Why are Kneecap not in prison?

[BlossomBlanket]

But Lucy Connelly is? Kneecap told people to kill their MPs. Why have they not been arrested.

(To be very clear, I do not condone violence of any kind towards anyone, I'm just asking as this seems like a double standard, can someone explain?)

Did soldiers wear balaclavas? Think you're getting your outfits mixed up.
Not always, but their ulster unionist branch gangs did, the ones who were encouraged violence without consequences to beat the shit out of catholics, cut their throats, both sides had terror groups at war.
Protestants gangs would burn family homes, the RUC would give to access to peace gates, don't be under any illusion that it was a one sided terror group.
Today, burning bomb fires with posters of Irish polictions, the RUC is long gone, the hate survived.

What is your view of the following description of Kneecap?

“Republicanism is one of the central themes of Kneecap's music (they refer to themselves as “republican hoods” and their fans as "fenians") as well as hostility to the police (whom they call the RUC, despite the RUC having disbanded in 2001, when they were children).”

“The promo material for one of the group's songs, "HOOD", features Mogali Bap holding a hurling stick studded with nails next to a policeman who has been tied to a chair.”

The lyrics include: "‘Nois cúpla ceist (now a couple of questions): Do ya want it in your chest? / Or your knees or your head? / DJ Provai has the lead / You can beg, you can plead, you can tell us what we need / You can change your name / But you’re all the f**kin’ same."

Edited to add - this comes from a unionist publication so it might well contain a distorted or partial truth . But nevertheless I’d like to know how much is true …
www.newsletter.co.uk/news/opinion

Here’s a different take on it
https://youtube.com/shorts/LcnaJjPBzPs?feature=shared

I’m under absolutely no illusion about the fact that unionist terrorists also wore balaclavas.

Im not making a partisan point. I’m saying that after the GFA people should think twice before glorifying those vile symbols of terror.

Absolutely. Balaclavas are threatening to many, particularly in Northern Ireland.

I'm not sure why the Irish aren't distancing themselves from these imbeciles.

Im not making a partisan point. I’m saying that after the GFA people should think twice before glorifying those vile symbols of terror.
I agree.
All flags should be removed, bomb fires, marches and any Catholic symbol or traditions too, that are likely to cause offence.

To be fair - the posters on here are not representative of the Irish. Irish people I know wouldn’t defend any of this in any way - and some of my family members were victims of the Troubles .

💯 agree

Not sure ‘admiration’ is exactly the right term @OpheliaWasntMad. I thought the interview with Patrick Kielty that a pp linked was insightful in this regard.

This is what they have said (mid 2024):
“Politicians use us as a means to get on the radio because our stuff gives them something to be outraged about. Everyone wants to be outraged nowadays. We don’t believe in armed violence. We come from a place of seriousness, that now it’s time for us to joke about it. Politicians should be thanking us – they’re getting airtime because of us”, says Mo Chara. “There’s not one shred of evidence that we glorify the IRA,” Móglaí Bap declares. Jokingly, DJ Próvaí covers his balaclava with his hands, moving himself out of the camera frame as Mo Chara interjects “The IRA did not wear fucking balaclavas especially tri-coloured balaclavas. If anything, we glorify drugs, not the IRA”.

Either way, I think you’re hilarious telling Irish people they’re ‘not representative’ if they don’t agree with you.
Any chance that people from Northern Ireland might have more insight into their place and their people than you do? Having Irish cousins isn’t remotely the same.

Republicanism is indeed a central theme. Irish Republicanism is a perfectly legitimate political view.
Hood culture is not 'terrorist culture'.... Here is a better explanation of it than I can articulate.
The bad people were the Brits, the pigs, the Prods and the Provies.
The hoods were actually at war with the IRA and some of them were the sons of IRA men. I recorded an interview of one case in which a father approved the kneecapping of his son, another in which a father took his son into the yard and beat him about the legs with a hurley stick to give him a foretaste of what the IRA would do to him if he didn’t change his ways.

<a class="break-all" href="https://archive.ph/2024.08.27-140141/www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/malachi-odoherty/there-was-a-time-when-kneecap-wouldnt-have-kept-their-kneecaps-for-long/a781498759.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://archive.ph/2024.08.27-140141/www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/malachi-odoherty/there-was-a-time-when-kneecap-wouldnt-have-kept-their-kneecaps-for-long/a781498759.html

I am N Irish, grew up through the troubles with family murdered by republican violence . I am well aware of how the two sides operated or three sides depending on your view.
So yes balaclavas very triggering for people in NI and am staggered at the minimising of that by some posters.

“Either way, I think you’re hilarious telling Irish people they’re ‘not representative’ if they don’t agree with you.”

I actually didn’t say that. I pointed out that posters on this thread are not representative of “the Irish”. ( and that goes for whether or not they agree with me . Mumsnet posters only represent a certain group. Not everyone)

“Any chance that people from Northern Ireland might have more insight into their place and their people than you do? Having Irish cousins isn’t remotely the same.”
I do know that “people from Northern Ireland “ have a range of views.

Im not sure why you think it’s ok to dismiss my point that I know Irish people who object to Kneecap ? And why make the comment about Irish cousins? Unnecessarily bitchy and dismissive.

Also - It sounds as if you only think people born in Ireland have a right to comment about a band that calls for the killing of English MPs?

Thanks @maggiesleapp
I appreciate that. The family members I know (some of whose lives were torn apart by the troubles) would agree with you.
The priority in NI has to be peace between the two communities who have suffered greatly.

It really wasnt just those crazy NI members of the British Army running around in balaclavas. There are a multitude of sources detailing English soldiers in NI behaving in a way that would be described as terrorism or has since been judged to be unjust and unjustifiable. Whether shooting unarmed civilians in Ballymurphy, Derry or elsewhere or ambushing and killing unarmed terrorists rather than making arrests.
In the words of a British soldier... Anything moving out there is considered IRA’ - Former paratrooper recounts ‘chaos’ in regiment that led to Ballymurphy massacre in new memoir
Ex-serviceman tells of the “psychopaths” in the ranks under his own name.

I don't think the IRA were the good guys but the British army weren't either.

I represent the views of some Irish people at least the cohort of my own relatives and friends. But if you continue to reduce the whole debate to support of terrorism vs rejection of terrorism with IRA representing one side and RUC / PSNI representing the other then the debate is meaningless.

Mo Chara interjects “The IRA did not wear fucking balaclavas especially tri-coloured balaclavas. If anything, we glorify drugs, not the IRA”.
You only have to do a quick google to find evidence of IRA in balaclavas.
They are either ignorant or liars

Apologies- not sure Who you are talking to?
I’ve never mentioned or shown support for the RUC/PSNI

@OpheliaWasntMad sorry I meant ‘you’ as in ‘if one reduces… ‘ .

In that case - I agree

Just trying to understand what you’re referring to when you say all flags should be removed, marches should be stopped and ANY catholic symbol or tradition should be cancelled too? In case they cause offence?

Are you referring to NI only?
I don’t disagree that the Orange Marches are controversial, or that the very clear display of whether or not you’re a loyalist or a nationalist in West Belfast by just looking at which flag is flying doesn’t exactly help the situation. But can you not see how problematic it would be to ban all of this stuff? Can you imagine how well it would go down if people of NI got told they weren’t allowed to practice any catholic tradition in case it caused offence?

Apologies if I have misunderstood what you were trying to say

Agree

@Traybake99
No-one came out of the troubles smelling of roses and of course there were physcos in the Army, in fact there were in all sides.
Interestly the IRA killed more catholics than the RUC/ Army put together!
This is derailing the thread though.
Kneecap to paraphrase another pp are being deliberately goady, the up Hamas, up hezbollah imo are words shouted by all and sundry at free palestine marches so Police going to be pretty busy but still Kneecap using their platform should know better.
The kill a tory MP is/was a step too far and they should definitely be pulled up on that given the politions murdered in NI and England.

Yes they're just whipping it all up again and why would they want to do that?

Why not use their platform for peace not hate. Instead of 'fuck Israel' banners why not 'peace in Gaza' or whatever.

Not quite as big or controversial but neither is their bedwetting backtracking.

Are you denying that Israel are trying to starve Gazans by cutting off access to food, water, medical facilities , all of which are war crimes. I have no love or respect for Hamas but let's me clear the Israeli government's intention is ethical cleansing and genocide. It's a stain on the memories of the Holocaust victims.

The issue is that ordinary Gazans are suffering.
Hamas terrorists- not so much ..
Hamas are contributing hugely to the suffering of Gazans. So everyone- no matter who you support in the Israel/ Gaza conflict- should want to see the end of Hamas ( and Netanyahu and his the right wing extremists)