Have blogged over on O’Conall Street about the latest local Facebook hate group. This one has been created by what looks like a very cross community group of apparently middle class students from Belfast and targets the Romanian community.
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Fortunately, there is no connection between the SDLP, middle-class students and attacks on Romanians in south Belfast.
Oh, hang on…
And people wonder why there is a brain drain in Northern Ireland. Everyone with sense leaves this backwards corner of the UK.
Utterly disgusting and shameful. Some idiot thinks it’s alright for one of his mates to urinate on a woman scraping a living selling roses. Perhaps a few reports to facebook might get this pathetic group removed
Perhaps a few reports to facebook might get this pathetic group removed
Nah. Don’t reckon so, and just as well, as who gets to decide what’s acceptable or unacceptable? If you don’t like it you have to set up an opposing group welcoming the Roma folk and denigrating racism in NI. I suspect if you look, someone will already have done this.
Daddys Boy.
The SDLP has condemned ALL attacks in South Belfast. Now maybe you have something to say about the issue?
Pretty meaningless to condemn all racist attacks when you have browbeaten the cops into denying an attack was racist.
Conall,
You say it’s time for the Assembly to look into the issue on online hate groups. Are you in favour of censorship, then?
As appalling as the sentiment are they do not represent action.
As for the urinating incident, well, clearly someone was stupid enough to admit in a public forum that he witnessed a crime that he didn’t not report. The police are free to investigate the matter.
First thing Conall, try to do a post sometime without “over on O’Conall Street” contained somewhere in it.
As for the subject yes its a crass disgusting page by pisshead students, you probably see the same crap posted in germany, england, the USA, being “cross community” or “middle class” is a petty attempt to make it “relevant” for a political discussion.
Serious issues are raised on this subject and it would be better focusing on those, firstly these “rose sellers” from what I see are probably illegal immigrants basically begging, they normally harass people into buying tack that no one wants just to get rid of them, having travelled a bit I dont give support begging of any sort and prefer to donate to charities, I therefore think these individuals should not be allowed to harrass the public.
HOWEVER, my second point is they should not be sexually harassed, mocked, racially abused, or assulted, such behaviour should be dealt with in just the same way no matter who the victim is.
In our society we well know that when the authorities fail to deal with low level anti-social activity then the “mob” metality takes over and the idiot fringe feel they have the “right” to sort things out their way, which is often disproptionate and illegal.
Banning a facebook page is not going to make this problem go away, the underlying issues have to be dealt with as well as the idiots posting on that page.
Not in favour of censorship Jason. But hate is hate. People peddling hate and making threats online should be held accountable for their words.
Daddys boy. You are way off the mark.
see it has now made headlines on the BBC news,
Way off the mark? Wow. Your PR skills really are worth every penny. If you think a stupid student website should be closed down, what do you make of the clearly racist and sectarian attack on City Church by two students, who have now been quietly let off with cautions and suspensions?
Should that perhaps have been punished a little more severely?
I have witnessed the police rounding up a few of the ‘rose sellers’ in Belfast City Centre, however I am unsure what action took place. To be fair they are a complete nuisance, but that page was disgusting.
whatever happened to those arrested for attacking the Romanians…and the church…during the summer?
Accountable for what Conall? Where actions have occurred the police can investigate. Otherwise words are just words and unless you think people are unthinking automatons they cannot be constructed as incitement.
However, actual attacks can be construed as ‘youthful high-jinks’ if you apply enough legal and financial pressure to the problem.
Gone a bit quiet now from SDLP South Belfast Anti-Racist Central PR-HQ.
After availing of the best legal advice available to them the students who attacked City Church, Niall Colton and Kevin Briggs, got a caution and were suspened from Queens.
Daddys boy – if you knew anything about that attack you might know that one of their daddies was very high in Legal circles here. So I am not suprised they got a caution and were let off.
What connection do they have to the SDLP ??
Colton’s da was an SDLP Westminster candidate back in the mists of time and he is still close to the party.
Ask Conall.
“Back in the Mists of time” – so its the parties fault ! Lol please these kids are racists and I can assure you that the SDLP have condemed these acts. Both our MLAs and councillors did their best for the romanian people targetted and to the City Church.
Close to QUB as well, which won’t have hurt.
Good point by Jason Walsh on moaning over words, while dismissing actions. How the cops decided this attack wasn’t racist or sectarian from the get go is another mystery. How did they know? How could it not have been connected to the Romanian issue, or been intended to frame loyalists and make the situation worse? That possibility wasn’t even raised. There’s never been another ‘high-jinks’ attack on this church by students, in all the years it’s been standing there in the middle of student-land.
It’s pretty clear these are two bad wee bigoted shites and it’s fascinating how their middle-class connections got them off with it.
Now let’s see how the spides charged with attacking the Romanian homes can be treated any differently. Is it one law for the rich and another for the poor? The end of result of this is that NOBODY will be punished for the whole sorry episode.
Unbelievably revolting facebook page.
Just goes to show how utterly stupid some middle-class NI students can be. They are unaware of the furore during the summer caused by the Roma exodus, and think they can get away with this shit ’cause they are being witty student rascals.
When the fuck are we going to see some expulsions from Queens/UU?
If St Paddy’s day wasn’t bad enough, then surely this has to be breaking point? Expect a strongly worded ‘condemnation’ from the Unis, followed by hollow threats of ‘action’. Then expect fuck-all to happen bar a few warning letters to the Tyrone thickos whos EU-rich farmer daddy is pumping funds into Queen’s coffers.
Shameful!
I have heard reports that the nipsa headquarters was targeted during the race/hate riots several months ago: can anyone confirm or deny this? It could be that the BNP or like minded individuals may be behind it. I know that when any trade union holds a rally nowadays there are those taking video of members and those same images may be published on Red Flag hate sites for maximum inverse publicity and intimidation motives.
Way to change the subject, Zoon. NIPSA can’t be trusted on this due to SP infiltration, and there were no ‘riots’.
I wonder if Paddy Meehan would like to picket student houses in the Holy Lands? No? Funny, that.
Point of note: if Alex Maskey hadn’t gone on the radio and forced the issue, the cops would never have arrested the two students.
FB group now pulled off
I know, I pulled a few strings.
Result people. Thanks to everyone who made report to Facebook.
The names and facebook pages of some of the dickheads who left comments are available on the O’Connall St page. One appears to be a Belfast-based student (the one who talked about distracting a rose seller while his mate pissed on her).
Can someone with some free time report him to his university please?
Eye,
report him for what exactly? Also who says any of these people are University students. Most of them from what I saw are probably still at school. It’s a shame that people always blame the students. The Roma’s selling roses are a pain in the arse but there’s a fine line between banter and racism or abuse. That group certainly overstepped the mark, but it’s gone. Get on with your day folks.
Conall, dont be so quick to claim credit, I found out who set the page up, he admitted it had got a bit out of hand and pulled it. Story over.
Have you any comments of the attempted murder? massive bomb? the tragic deaths of two polish guys? widespread flooding?
just wondered is it a co-incidence you posted the story and it appears on Talkback on the same day,
Well in that case thank you too ‘not so quick’
One more thing – maybe Talkback read Slugger too!
if you had of asked me earlier could have sorted it out without all this hassle and hot air.
Al,
Report him for aiding his friend in urinating over someone in a public place. Do you think this prick would have joined in this ‘banter’ if the woman being pissed on wasn’t a Roma flower seller? What if it was just a female student? Would she have been pissed on? Doubt it.
Also I’m quick to blame students cause the guy I’m referring to says he is a student on his facebook page. ‘Shame’ that poor oul’ students always get the blame. After all, they are just monkeying around but are harmless really. If it was some spidey scrunt who pissed over someone in the street, you wouldn’t be so quick to defend them.
My pleasure. As I don’t know who you are how could I have contacted you??
This whole thing is a depressing proxy for any kind of real politics. From start to finish, a sad affair. Another one to chalk up to empty-of-content internet phenomena.
Conall, no offence, but this whole thing is emblematic of what’s wrong with the SDLP (and nationalism/republicanism more broadly). An obsession with offence and the desire to police people’s thoughts and actions. Any actual attacks on the people being vicitmised can be dealt with in the usual manner.
I am reminded of how the anarchists complained that ‘official anti-racism’ did nothing but inflame tensions and cast minorities in the role of passive victims. Their anti-racism back in the day was a damn sight more practical before it was hijacked by liberal do-gooders and the state with it’s usual barrel-full of other agendas.
Congratulations for what? Getting mouthy youths to shut up? Big deal.
Eye,
Maybe it was the students spidey friend? My point is that not all students should be labelled so quickly. I thought in our society we would have learnt this by now.
Nothing will come of this. I could say many ridiculous things on facebook and it doesn’t matter as it can’t be proved. Surely people have better things to do than “report” someone for a comment they made about their “mate” on a scoial networking site. If the lady was so concerned she would have reported it herself. It’s her business not yours.
Al,
My point is that this student admits he distracted his friend – spidey or otherwise – so he could piss on her. He found the whole thing ‘Hilarious’. I’m not talking about reporting it to the police, I’m talking about reporting him to his university.
As a former student myself, I saw people get nailed and fined by the unis for a lot less than this, even outside uni hours and nowhere near the campus.
So who’s labelling students? Not that students in Belfast need any help from the like of me in labelling them? Plenty of TV cameras did that last St Pats, while any non-student resident of the Holylands and other areas of south Belfast will tell you that many (not all) so-called smartest members of society are nothing but middle-class yobs.
Enough of this sensationalist garbage!
This facebook group is meant to be a joke, and the vast majority of the comments are not at all racist. In fact, the only picture uploaded shows someone with their arms around a rose seller.
The guy who set the group up meant it as a joke, and it is just a pity that others have taken it as an opportunity to express their own individual racist views (most of these ‘racist’ views are sarcastic – it is glaringly obvious that no ill-intent is meant).
I’m sure the vast majority of those who joined the group saw it as a joke. As for those who used it as an opportunity to express genuinely racist views, that’s their problem.
I accept that it was irresponsible for someone to set this group in light of events earlier in the year – but I am certain that no ill-intent was meant.
Daddy’s boy
“How the cops decided this attack wasn’t racist or sectarian from the get go is another mystery.”
Point of clarification – Is that the decision of the police? I understood it was the victim that defined whether or not it was a hate crime. Am I mistaken?
If the police did over-rule the complainant it would indeed be odd
The PSNI announced that there was no racial motive immediately after the attack, and that’s what everyone else has gone with.
It was reported last week that cautions were offered after the church accepted “reparations” – which was handy for all concerned.
Try pressing for stronger charges as a victim and see where it gets you.
@ Daddy’s Boy
What is SP short for?
I think that the Facebook page in question has been closed.
“After availing of the best legal advice available to them the students who attacked City Church, Niall Colton and Kevin Briggs, got a caution and were suspened from Queens.”
Jone,
Are you positive they were suspended from Queens?
Daddy’s boy
“Try pressing for stronger charges as a victim and see where it gets you.”
I have some experience of what you mention but that was pre-hate crime legislation so I thought the situation had changed.
nah it was a just a silly prank page,
however the hysteria whipped up over it by a Conall may be a completely diffetrent matter…
Both Students concerned were not suspended from the university, where one of their fathers is a past senior student union official. If i recall, he and alex attwood were very close, and at the time they were both considered the “young turks” of the SDLP.
It seems that having friends politically and legally connected helps reduce a racist attack to one of “high jinx”.
Sure we were all young once!!
What nobody seems to realise here is the three guys charged with the earlier attacks on the Romanians’ houses, if convicted, now have to be let off with a caution as well.
It can’t be slaps on the wrist for students and Hydebank for spides, for much the same offence, essentially aggravated by ‘hate crime’ mind-reading.