over 1000 a day. And they turned violent.

MrStuffins

EmmetSpiceland wrote: »

Whatabout whataboutery, hmm? HMMMM??

Have you considered........ now get this........

Have you considered answering any cricitism or bad word about the protest on Saturday with "But, what about a totally separate protest that happened in the past? Didn't that also take place?". 60% of the time it works, every time!

To be fair, it's a better argument than "Well, that man was just firing that firework into the air" :pac:

IngazZagni

Jinglejangle69 wrote: »

I can't understand the Irish left and right.

The far right being blamed for Saturday are nationalists carrying tricolours, who vote for SF who are left wing.

Anyone care to explain???

I've been thinking this for ages. Paddy Holohan, a Sinn Fein Councillor is also anti lockdown. He represents the opinions on the ground of the local Sinn Fein supporters. Very blurred line between far right and hard left a lot of the time.

https://www.independent.ie/news/councillor-paddy-holohan-doing-himself-and-his-community-a-disservice-says-sinn-fein-td-40146084.html

SexBobomb

MrStuffins wrote: »

Have you considered........ now get this........

Have you considered answering any cricitism or bad word about the protest on Saturday with "But, what about a totally separate protest that happened in the past? Didn't that also take place?". 60% of the time it works, every time!

To be fair, it's a better argument than "Well, that man was just firing that firework into the air" :pac:

Or maybe this what abouttery complaint is just a way to allow posters get out of being silent or supportive of one protest and then wanting the army called in against these protests to "crush them" as one poster put it. Or maybe they are just being sarcastic ?

MrStuffins

IngazZagni wrote: »

I've been thinking this for ages. Paddy Holohan, a Sinn Fein Councillor is also anti lockdown. He represents the opinions on the ground of the local Sinn Fein supporters. Very blurred line between far right and hard left a lot of the time.

Paddy is, and I say this with all due respect and having read his book and listened to dozens of episodes of his podcast, not the sharpest tool in the box.

MrStuffins

SexBobomb wrote: »

Or maybe this what abouttery complaint is just a way to allow posters get out of being silent or supportive of one protest and then wanting the army called in against these protests to "crush them" as one poster put it. Or maybe they are just being sarcastic ?

Seems a bit extreme. Think i'll go with..... no.

Invidious

IngazZagni wrote: »

I've been thinking this for ages. Paddy Holohan, a Sinn Fein Councillor is also anti lockdown. He represents the opinions on the ground of the local Sinn Fein supporters. Very blurred line between far right and hard left a lot of the time.

Despite the effort to equate "anti-lockdown" with "extremist," plenty of people opposed to the ongoing restrictions are neither far right nor far left. They are regular people concerned about their jobs, their businesses, their children's education, etc., and who believe that decisions such as banning click-and-collect retail or preventing people from going for a walk on an isolated beach 6 km from their homes are draconian and overbroad, harming people's livelihoods and mental health while doing nothing to curb the virus.

Such sentiments are widely held in the country. You don't need to be a card-carrying member of the far right or far left to feel this way.

IngazZagni

Agreed and I feel labelling everyone who attends these protests as far right only normalises the phrase. Suddenly someone who is far right doesn't seem that bad.....

keano_afc

Acosta wrote: »

People are still banging on about the BLM protests when various different right and far right activists have themselves organised several demonstrations throughout the last year. I also didn't agree with the BLM demonstrations during pandemic, but at least it happened at a time when there was around 40 cases a day in the entire country.

So there's an acceptable level of infection that determines whether a protest can or cant go ahead?

Elmer Blooker

This is extraordinary. IF* this is the guy who let off the firework why are the media going out of their way to ensure that his chances of a fair trial are zero!
I have NEVER seen reporting like this (I know its The Sun) ahead of a possible trial.
https://www.thesun.ie/news/6645619/firework-launch-protest-anti-lockdown-arrest/
* I said 'IF' as he hasn't been charged.

seamus

It'll go quiet in the media now.

Jake Merriman is in some serious ****. The district court judge has ruled the offence too serious to be dealt with by him so it'll go to the circuit or criminal court now to be tried.

https://www.rte.ie/news/courts/2021/0303/1200561-dublin-protest-courts/

Clearly the Judge disagrees with the assessment of some that he was just harmlessly setting off fireworks.

Acosta

keano_afc wrote: »

So there's an acceptable level of infection that determines whether a protest can or cant go ahead?

Did you even read it? I said I didn't agree with it. But there's a big difference between around 40 cases a day and 700 cases.

golfball37

Invidious wrote: »

Despite the effort to equate "anti-lockdown" with "extremist," plenty of people opposed to the ongoing restrictions are neither far right nor far left. They are regular people concerned about their jobs, their businesses, their children's education, etc., and who believe that decisions such as banning click-and-collect retail or preventing people from going for a walk on an isolated beach 6 km from their homes are draconian and overbroad, harming people's livelihoods and mental health while doing nothing to curb the virus.

Such sentiments are widely held in the country. You don't need to be a card-carrying member of the far right or far left to feel this way.

All accurate. The official narrative however is trying to portray it this way

keano_afc

Acosta wrote: »

Did you even read it? I said I didn't agree with it. But there's a big difference between around 40 cases a day and 700 cases.

Not according to the government.

EmmetSpiceland

Elmer Blooker wrote: »

This is extraordinary. IF* this is the guy who let off the firework why are the media going out of their way to ensure that his chances of a fair trial are zero!

Well, the video of him shooting off a firework into a Garda’s face won’t be doing much for his defence, nor will the other video of him shouting threats and abuse moments before that.

Muahahaha

nullzero wrote: »

If the Prime Time piece did one thing of value it displayed how the protest was made up of a large number of groups with varying opinions on topics related to the lockdown, some here claimed that the entire thing was organised by far right groups, which is patently untrue but it fits the narrative of the rise of the far right in Ireland, a narrative that is beginning to feel more and more like a paranoid fantasy.

Do you have a source for this or is it just opinion? Because I listened to Mark Tighe (who is a well respected journalist) and he said he has been tracking the Irish far right online for 6 months now. He reported than the main Facebook groups that are run by the Irish far right now have membership that tops 100,000 people. Yet you describe the rise of the Irish far right as "paranoid fantasy"? Which must mean Mark Tighe is imagining things despite tracking them online for the last six months Does not compute.

Invidious

Acosta wrote: »

But there's a big difference between around 40 cases a day and 700 cases.

Do you appreciate how quickly mass gatherings of thousands of unmasked people can turn 40 cases into 700 cases?

mariaalice

Drew Harris made an interesting point and it's about permission.

An individual could be a frustrated owner of a small barbers shop, or gym owner, or the owners of any small business that has been affected badly by the lockdown they may understand Covid, believed in science, law-abiding in general, however, they feel the lockdown has gone too far.

They organise a protest out of frustration which is their right to do but the thing is they have no control over who they attract could be some knucklehead who is intent on harming a Garda as a badge of honor or some political group who believe in riots and anarchy that is the real issue.

There is a not-insignificant amount of people who are disengaged from society in one way or another, in some European countries anarchy is a full-time lifestyle.

ohnonotgmail

mariaalice wrote: »

Drew Harris made an interesting point and it's about permission.

An individual could be a frustrated owner of a small barbers shop, or gym owner, or the owners of any small business that has been affected badly by the lockdown they may understand Covid, believed in science, law-abiding in general, however, they feel the lockdown has gone too far.

They organise a protest out of frustration which is their right to do but the thing is they have no control over who they attract could be some knucklehead who is intent on harming a Garda as a badge of honor or some political group who believe in riots and anarchy that is the real issue.

the protest was organised by the National Party. they didnt just turn up.

nullzero

Muahahaha wrote: »

Do you have a source for this or is it just opinion? Because I listened to Mark Tighe (who is a well respected journalist) and he said he has been tracking the Irish far right online for 6 months now. He reported than the main Facebook groups that are run by the Irish far right now have membership that tops 100,000 people. Yet you describe the rise of the Irish far right as "paranoid fantasy"? Which must mean Mark Tighe is imagining things despite tracking them online for the last six months Does not compute.

Let's look at things we can prove.

The National Party are the only far right part in the country.

In last years General election they received 4773 votes equating to 0.2% of all ballots cast.

As well respected as Mark Tighe may be, there is a deficit of 95,227 votes there.
People may have some connection with them online on social media platforms, they may not all be in the Irish state, something isn't computing alright, but to jump to a conclusion that the far right has 100,000 active supporters who will vote for the National Party in the next election doesn't make any sense.

mariaalice

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

the protest was organised by the National Party. they didnt just turn up.

I know that, but my point is how protests can be hijacked which is not good for democracy.

mariaalice

nullzero wrote: »

Let's look at things we can prove.

The National Party are the only far right part in the country.

In last years General election they received 4773 votes equating to 0.2% of all ballots cast.

As well respected as Mark Tighe may be, there is a deficit of 95,227 votes there.
People may have some connection with them online on social media platforms, they may not all be in the Irish state, something isn't computing alright, but to jump to a conclusion that the far right has 100,000 active supporters who will vote for the National Party in the next election doesn't make any sense.

Again it's about permission they might not feel comfortable spouting their views in public but are happy to sprout them online the existence of a far-right gives them permission online.

MrStuffins

nullzero wrote: »

In last years General election they received 4773 votes equating to 0.2% of all ballots cast.

Far-right voters does not equal far-right supporters