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 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.

Given the prevlance of guns and the militarisation of police in US think that's perfectly reasonable stance. Though I think protestors have some understanable anger given what going on over there.

We've done a lot of uni visits last few years and encountered a lot of pro palsetien protests - they've not been at all as portrayed be media I don't think they served any purpose and can see why they upset some sectotions of the population - but one we encountered were quiet and had no unpleasant to other groups slogans shouted.

Riots are obviously something different to protests - and no-one wants them.

They didn't vote against an inquiry into rape gangs. They voted against an amendment to an existing bill to implement measures to protect children from CSE that would have delayed the bill going forwards right at the point it was ready to move into the house of lords. Said measures had been recommended by the Jay report 2 years earlier and were long overdue further delaying them would have been the wrong thing to do.
After this there was another bill put forward calling for a new inquiry into the rape gangs and this bill was voted for and now there is an ongoing inquiry.

So there’s no evidence of this actually happening? Just vibes?

I really don’t get how setting people’s homes alight while they are in residence makes things safer for them.

People wanting to voice concern can protest sensibly by signing a petition to be delivered to 10 Downing Street. There is no need to clog up cities, stop people getting to work, stop ambulances getting through and costing millions in additional policing.

He claimed asylum and therefore wasn’t illegal. He was on the initial 5 year visa for that and didn’t have ILR.

Just for the hard of thinking I completely condemn the attack.

Unfortunately, the riots are being incited by people who should know better - Farage, Musk. Read this and see what Musk is doing.‘There’s wee girls inside’: panic as masked men storm house in Belfast | Northern Ireland | The Guardian

I am upset and angry

I don't think you are allowed to be angry. After Henry Nowak's murder, Shabana Mahmood said people were rightly shocked and "disquieted". You are disquieted.

To be used as firelights by Keir Starmer?

A 70 year old mad is in hospital after having a brick thrown through his window.

Brilliant. Just what the strained NHS needs.

No he wasn’t, the man with the hurling stick was from west Belfast and his name couldn’t have been more Irish. Where on earth are your facts from ?

Maitiu Mág Tighearnán, from west Belfast

Because being quiet and compliant has got us so far.

Where has being loud and unruly got you?

Talking about the police “prioritising other races” over “Indigenous Europeans” is not only ridiculous, but also has no basis in fact and is a breathtakingly racist statement to make.

I don't think it is as simple and deliberate as you are suggesting.

Well done for raising this OP, the rioters are sickening. Northern Ireland is UK's most dangerous place to be a woman because of nasty wee thugs like the ones setting fire to buses and people's homes, running riot on the streets. It is the same as the thuggery we get in Glasgow around old firm games - any excuse for a certain sort of thick, hard drinking, knuckle dragger to get involved in a bust up. The don't really give a shiney shite about justice, they just love the excuse for a barney - they'll go home and duff up their wife and kids.

What is happening in Belfast isn't protest, it's male violence given an excuse to act the victim while getting off on unfettered violence and intimidation. Decent people need to stand up against these scum, not indulge or excuse them.

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

Denmark on the other hand, has recorded such information and it is clear that immigrants from certain nationalities commit sex offences at a rate considerably higher than other nationalities. Unsurprisingly the high offenders are from countries with very poor attitudes to women and high rates of sex offending themselves, including certain Muslim countries where men are taught that it is ok to rape non-Muslim women. Or where children who have been raped are stoned to death for adultery.

Can we just get something straight then please?

Attempted murder by stabbing = ring. Abhorrent.

Attempted murder by setting houses on fire and throwing bricks through windows = okay as long as you’re angry?

Protests vs riots.

Lessons will be learnt.

I don't feel safer with these marauding gangs of young men setting light to things.

The UK was always a horrible place to go out at night, lots of excessive drinking, swearing, most families don't want to set foot in the city and town centres after about 5pm as they feel unsafe.

Nothing that is happening now is changing that. I've noticed in our local area, the people putting up the flags, getting angry, occasionally aggressive and violent aren't the ones contributing to the society at all- they aren't volunteering at food banks, or arranging to repaint the community centre or doing any community minded actions at all. They are despoiling the communities that they apparently value so much.

They are also only pro-women's rights as a way to threaten other men. I am scared of men on the streets full stop and I don't care what colour they are- with one in five women having been sexually assaulted or raped (or more?) it's hardly like it's limited to one section of society, I fear rape in general, not rape by a specific ethnic group. I fear rape by men and men's violence and we are all getting a display of that this week.

The ones volunteering etc will simply be voting Reform on election day.

peaceful demonstrations, peaceful marches and respectful vigils are fine and an appropriate response to concering and/or tragic events. Torching houses with people in them, hurling burning bins at police officers, trashing shops and terrorising people is criminal and wholly reprehensible. We all know that there is a rent a mob who travel to cause trouble in response to certain appalling crimes but never even mention let alone respond to others. I have already mentioned the appalling and racially motivated violent rape and attempted strangulation of a Sikh woman by a white man who called her a "filthy Muslim bitch" as he violated her in her own home. Not a peep from the usually very vocal "protect our women and girls" contingent. If a Sikh man had raped a white woman they would very probably have been out there torching things.

Wide open thanks. But no response to who stands to benefit? Who's manipulating and framing the narrative?

If You think this is the case then I am sure you can point me to where the government has published this data? And I mean a comprehensive data set not partial data from just a small proportion of offenders. Where is your evidence?