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.

@Meadowfinch

People are having their lives wrecked or taken through no fault of their own, but the OP is fed up with the inconvenience to her domestic and social routine.

But surely it's only natural and reasonable to be put out when something inconveniences us and makes our general life/routine a little bit more difficult/less pleasurable?

I agree that law-abiding protests have value and are necessary and would consider attending one myself if I was immensely emotionally invested in the cause.

However, if people find themselves being impacted in negative ways by these protests, then it's perfectly reasonable for them to complain about that impact. It's probably healthy for people to have a good moan.

If protests were inconveniencing me, I'd probably bitch about it too. The fact that the impact is minimal when compared to other horrible things doesn't (and shouldn't matter) if something impacts me personally, then it's reasonable to moan about it.

So I don't see the objection here - what's wrong with people complaining about inconvenience to their lives/routine?

And economically bankrupt.

On the radio this morning was the director of the Migration Observatory. She said that the amount of non-citizens who are convicted of serious crime in the UK is higher compared to their share of the population. She said what is strikingly different amongst those convictions is the nationality of those convicted; those from Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Afghanistan have much higher rates.

We have uncontrolled immigration into this country from places where there are wars and serious human-rights abuses. We then settle those people into this country where we have a creaking NHS and public services and a dwindling quality of life.

I have no doubt that the man who committed that awful crime in Belfast had serious mental health problems due to the significant impact war will have played on his life in Sudan.

To be able to see a GP in my area of the UK is difficult,a therapist or counsellor even more difficult and the wait is lengthy.

We are importing mentally unwell, damaged men into this country in unlimited numbers and we do not have the services to help them.

The previous Conservative government and current Labour government are not listening to their people. We need to put a cap on how many asylum seekers we can take into this country per year so that our services can cope with the influx of all these people who obviously will take more than they can give.

I understand that people are fleeing from unsafe places and I am happy to welcome people to this country, but not unlimited amounts, surely that can only be a recipe for disaster and a threat to public safety?
This is what makes me angry, this is what makes many people livid enough to go out and protest.

Open your eyes.

“Despite international laws and treaties, we should stop allowing. immigrants/migrants/asylum seekers into the UK.”

@Crocsarentslippers - the era of mass immigration is only going to get worse with climate change. People know this and academics wrote about this and have been for many years. The international convention on human rights set up specifically to avoid a totalitarian state (both far left and far right) is now leading to the exact opposite because it has not adapted its Convention to the modern day.
In the modern day, anyone can claim to eg be gay, get info online about how to dodge the system and can find a lawyer and get through borders. There is a whole underworld facilitating this and the more criminal minded you are, the more likely you will get through.

It is absolutely not immoral to suggest we do not want anyone who is not a genuine refugee from an actual active war zone and that we will only harbour them for as long as the war is active. Anyone else can constitute an economic migrant, unless they have specifically helped our country (eg Afghani interpreters).
The whole of Europe is struggling with this and turning a blind eye is what is leading to the far right coming in.
In some jurisdictions, they do not even have a reliable birth certificate system. It is not the UK where you can trace everyone and get a birth certiticate reissued and all names tracked and criminal records checked.
Our systems are open to widespread abuse and that is why a lot of people do not like it. It has nothing to do with racism.
We also have an ageing population and plenty of our own vulnerable people to take care of. So do most European countries.

If we want our democracies and free speech, rule of law and welfare state to survive, we have to tackle this, but with the help of other European countries, as a matter of urgency.

And then of course we also have all the foreign malign influences whipping up unrest from afar online as part of hybrid warfare. For which we need security services to crack down on and check people’s internet history. I do not think our democracies will survive otherwise. Elon Musk can shout about free speech as much as he likes.

Did you see said protesters burning down houses because black people lived there?
Peaceful protests like the Sarah Everard one, no issues. Protests that are just an excuse for violence by far right arseholes, yer I think people have a right to be annoyed at them. The protesters who were apparently at the asylum hotels kicking off because they 'don't want the boat people coming over and raping our women' many of them were domestic abusers themselves, not exactly who we want advocating for women's safety tbh

I am more sick of inept governments.

I completely agree and think the media in general does.

The right are known for having low IQs and being easily manipulated.
They are less likely to work and therefore spend more time on social media.

Social media works by using an algorithm, so clicking on one article about a dangerous immigrant (or just talking about it) and all you’ll see is posts about dangerous immigrants (most of which is completely false).

That is why they support people like Tommy Robinson, who bangs on about immigration but is an immigrant himself in someone else’s country.
He doesn’t even live here, yet they believe he cares about this country.

That is why they supported Brexit by believing Farage when he said it’ll reduce immigration and put millions into the NHS.
We have way more immigration and way less emigration than before leaving the EU and the NHS is on its knees and he’s now claiming he wants to privatise the NHS.
But they are still supporting him because they’re that easily manipulated.

The media has a lot to answer for because they feed off the division it causes.

I think there needs to be a massive overhaul of social media and the media.
We are seeing a rise in fascism, conspiracy theories, as well as the manosphere and incel behaviour and it’s only going to get worse, purely because of social media.

This.

This 100%. When will people see that turning on each other keeps us exactly where those up top want us - so busy scrapping amongst ourselves that we don't stop to ask where we should be actually be directing our anger.

Was it also somehow to do with the poor people who had their houses burned in the protests or do they not matter?

This Ukrainian family (supposedly “acceptable” immigrants according to the far right) had their home attacked last night

Spare me the bollocks about it being because people are angry. These people did everything right. Moved here under official channels. Yet they were still attacked.

https://x.com/cdp1882/status/2064594827442856209?s=46

Brendan O'Neill is insightful as always

https://www.spiked-online.com/2026/06/09/the-barbarism-in-belfast/

And the reason there was a protest for Sarah Everard and not for someone murdered in an honour killing by her family is because the police are supposed to protect us. Instead they protected Wayne Couzens, not arresting him for the crime of flashing which was reported right before he murdered Sarah. Had he been detained and charged (there were witnesses and cctv), he probably couldn't have murdered her. The point is they are supposed to do a job which they not only didn't do in this case but actually enabled her killer. We pay taxes to the police, they're supposed to protect us not be actively working to harm us. Wayne Couzens, let's remember, had the charming nickname of 'the rapist'. And he was let off the crime of indecent exposure. Surely they knew there was a risk he'd escalate?

The birth rate issue is such a red herring. We could let in the exact same number but only women, children and men in families and we'd cut crime and risk to others immensely. We have an immigration system where asylum can generally only be applied for if on British soil which means it's disproportionately single young men claiming it (i.e. not the most vulnerable refugees at all, in fact the fittest and not necessarily anyone with a genuine asylum claim either). It takes about 2.5 years to process, many of these men ditch their papers, many have criminal records in other countries (there's a reason they ditch their papers), they're paid for by the state for all this time (unless working illegally, which many do).

Obviously single young men on their own aren't going to boost the birth rate (though obviously there are large numbers of rapes and attempted rapes of young girls).

And in fact if we wanted to reduce risk to existing residents of the UK plus boost the birth rate the best thing to do would be to create quick, easy routes to asylum for only women and their family members.

Obviously there would need to be some limit on numbers. If you were very charitable and started taking homeless people on the streets, of which there are many, into your house, there would get to a point where the quality of life of everyone in that house takes a nosedive because there are just too many people in a small space. It's not rocket science.

The protests will continue until the state starts protecting the people already here.

RIP Rhiannon Whyte.

Stellar post

It's appalling.

How do you describe trying to behead someone in the street?

It’s only going to get worse until there is a huge change.
People are sick of being lied to and told they’re ‘far right rascist bigots’ for not wanting hundreds of thousands of fighting age Men from the worst, most violent places on earth landing on our shores and being housed, clothed and fed when there are British families living in B+Bs for years and Veterans living on the street.

Also appalling but I'm not going to go petrol bomb someone else's house that had nothing to do with the incident

Exactly!

Statistically you are more likely to be murdered or abused by someone that has these right views, which is why so many of them have convictions of DA and rape.

Look how they act - throwing bricks and starting fires in the homes of women and children to put fear into them.

There was one single mother In Southampton that has video of them kicking at her door and putting bricks through her windows and car - purely to invoke fear out of women and children (the family were all white and not immigrants).

These men don’t care about the victims.
They are violent and try and find reasons to be violent because they get off on invoking fear in those weaker than them.

Where were these men when all of the other killings and rapes that occur on a regular basis happened?

They do not care and anyone excusing their behaviour or trying to find justification for it are beyond stupid.
If you support these men, you are supporting violent criminals who are statistically more likely to be dangerous to women.

These children will live with the trauma of their house beign set alight when they were in it.

Those first responders will continue to put their lives on the line to reduce innocent people put in danger by these idiots.

Why do you think the attempted beheading is justification for this?

https://x.com/lil_doza/status/2064514615531196669?s=46

Gaslighting at its finest. Your wokery and gaslighting won’t wash anymore. Do you make a habit of it or is it a special skill acquired only when there are heinous crimes committed by people who shouldn’t be here in the first place.

The only response you seem to have is “WOKE”

How can you justify setting alight homes while people sleep in them?

How would you feel if someone set fire to your home and if not killed your children, then at least scared them for life - all because someone that you’ve never met went and attacked someone else.

You’re saying that if these men came and set your house on fire tonight, with your children inside - that instead of having sympathy, we should be saying “well someone stabbed someone else a few miles away so what do you expect”

Can you not see how idiotic you sound by trying to justify their reasons are.

I hope no one ever sets fire to your home because they’re angry about something that has absolutely no connection to you.

People are rightly fucked off. Their communities have dangerous asylum seekers who are killing and raping friends, family and neighbours. People protest and it gets out of hand because their emotions are pressure cookers. They are enraged with the frustration that their government is allowing asylum seekers with goodness knows what past from cultures that are completely different in the way they treat women and people in general to ours to live amongst them. If your neighbour was hacked to near death by an asylum seeker on your doorstep in a small close knit community you are terrified for everyone because you don’t know who’s next. And there is no one stopping it. Yes it’s completely unacceptable to target innocent kind people in the process, that is unforgivable. But if community has strong fearless characters like the man with his hurling stick then they will band together to fight the enemy. It’s effectively a mini war that’s started in Belfast because their emotions have an enemy that’s attacked them and they don’t know if they’re going to be attacked again by whom to whom. I mean what are you meant to do in that situation. People in close knit communities aren’t just going to lock their doors and politely tut and do nothing hoping it will all go away. It’s not going away is it. Normal people going about their ordinary hum drum lives are suddenly facing utter atrocities on their door step like nothing they’ve experienced before. It’s irrelevant that other crimes are occurring by British people that’s not the point and it’s a complete side issue and taking away from what’s happening to certain parts of the UK. If you haven’t had a local teenager gang raped or someone slashed on your doorstep buy an asylum seeker (or grooming gang for that matter) yet then you’re not going to understand the fear and horror that will push you to protest against it ever happening again. And people will work themselves into a frenzy because no one is helping to stop it properly and effectively where they live. It’s horrifying walking though a huge group of male asylum seekers leering at you and smirking after they’ve come out of their place of worship or hotel they’re staying at. It’s uncomfortable and there is an ominous tension.

The 'protestors' are setting fire to people's houses based on the colour of their skin. That's equally gross. Two wrongs don't make a right.

Jellox
The right are known for having low IQs and being easily manipulated

Should we only accept asylum seekers from left-wing countries?