Racism increase in Ireland

[eamo]

Taxi driving as a profession (my da is a taxi driver) seems to contain a high proportion of racists and I cant explain why and this is not confined to any one race or nationality. The behaviour at that rank in town on O Connell St is meant to be the worst.

Look at the post I put up about DRM Ireland the other night! They are the worst example...

I had a look at your post concerning the DRM fluffy, they seem to be just a tiny, ultra right group of nutcases and nothing at all to do with taxi drivers of any race. I had never heard of them, and I bet no one else here had heard of them before you drew our attention to them. Sometimes its best to ignore such groups. Monitor them by all means, but dont exaggerate the threat they pose or give them publicity. These small groups spring up from time to time, I am old enough to remember a group called the NSIWP (National Socialist Irish Workers Party). They were around maybe 30 years ago and were energetic for a while, but faced with total indifference and unable to get any support they eventually disappeared. It is time enough imo to campaign against such groups when they seem to be developing beyond a web site.

About your allegation concerning the O Connell St. rank you should maybe be a little more skeptical about what you are told.

[Kev Bar]

My favourite recollection on coming home to a new multi-racial Ireland was how it suddenly made socialists out of so many taxi-drivers.

On passing by groups of homeless junkies the refrain was now: "Why can't we take care of our own?"

When I left a decade before, it used to be: "Jail is too good for them."

Now that's what call "progress".

[eamo]

My favourite recollection on coming home to a new multi-racial Ireland was how it suddenly made socialists out of so many taxi-drivers.

On passing by groups of homeless junkies the refrain was now: "Why can't we take care of our own?"

When I left a decade before, it used to be: "Jail is too good for them."

Now that's what call "progress".

Hi Kev, correct me if I am wrong but I bet that your "favorite recollection" about coming home was not a supposed change in some taxi drivers attitudes to drug addicts. I recon you were just making up a story to illustrate a point. Nothing wrong with that, but I cant work out what point you were making. Like to give us a hint?

[Kev Bar]

Hi Kev, correct me if I am wrong but I bet that your "favorite recollection" about coming home was not a supposed change in some taxi drivers attitudes to drug addicts. I recon you were just making up a story to illustrate a point. Nothing wrong with that, but I cant work out what point you were making. Like to give us a hint?

Yeah: racism had made "socialists"out of those who had previously been of a fascist bent.

Or to really spell it out: the arrival of the "other" promoted a faux concern about "us."

Re favourite...it's certainly up there. Hit me like a thunderbolt when I heard the first of what was to become a genre of utterances.

[eamo]

Yeah: racism had made "socialists"out of those who had previously been of a fascist bent.

I wish that it were so, unfortunately I must disagree. In my experience folk of a fascist or right wing bent seldom see the sense of Socialism. If anything they tend to drift further to the right seeing the answer to all of humanity's problems in the magic power of markets and the joys of "competition".

Or to really spell it out: the arrival of the "other" promoted a faux concern about "us."

On this we can agree. However we should not be so cynical as to presume all expressed concern for the plight of, for example drug addicts, is fake.

Re favourite...it's certainly up there. Hit me like a thunderbolt when I heard the first of what was to become a genre of utterances.

Right so, I thought you were just using a hypothetical utterance to make a point.


And thanks for your reply, and especially for not succumbing to the goofy shorthand of "the racist taxi driver" stereotype to make your points.

[Kev Bar]

Well I pondered on my concern for a while and worked my way through disgust by looking at the fact Ireland went multi racial in five years as opposed to 5 decades in England.
And despite the shock, no-one has got anywhere (yet) on a racist platform.
We have had no Enoch Powells, no entrenched National Front etc.

The nearest we got was Declan Ganley and thankfully he was pretty much just a shyster.

This is not a paen to complacency.

But at the same time, I think, on the bigger picture, Paddy has behaved OK.

Tough times can change that.

[eamo]

But at the same time, I think, on the bigger picture, Paddy has behaved OK.

.

Now there IS something you should edit. Smacks of self-loathing, and tugging the forelock type gombeenism. Which I know you dont mean.

[YeahRight]

Once again the real fascists want to decide who is allowed to express an opinion. So, you do not want to limit free speech so long as it concurs with your opinions., fluffybiscuit.

What a pathetic country we live in, spinelessness should be added as a cultural characteristic at this stage.

[C. Flower]

Once again the real fascists want to decide who is allowed to express an opinion. So, you do not want to limit free speech so long as it concurs with your opinions., fluffybiscuit.

What a pathetic country we live in, spinelessness should be added as a cultural characteristic at this stage.

Do you think there should be any legal limitations at all one what one person can say to another ?

[sullivan]

Do you think there should be any legal limitations at all one what one person can say to another ?

People should be free to say they don't like whatever group for whatever reason. You can't impose tolerance by legislation. However, the line should be drawn at incitement to violence or acts of violence against any group.

[tea drinker]

Returning here from North Africa after 2 1/2 years the people seem fierce aggressive, but only about trivial things like personal space or car spaces.
Most are still not inspired to be angry about their money being robbed from them though.

I think this racism is just picking an easy target for bullying.

[C. Flower]

Returning here from North Africa after 2 1/2 years the people seem fierce aggressive, but only about trivial things like personal space or car spaces.
Most are still not inspired to be angry about their money being robbed from them though.

I think this racism is just picking an easy target for bullying.

That's an interesting insight. People are stressed, and are trying to deal with it as individuals, in the old ways, imo. The enthusiasm for Gallagher, an out and out me feiner, is part of that.

[Fraxinus]

Notice how you won't see Special Branch harrassing the likes of Stromfront, instead they'd prefer to spend their time criminalising republicans.

[irishuk]

Once again the real fascists want to decide who is allowed to express an opinion. So, you do not want to limit free speech so long as it concurs with your opinions., fluffybiscuit.

What a pathetic country we live in, spinelessness should be added as a cultural characteristic at this stage.

Its nice to see someone voice what I'm sure many readers on here feel.
If this site is to remain interesting and free then all views of members should be debated,whether they agree with yours or not.
The continuous knocking of fellow working class Irish people and condemning them as racist and requiring 'monitoring' whilst ignoring the enormous changes to this country which have happened so quickly is tantamount to gross stupidity.

[fluffybiscuits]

Once again the real fascists want to decide who is allowed to express an opinion. So, you do not want to limit free speech so long as it concurs with your opinions., fluffybiscuit.

What a pathetic country we live in, spinelessness should be added as a cultural characteristic at this stage.

Are you one of the DRM heads ? Free speech is fine if only to remind us its a tag for some idiots whom are so insecure and cant face up to change resort to being keyboard warriors. There is no problem speaking freely as long as its not to the detriment of others . Oh the irony of calling me spineless when all some of you lot can do is whine about others taking your jobs et al. The problem with the fascists and their ilk in this country is they have no balls. They always get chased out of Dublin by AFA and just for the record it seems some of the fascists in Ireland dont only have a problem with Africans and Eastern Europeans but gays too.....