Varadkar GONE

[Deano]

I'm not trying to persuade anyone of anything. Nor am I surprised that my reflections aren't original, or may even be tiresome. My questions are genuine. Got to start somewhere.

Don't worry, it's okay. Just bear in mind that the "honestly, I'm just asking questions and want to learn, mate" is also an approach used by people who just want to prod and start fights, and some people see it and instantly jump on it (me included a bit, probably) - which does ignore the fact that sometimes people genuinely haven't had these discussions before and genuinely are interested. It's just rarer!

[Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse]

Makes me think of the evil people who run the shop who exploited my need for a loaf of bread that time.

Did they jack up the price because there was a bread shortage?

[Underturd]

Did they jack up the price because there was a bread shortage?

No but they took photos of me and the bread in case I damaged it and did a runner.

[retsuza]

What's become of this country? We used to kill the landlords.

Even the word Boycott comes from the surname of an absentee landlord in Ireland everyone refused to do business with because of his extortionate rent seeking. It's in our blood!

[All Surrogate]

My thanks to those who responded to my hijacking of the thread. I get the general sense that the referenda were a bit of botch that didn't strongly enthuse even those who voted yes, and so the 'no' results don't indicate a huge rightward lurch in Ireland, which is reassuring. Let me know if you disagree with my summary!

Makes me think of the evil people who run the shop who exploited my need for a loaf of bread that time.

Let them eat castles.

[Wonderful Butternut]

My thanks to those who responded to my hijacking of the thread. I get the general sense that the referenda were a bit of botch that didn't strongly enthuse even those who voted yes, and so the 'no' results don't indicate a huge rightward lurch in Ireland, which is reassuring. Let me know if you disagree with my summary!

I'm more worried about the attitude to (brown) immigrants and asylum seekers souring than the referenda to be honest.

[buttgammon]

I'm more worried about the attitude to (brown) immigrants and asylum seekers souring than the referenda to be honest.

Agreed. I don't think you can read too much into the referendums ultimately, but that's not to say the same awful trends affecting the rest of Europe aren't landing here too. I recently found myself in a situation in public where I was the only person willing or able to challenge someone literally screaming and shouting violent, racist abuse, and it's very disturbing.

[Wonderful Butternut]

Agreed. I don't think you can read too much into the referendums ultimately, but that's not to say the same awful trends affecting the rest of Europe aren't landing here too. I recently found myself in a situation in public where I was the only person willing or able to challenge someone literally screaming and shouting violent, racist abuse, and it's very disturbing.

I think there are less people who are, how can I say, ideologically committed to being racists in Ireland vs. other European countries. But there seem to be quite a few who are either willing to let the racists lead, or at least not willing to speak up against them. Some wagon was on the radio from one of the places where locals protested against a hotel being turned into an IPAS centre and then it went on fire and she was all: "people are callin' us far right. We're not far right, we didn't want that center burned etc. etc.". Well hon, you created the atmos in which some cunt thought he or she had local support to start that fire. So yeah, I think I'm gonna go ahead and call you a fascist. Heil Hitler, baby.

How many that "quite a few" is, we'll only find out at the next election, I guess. I don't expect a big push for outright loonies like Ireland First and the like, but the rural independents and Aontú might adopt a 'soft' anti-immigration stance and make a fair amount headway with that. Quite a few FFG backbenchers making noises about it too.

I'm pretty fucking pissed off that FFG have managed fuck up things so badly that this actually looks like it might be an election issue. "Ireland is full" people say. Not enough doctors, nurses, construction industry worker, tourism industry workers, Gardaí etc. but "Ireland is full". Hmmm... sure it's not just the housing & healthcare crisis that successive FFG governments have presided over? I'm fairly sure ~100k odd asylum seekers in a population of more than 5 million don't cause that.