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Notes -
Going to jump in with what I want to see discussed:
Police and political leaders in Northern Ireland call for calm after Belfast knife attack.
What we know is that a MENA immigrant has attacked a native in the street, gouged out his eyes, and was attempting to behead him when stopped by passers-by.
Details beyond that seem shaky. I've seen the attacker described as Somali, though Sudanese is more consistent. I've seen the victim described as a man in his 40s, though 15-year old boy is also popular. And I've seen that the victim's life was saved, but also that he's perished in the hospital.
What's certain is that the major concern of the people in charge is, of course, that this is liable to upset the native population.
Perhaps that's more understandable than usual because of where it happened. Belfast! A storied town. Across twitter I see various historically-enemy paramilitary sympathizers calling to set aside their differences and unite against the common enemy; that it doesn't matter who controls Northern Ireland unless there's any such place left to save.
Last I heard, all major transport routes into and out of the city have been shut down, businesses are forced to close at 17:30, and curfews have been established. The place seems to be gearing up for major rioting.
Is it just me or have the straws been landing more heavily, lately, on the camel's back?
And, provided that the historically-armed underground belligerent factions of the area haven't withered into insignificance; provided that they do get serious about uniting and using force; might they serve as a template, or at least an inspiration, for other places?
I believe Kulak once predicted that the flashpoint for organized European resistance would happen in Northern Ireland.
I responded to FtttG here before realizing why there was so little action in that thread.
Tl;dr
Seriously, social media is probably the worst way to learn about public opinion. Unfortunately, most of the public which is opining probably got the idea through social media.
This is still pretty silly. If the IRA is plotting a cooperative pogrom, they’re not doing it on Twitter.
Just you. Belfast has a smaller total population than LA’s black population. In the 90s. I’m not expecting to see anything remotely on the scale of the ‘92 riots.
Kulak predicts a lot of things. I don’t know that he’s been right yet. I’d take the other side of this bet.
I don't think that's what @TitaniumButterfly meant. I think by "straws breaking the camel's back" he was referring to acts of shocking, indiscriminate violence committed by supposed refugees and asylum seekers, not to riots which ensue in response.
I’m saying that if the LA riots didn’t represent a breaking point, the Belfast riots won’t, either. There’s not gonna be a kulak-approved Helter Skelter.
I'm watching videos of -- allegedly -- mobs roving door to door searching for migrants and torching the place if any are found. While it's certainly small potatoes compared to a full-blown reconquista, it sure looks like a significant step in that direction to me, and while I haven't spoken to Kulak in a while I have little doubt that he approves.
Much will depend upon the scale, efficacy, and above all optics of the official response here. Because whatever else can be said, precedent is being established.
What videos? Where? It seems that the houses catching fire were secondary to the usual protest moves of setting bins/cars/buses on fire, we're not talking about people being firebombed out of their houses:
At the moment, there's immediate political reaction and comments which are emotional ("masked gangs burning people out of their homes") but which may not be accurate. Granted, there's probably little difference between "the gangs set cars on fire outside my home which then caught fire" and "my house was set on fire" when it comes down to the effect on someone, but it's not the same thing as "usual rioting and burning":
I'm reminded of the idea that Trump says inaccurate things so that the media corrects him with a correction that to an average person sounds as bad as the original claim. "Oh, they're just really burning cars and busses" is damning with faint praise.
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