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’ve seen it all now.

White men killing people isn’t murder. But it’s murder when non white men do It.

The violence is deplorable, but also inevitable.

If the people cannot make thier voices heard at the ballot box (or worse have parties pretend they are heard, to then ignore their fears and demands again and again) then this is the all too predictable outcome.

I am a child of immigrants. I am terrified for my family. Because of the violence that a broken immigration system puts us at risk at, AND of the growing rage.

What makes this sad is that it was all completely preventable. It is not far right to not want such large scale uncontrolled immigration. It is not far right not to want thousands of undocumented potential criminals to be given the freedom to terrorise.

But successive governments have instead handed the public on a silver platter to the far right (and I mean, further right than Farage, that is what I see coming soon). History has shown thjs again and again, and yet we still don't learn.

All it will take is the right man for all this rage to coalesce around. And I hope history records whose fault it was, both the right and left have utterly failed this country.

By the "protect women and children group" do you mean Women's organisations, campaign groups, feminist collectives etc? No I don't hear any protests either. A shame as I would have supported them.

That is not true.

About 1/3 of unlawful deaths are convicted as manslaughter.

I think it is media generated and sustained.

Clearly these dreadful happenings should be reported, but it is the way that they are reported that stirs the riots and people respond knowing that they will get on the TV. And the media are selective about what they report, so some atrocities get their vote and others are ignored.

Nobody is saying there aren’t plenty of undesirables in this country.

But why invite more in who are even more likely to be a problem?

This protests do achieve. The reducing immigration figures and changes to the migration hostels are as a result of highly felt public opinion. Personally, I think they were the wrong protests, but you can't argue they haven't had results.

Historically, violent protest has always been more effective. Even the Sufferage movement was getting nowhere until things turned nasty.

No, I'm just saying that the constantness of it all is doing my head in.

I wish I could move to the country.

But we're not reducing immigration numbers. And the migrants are just housed elsewhere.

@StrawberriesandBrylcream

I’m actually going to quote what I said because you’re one of several posters who have accused me of being accepting of crime by white men

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

I didn’t think I had to spell out that British men does not equal white men.

I thought I had sufficiently clearly linked the matter of acceptance to their location.

whether by accident or design your and other posters willingness to misrepresent my words is reason #101 why this issue will continue to boil over.

You need to actually read what people are saying and not just take your own interpretation

that may be correct.

I specifically referenced public stabbings which are typically gang related/youth violence.

It’s quite literally what is being said.

You can try to dress it up all you like, but that’s the fact of it

OP: there was not a march for Sarah Everard. There was a silent vigil at a spot she walked past.
I was there because I lived locally and walk that route.
Women brought flowers and stood silently. There was a scuffle when police walked on top of the flowers and used loud hailers to disperse people who were already drifting away.

I feel sick at heart that you are fed up with such a peaceful and moving event. And the pivotal fact that made her murder especially chilling was that it was a police officer. A man who all women, including the Indian woman you cite, should be able to look to for protection.

And I don’t remember any riots about Harold Shipman or Dennis Nielsen or the Yorkshire Ripper or Hungerford or Dunblane. These thugs don’t give a shit about crimes committed by white British men.

It’s not what is being said at all. The distinction between murder and manslaughter has nothing to do with race.

It is clear that you reach your own conclusions based on your own preconceived ideas rather than actually engaging with what people are saying

Trying to behead someone is much, much worse than expressing concern about immigration.

Noone believes you when you pretend you don't know this.

You are having a laugh, someone carrying a knife in public, stabs someone, they die and the perpetrator gets off with manslaughter?
Can you back that up with facts and statistics?
I think you will find that 15% of knife killings in the UK result in manslaughter charges.

Which is what the protesters wanted.

Both net immigration and immigration have reduced significantly since 2023. Obviously there are people in whose interests it is not to have you believe that, but it has happened.

You’re reading things that simply aren’t there.

My first reaction was to laugh at you and call you delusional - I typed it out but seriously for you to be experiencing this level of confusion over comments is bizarre. Maybe step away for a bit, you’re working yourself up over something that exists only in your head.

@ForSnappySwan how do you describe setting fire to houses with people in them?

Is it racism or people fed up with illegal migrants abusing the system, raping, murdering, decapitating...

Immigration IS down
Net migration IS down
Small boat arrivals are down. By 38% actually.

Wholeheartedly agree. Have just seen BBC piece about a Ukrainian refugee who fled the war to Belfast having her home torched last night. Utterly sickening and I’m left tearful and angry. Are the people goading for violence yesterday satisfied yet? How does any of this help the man in hospital who was attacked? I’m ashamed to be British today with all the hatred.

Pretending that white people don't do the exact same thing is the issue. And let's cut to the chase, it's not just white people, brown people and black people, it's men! Many men are violent regardless of race. There have been numerous violent stabbings across the country, many perpetrated by whites in the past few days, but none make the national news. They're non stories, or confined to local news sites. A white man stabbed another man to death near me in the past week. The story has been and gone on the local news site.