to be utterly sick of protests, marches, rallies, and riots

[NameChangeMay2026]

What happened today in Belfast was dreadful. Of course it was.

When Sarah Everard died, there were marches. But a day before she died, an Indian woman Sarah's age was knifed to death in the street in Leicestershire. It was an "honour" killing, I think.

Where was HER lantern on the doorstep of Downing Street? Where was HER march?

My point is, dreadful things happen every day and I am so sick and tired of news items sparking so much public rowdiness. It used to be that the media could report on current events without starting a riot. I know that we have always had riots, but they were the occasional one. And because they were not common, they helped effect change. They were a desperate measure reserved for when nothing else had helped.

Now, together with marches, rallies, and protests, society is constantly disrupted, and I am so, so sick of it. I live in a major city and I can't go anywhere without checking what march, rally, protest, or riot is happening, especially at the weekends. And they are so common that they don't help effect change anymore.

The riots are terrible. Thousands and thousands of pounds' worth of lost property in fires, injured bystanders, police calld away from other duties to attend them. And there are "professional" rabble-rousers who travel to marches, protests, and riots. It's not because they're passionate about a cause. They're just passionate about causing trouble.

I travel for work to major American cities and it's even worse over there. Another day, another riot/protest/march/rally.

They have become a feature of today's society, and I wish they would just stop.

Edit: I actually stay in more because of them. I don't go out of my hotel as much when staying in America, and I don't go to the city centre where I live as much. It's so bad when regular people are put off from walking around city centres because of all these annoying dickheads.

I think it is worse in America, and I'm tired of feeling scared to go out when there, in case I run into an uncontrolled crowd - where the police have guns, and the protestors might, depending on the state.

The burning buildings in Belfast are a disgrace. It's not the owners' fault that this happened.

I was attacked by a white man (posh, white, boarding school educated). A few weeks later he tried to kill me. Why would it have been worse if it had been someone who had been allowed into the country? I'm all ears.

As for the capitals, please don't.

Completely agree

You might want to buckle up - it’s going to get worse, until the government genuinely listens to people’s legitimate concerns, and decisively acts.

The left wing are destroying the country - brick by brick.

It seems to be most weekends.

And then I go to America for work and it's even worse there.

It's driving me insane.

I think if there is a specific thing. Eg there is a land sale of West Bank land apparently happening in London. Technically the land sale is illegal (it was very recently annexed from Palestinians by settlers and parcelled into lots for sale). So I can understand the perspective of people who don't think the UK should be involved in the sale and therefore will be protesting that it shouldn't be happening in the UK. That's a clear aim "don't sell the land here". Likewise the UK did have some role in the hostage negotiations so it makes sense for people to march in the interests of the hostages being remembered and coming home. Or people protesting in favour of the UK joining America/Israel in the war on Iran. There is a clear aim. Very much not one I agree with. But yes, some of the protests are bloated and people can't express what they think the government should do it's just performative.

Also people protest outside embassies of countries they think are doing bad things because presumably they can't go to the actual country and protest. I get that even though it's annoying if you work nearby and there's constant disruption. London gets the brunt of this because it's where all the embassies are.

Your whataboutery is not relevant here

What an absolutely evil comment.

@Pineforestsi am so sorry that this happened to you.

Naive to think protests do not achieve anything. The UK and US governments do have influence through their diplomatic relationships, military support, aid, trade agreements and their role in international organisations. Protests are one of the ways people in a democracy can express their views and put pressure on politicians to act. A single march might not change policy overnight, but large, sustained demonstrations can show the strength of public feeling, shape political debate, and encourage governments to reconsider their position. That’s why people continue to protest on issues they care about. Think about why Political parties do surveys etc on a variety of issues - to gauge people’s views on both domestic and foreign policies. Think about historical protests in this country and the changes they led to - suffrage movement used protests and public campaigning to help secure women’s right to vote in the UK. The anti-apartheid movement used protests and public pressure to encourage the UK government and businesses to take a stronger stance against apartheid in South Africa.

OP we live in a democratic country with freedom of expression (and many people throughout history had to fight for us to have that right now) so of course people are allowed to protest.

Riots and violence are never acceptable, but peaceful protests are an essential tool for people to remind politicians that our views matter.

Without protests women would not have the vote for example...

This sort of deflection and minimisation is exactly what feeds the right wing thuggery.

There is a significant difference between the gang on gang violence and domestic abuse which makes up a significant amount of knife crime and an attempted beheading, where the victims eye was stabbed out.

It’s a particularly brutal and barbaric attack, committed by someone in relation to whom the perception is they were assessed as being somehow suitable to live in the country. When it’s described as a somewhat routine “stabbing incident” people feel lied to, and that is what drives the violence as much as the racism of the thugs.

Exactly this

Have you heard of Chloe Mitchell? Where were the protests about her killing? The people protesting and rioting seem to be all about the protection of women and girls. So where were the righteous after her terrible murder?

Oh, that's right, she was murdered by a local white bloke. Nothing to see here.

There is an agenda at play here, racism, foreign interference, just an excuse for a bit of violent thuggery. Don't pretend it has anything to do with protecting anyone.

Trying to behead someone in the street tends not to go down well with the locals.

Calling them thick idiots when you don't understand this point is rather revealing.

Again, there are multiple examples of (mainly) women being killed by white men in unprovoked attacks that have drawn none of this level of attention.

I just wish people would call it what it is. At least a couple of posters on here have admitted they see crime as better and more acceptable when it’s committed by white men.

👏👏👏

Well, apparently it does when the perpetrator is white, or the victim isn’t British.

Then it’s fine.

Yeah, the "legitimate concerns" crowd are missing the context with this being in Northern Ireland (where I'm from, and I live in Belfast). This wasn't a legitimate protest, it was Loyalists looking for yet another excuse to express their racism. They set houses on fire with children inside because they weren't white. All whipped up by our useless disgusting politicians.

Let's be honest - the 'anti racists' are just angry at their own racism which conflicts with the story they tell themselves that they are good people.

It's all projection.

And them calling other people stupid for following Tommy Robinson or Elon Musk is absurd when these people are following whatever they're told to think by the establishment left media (ie the BBC).

@OneTealShaker The low British birth rate is a fact. You have to keep the birth rate at a certain level. That is also a fact.

There are only two ways to keep the population to a certain level: indigenous births or by immigration. And Britain's indigenous birth rate is too low.

If the population shrinks, the country has fewer and fewer taxpayers, which means less and less money to fund public services. There will be no growth, no one to run enough businesses, no jobs, meaning even less tax money for service. You HAVE to keep the birth rate at a certain level, or the country will go into a downward spiral of just getting poorer and poorer and poorer, with fewer and fewer people. The logical conclusion of this spiral is that the last one standing will have to turn the lights out!

UK people are not having large families or they are forgoing families at all, because everything costs too much. Housing, childcare, higher education, fuel, general COL.

So what's the solution? Immigration.

Your experience of the attack and your injuries would be the same but I think there is a particular anger that comes from the feeling that something could have been prevented and it wasn’t. Whether that’s because they were a rapist who was granted bail, a violent psychiatric patient who wasn’t detained or a mentally ill criminal ñ who shouldn’t have been in the country in the first place.

When British men commit dreadful crimes we have to accept it as we’re stuck with them. When we invite additional violent men into the country I think it’s reasonable to recognise that was a mistake and there is a particular horror in recognising that but for the decision to allow them to remain the incident would not have happened.

But if we don't have violent men burning out families, women and children who will protect the families women and children...

Yes I'm sick of it.

And there it is.

You are happy to accept crime as long as it is from white men.

You do not give a shit about women and children.

We've been through all that upthread.

You don't think the entitlement and culture of a white man who went to boarding school could have been changed to avoid him attacking later? It was inevitable was it?

Someone posted earlier that some of these protests will die down whilst the football is on. I would bet some of these thugs will be ones beating up their wives as the rate of DV goes up during football tournaments especially when their team loses. Will people be protesting/rioting about that?