Ballymena

[Ablondiebutagoody]

AIBU to think that this kind of unrest/attack is happening more frequently now? Or did I just not notice before?

NBU - Yes, it's more frequent
ABU - You didn't notice before

I live in NI, about 20 mins outside of Belfast and 30 mins from Ballymena, and I can tell you now that most locals are appalled by the violence.

It is misdirected anger. They are angry at the government, but instead of articulating themselves correctly or protesting at Stormont, they ruin their own towns and target innocent people to get a reaction.

Most of the rioters are teenagers or very young adults. They know nothing about the world and aren't interested in educating themselves further because their parents encourage it also.

I also dont agree with the level of immigration. I also think if any immigrant or asylum seeker etc commits a crime, they should be deported back to their home countries.

Thats not to say I am also ignoring the fact that local men commit more of these crimes.

However, local men are our problem, as they are British Citizens. Therefore, I was no issues with tax money spent on trials, court etc to get justice. However, when we are paying costs to convict immigrants instead of just deporting them back and getting their home country to foot the bill, thats where I have the problem.

This should apply to British Citizens who immigrants abroad to other countries also.

The police have next to no power to control these either. I was blocked from driving down my road last night by local people dressed in bavaclavas whilst the police sat in their car at the corner drinking a Tim Hortons coffee.

I live half an hour from Ballymena, but it’s where my office is.

The entire place is a shambles. It’s a pity because it should be a beautiful part of the world.

@ellie09me too, and I totally agree with you. There was a “peace protest” in the town nearest to my home - Carrickfergus - last night. Grim. Always the same ones - tracksuit wearers who only take from the Government, not contribute.

We all know the type.

Driving near the "protests", the average age in the crowds was 15-16 years of age. All dressed in pjs or tracksuits with a can of Stella in their hand, treating it like a social night out with their friends.

Older adults bringing their kids along for the festivities! 🫣

Even if I wanted to "protest", I am far too busy working until 6pm and getting my child ready for bed to partake in any of that.

Maybe if they had jobs or took parenting seriously, they wouldnt be making fools of themselves

NI is not a good place for non white people to settle. I’ll leave it at that.

This is nothing new for Ballymena; I'm old enough to remember what happened at Harryville.

This. It is becoming more common and will continue to do so. I can’t see a time in the very near future that a riot kicks off every time a non- white/national is accused of a serious crime.

I do think uncontrolled migration has fuelled this. The “general public” don’t always fully understand the nuances of such situations and many will react with violence sadly.

I think you mean Unionism or Loyalism rather than Republicanism or Nationalism, given the make up of Ballymena.

And yes, the vigilantes will be drawn from the same demographic.

Before anyone jumps down my throat, I am not suggesting republicans/nationalists were not involved in sectarian murders and would not be involved in racist unrest.

You are right of course - I wanted to edit to say “Nationalism or Unionism”. I am pretty sure that deaths in Ballymena were attributed to both sides.

But the point stands: eejits disguising their love of violence as justified in the name of a supposed higher cause.

There is bad on both sides in NI, you are correct on that one.

The violence is coming from both sides in this instance. People are travelling from all over to these areas to riot.

Ironically, violence brings both sides together, whilst also tearing them apart. Go figure.

Another thread was removed for some reason.

There weren’t any deleted posts afaik. Anyway better to discuss what’s going on rather than remove it all.

Yes, there were deaths in Ballymena attributed to republicans.

According to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/TheTroublesinBallymena there were 11 murders in and around Ballymena during the troubles. Of those, 8 were committed by loyalists, 3 by republicans.

Edited to remove my assumption that it was only local scum rioting in Ballymena.

Really? I stand corrected. So we finally have a cause uniting loyalist and republican thugs. It's just unfortunate that it's racism.

Yep - heard from several people that both sides of the community are in attendance at these (especially the protests before the violence begins)

Sad that hate brings people together. You would think the people here would recognise what its like to be victimized due to your religion/race/nationality etc and be able to sympathise

Has any women ever felt safer and magically immune to rape because idiotic mobs chose violence?

They love a good riot in NI. Doesn't matter whether it's about race or religion. Summer doesn't just bring marching season in NI, it also brings fire bombing season.

My username is probably a bit misleading, I was living there when I set up this account, but am English and we live in England, although my husband is from ROI. But yes Bushmills does feel quite old fashioned, and not in a cute oldy worldy way.

We have friends who moved back after living in UK for decades, and they say 'it's like we never left'. Whether that's a good or bad thing depends on your perspective I guess.

No. I can no longer go to local parks now in the evening with my dog, with fear of being blocked out of my road. Nothing to do with getting jumped and attacked (although my dog would rip their head off anyhow)

Notice the subtle hints that two tribes have come together in this and the attempted rewriting of history. Are there many nationalists left in Harryville? Remember what that community went through from their neighbours. Most of them moved away following the many attacks on their homes and church. A church which had to be pulled down as it wasn't safe for the Catholic community to continue attending. People were threatened with women singled out for 'special' treatment.

@EasternStandard
Almost certainly because - as with some earlier posts on here - because too many posters were making assumptions about the guilt of two minors who have been convicted of nothing. People are innocent until proven guilty, not innocent unless some random MN posters have decided otherwise. It's supposed to be a "British value".

Quite coincidentally I just finished "The Vanishing Triangle" https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vanishing-Triangle-Murdered-Ireland-Forgot/dp/1542035295 I wish it were out of date, but it isn't. There may be a border, but when it comes to it, there are too many similarities, and that border has protected too many offenders. I'm sure those rioting of the streets would never dream of attacking a women. Unless she looked foreign, or dressed funny, or was asking for it, or.....

There's old fashioned and there's 'backwards'. Ireland isn't backwards and people are no more regressive than anywhere else. Many Irish are very well travelled.

I didn’t see much about the minors it was mostly talking about a misconception on NI ROI border.

It's not even a place for non Irish people to settle! My brother moved there with his wife who was Irish, and has encountered significant challenges getting a job. He only started to get interviews when he put his wife's very obviously Irish surname on his CV, and then when they met him it was a no. He never had issues in getting a job in England, and has ended up doing a remote job for an English company, but from Ireland. It may be partly due to the financial climate and fewer job opportunities being available, but it does feel like there was an element of prejudice as his wife who works in same field and similar skill level walked straight into a job.

With most primary schools still being either protestant or Catholic, it does still feel quite divided and less tolerant of those seen as "outsiders'. My husband would live to move back but the chances of me getting a job there are very slim.

Then you missed quite a lot including the OP who started out by demanding that the two boys be deported (and their familities too). There were many posts that assumed the guilt of the pair. In the UK that is contempt of court when published. And not exactly a British value, although oddly there's just so many people who think that the only people who should respect British values are those who aren't born in the UK.

Edited to add that I note this thread has, rightly, also been culled.