"Race-based pogrom" and "huge act of self-harm by mindless idiots who are actually only damaging their own futures".

[Batmanisaplaceinturkey]

Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill says "groups of masked men" were "burning families out of their homes"

One pastor in north Belfast says black people's homes were targeted, while an MP tells the BBC there was a "race-based pogrom"

The PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher says the violent disorder in Belfast was a "huge act of self-harm by mindless idiots who are actually only damaging their own futures".

I agree with all the quotes. Sick of mindless racist thugs and their 'protests', where they look like they are enjoying themselves while they commit violence and set fire to things.

"The UK has no open borders"

You do realise that these are the exact same types who were fighting on the terraces, endangering lives on ferries and smashing up cars and pubs in the 80s and 90s?
There is a certain demographic of angry violent men and some female hangers on who want a pseudo war to give a sense of cause, to provide an outlet for their rage, and make them feel they have meaning, purpose and belonging.
They have been marshalled in the 'cause' of anti immigration. But if it wasn't that it would be something else. As it was before and as it will be after.
I'm not saying people aren't angry about immigration, but to suggest that anger about immigration is the cause of their violent disorder is woefully (willfully) reductive.
You don't go from bring prepared to burn out a house to being a harmless model citizen because the government reduces immigration. You just move on to another reason to burn another house.

It feels quite significant that this has move to the north of Ireland. Its history of violence and unique position in the UK.

the south has already had quite a problem with race/ immigration riots.

policing in the north is quite different with different experiences equipment even laws to contain riots and it feels more volatile.

also seems like something that could impact the was Almost inevitable reunification of Ireland.

I think you need to be careful in making sure your knowledge is complete before saying things like this especially when theyre sensitive. As another poster said, the north does indeed have open borders. You could’ve, or should’ve said GB has no open borders although again, that’s not strictly true and irrelevant to a discussion about the north

The Toxteth riots took place without any internet to help.

The milk company was aware of the rising tensions as they got less milk bottles back.

It was in relation to immigration . The open border between Ireland and N Ireland is a unique situation and doesn't apply to everyone.

Sorry nothing excuses setting fire to innocent peoples homes.

Recreational rioting is not an unknown thing in Belfast and Northern Ireland. It's usually, though not exclusively, practiced by disaffected youths from underprivileged communities. Oftentimes the precipitating event is merely a pretext for disorder. That said, obviously, I don't condone the racism and the attacks on people's homes and businesses. But civil disorder in Northern Ireland goes back a long, long way and there doesn't seem to be much attempt to address the root causes.

what do you mean it’s unique? There are 4 countries in the uk, all have open borders with each other and 1 has an open border with the EU.

it’s not a unique situation when it’s one border out of 4 and is the whole point people in the north are expressing upset. It’s not like you can out call it unique and forget about it. Your point was wrong.

No they haven't. Catch yourself on.

Ofcourse the Common Travel Area is a unique situation.

Are you really comparing that to a Scotland/England border?

And EU FOM has nothing to do with seeking asylum.

we are taking about Belfast. People who are rioting are saying it’s about their open border. The one that they do have. The one that asylum seekers come over from the south. That is the whole point.

England/ Scotland are irrelevant and you’re the one taking about GB, not me. This is NI.

July has always been a month of violence in NI, whether sectarian or racist. My (RC) relatives left Belfast for Dublin back in the late 60s for this exact reason.

The same people whose behaviour is nowadays considered completely unacceptable were tacitly supported by British governments of all stripes ever since the days of Lord Randolph Churchill, Birkenhead, etc.

"Ulster will fight and Ulster will be right" was the motto and a hint that the British establishment of the early 20th century stood behind a section of the population of the NE of Ireland that had no respect for law and order unless that state of being guaranteed them a sense of superiority in a society that was run on Them And Us principles.

I think you are misunderstanding me.

But anyway, it is no justification for violent riots, burning houses and busses and death threats to the Mayor of Belfast

Thar 'open border' is not the problem and it never was.

The unionists are using the knife attack to pursue the agenda they've always had, namely to reduce all ties with Ireland.

Their only aim is to create a closed border, not to guarantee public safety (see the mayhem they have caused if you want proof of that), and they have no interest in news from what they call 'the mainland' of stabbings or any other violence perpetrated by immigrants who entered the UK without ever setting foot in Ireland.

You forgot the British Isles. No passport needed for Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey.

These are effectively internal borders however. Non brits need a UK visa to enter these places.

How dare the Irish refuse to be invaded and colonised... again.

I quite agree. Mindless thugs will always exploit an opportunity to be mindless thugs...

BUT two things can be true at the same time and it is true that a lot of people are very angry about the consequences of various political decisions over the last decades.

The thugs actually help the politicians as the focus falls on the mindless violence and not on the underlying issues which are just swept under the carpet again.

Only when politicians in the centre admit that we have big big problems and we need radical solutions will we have progress.

I saw that mentioned on GRIPT news. Irish "Breitbart". Some politicians saying that border should be closed.

Yes that is their aim- but the fact is, it is open now. You can’t win the argument by denying it to them. It feeds into their argument that the left are thick and full of excuses

Totally agree. Worth pointing out which flags are being flown at the riots. @CliantheLang you aren't seriously suggesting that the loyalists have gone all anti-colonial all of a sudden?

I agree. Our politicians ignore us mere peasants on a whole host of things, but most people don’t go around rioting, imo it doesn’t work it makes things worse and divides everyone, but admittedly I also don’t have a solution to make them listen to us.

I feel like this is the tip of the iceberg for the UK and we’ll hit rock bottom before it gets any better.

I agree OP. On the radio this morning, one guest described needing to take in a family including children who'd been burned out of their house in the middle of the night. The next guest was asked to condemn it, and started with "My thoughts are with the innocent victim of the attack on Monday".

How could children fleeing an arson attack not be considered innocent victims too?

It was part of the statement by the Demo ratio Unionist Party leader in the HoC, iirc.

They're not even bothering to be subtle about their ultimate agenda, and to heck with the facts.

It's very important to note the strong links between loyalist/ unionist gangs and political parties (especially the DUP) and fundamentalist Christian nationalists in the US.

Invaded and colonised? Get a grip. 1.93m people live in NI and just under 97% are white. The vast majority of those were born in NI. 2379 people are estimated to be in receipt of asylum support. https://www.lawcentreni.org/news/refugee-facts-and-statistics/