Residents Against Racism

by a guy called satan Mon Jan 19, 2004 15:59

Michael , You mention that RAR is especially concerned about racism emanating from the state. Does RAR have any information on the recent upsurge in racist attacks in the north ?Is there any evidence of state collusion ?

by Maubere Tue Jan 20, 2004 14:57

All of the complaints I've heard about asylum seekers are about the social welfare system: eg

they're getting houses (this is the most common one really) , cars, holidays etc
they could apply for asylum in eu countries closer to Africa/Asia/Eastern Europe, they come all the way over here coz of the welfare benifits,
they dont want to work etc

I havent really heard any of the "there are too many foreigners here" comments,
I dont hear many people complaining about the Chinese and Filipino migrants (for example), probably coz they see them working and they dont get council houses

usually its the same people who complain about irish dole bludgers and prisoners getting to many comforts, and other examples of welfare fraud, i'm not sure if complaints about asylum seekers are based soley on racism

maybe you could give info to people about these urban myths regarding houses, cars etc also some info about the countries they're coming from (eg the repression in Nigeria) could increase sympathy for them

by pc Tue Jan 20, 2004 16:11

what the story with that story i read admittedly in the star or some tabloid like that about chinatown it said after recent publicity re the chinatown project, ( they're trying turn parts of capel street /smithfield into a sort of china town) and the chinaese new year celebration that a racist group had but up loads of racist poster like no to cinatown and the like....

doesn't sound nice :(

projects like chinatown are mostly a commercial idea but i suppose its a positive sign of ireland as metropolitan city


an interesting point put to me once was that the develop of chinatown or little italies was not a multicural developement but actually self isolation by those groups making the problem worse not better....

by KKK leather joy boys Thu Jan 22, 2004 14:00

The rascist pogrom against asylum seekers/refugees is needed, in order to pay for things like the war effort and lower tax es for the rich etc.

Our governments need billions of pounds to finance the ongoing war efforts, public amenities, lower tax for the rich etc.

Governments have to make a profit some way, in order to pay ministers their exorbitant wages of around £60000, what better way to do this than to acquire foreign oil fields.

Our governments cannot afford to feed,house etc the thousands of refugees/asylum seekers displaced through our governments war efforts and international interference/shit stirring in places like Uganda, Bosnia, Afghanistan and now Iraq.

Many of the asylum seekers/refugees would be skilled professionals in their own countries, some are doctors, teachers etc, who are banned from working when they arrive to seek refuge in Britain/ireland. In case they are taking local jobs. They are in a no win situation, if they claim welfare they're scroungers, if they get a job they're taking local jobs.

People shouldn't be afraid to admit to being blatantly racially prejudice against asylum seekers, because there is no real basis for hostility against mostly harmless refugees other than the colour of their skin, or their funny accents, culture etc. There is no logical fact based justification for hatred of asylum seekers/foreign looking people other than that they are foreign looking.

by on-looker Wed Jun 30, 2004 18:23

I would have thought a group calling itself Residents Against Racism would be more concerned with racism at a local level, i.e. a group of residents in a neighbourhood. To accuse "the State" of being the major factor in racism is ridiculous. Granted politicians in the current government were happy to use racist feeling to pass their recent Citizenship referendum.

My own experience of working in various parts of Dublin leads to me to believe that the most entrenched, vocal, and violent racists are based in "working class" communities, like Summerhill and the other areas around Parnell Street. This racism often seems more intense among those who come from a culture of long-term unemployment.

Of course this won't fit with certain leftist thinking but thats just the way it is.

All this racist feeling is not directly linked to "waves of immigration" as the tabloids (most popular newspapers) might put it. Many "dubs" i worked with pre-1995 were just as racist when they got the oppotunity to see a foreigner.

by Sam Adams Mon Sep 20, 2004 19:34

...that the most entrenched, vocal, and violent racists are based in "working class" communities, like Summerhill and the other areas around Parnell Street. ..

Has it occurred to you that these people live where the mass immigration has been most visible ? It's easy for the people of Dublin 4 to not be "racist" (wrong word, incidentally). Look at how the residents of Penmroke Road closed down a hostel for asylum-seekers a year or two ago.

...Many "dubs" i worked with pre-1995 were just as racist when they got the oppotunity to see a foreigner...

Knock off the stereotyping, please. Your snide remarks about "Dubs" are just as nasty as the "racism" you profess to oppose. Dubliners have every right to object to mass immigration into their communities. The only time they got a chance to express an opinion on a question remotely linked to this, they voted almost 4 to 1 against abuse of our immigration laws.

Incidentally, just who are (is?) Residents against Racism ? I'm a resident of Dublin and have never come across them, apart from occasionally hearing what appears to be an English woman interviewed on NewsTalk 106.

by Tony Mon Sep 20, 2004 20:18

Perhaps the most offensive aspect of Residents Against Racism is their fixation on "state racism".

This borrows its ideology from the McPherson report in Britain which coined the phrase "institutionalised racsim"

Went down a bomb over there too.

Instead of stereotyping race, ideologies like "state racism" are hideously directed at the "state" and so, the very men and women that support it and work for it, regardless of their opinions on race. Thus a whole buch of people are assumed to be racist and that is who "Residents Against Racism" will pitch their eternal battle against.

Stripping people of their humanity on such assumptions is not why I call "anti racism".

It is this type of fundamentalism at one end of the spectrum that tends to drive the fundamentalism at the other and I find myself angery, VERY angry at this type of assumption.

If "Residents Against Racism" were truly serious about tackling racism it would start by supporting an immigration policy for this Country that is ACCEPTABLE to the majority of people in this Country. Part of that fundamental goal would be support for the reform of the asylum system so that it's provisions are relevant to REFUGEES and it is run for the benefit of de facto REFUGEES and not simply as a alternative immigration system OR for the angry, self aggrandising, closed minded and massively overly-publicised fringe groups whose philosophy is unsound, support is questionable and numbers neglibible.

by frifry Tue Sep 21, 2004 13:20

Here, here, Sam Adams and Tony!
These "anti-racist" bullies are too quick to attack the working classes in the urban and provincial areas most affected by this influx for voicing their concerns and grievances.
Also when are you arrogant people going to learn to ‘think out the box ‘ and stop thinking that 1) so-called “anti-racism” equals a left wing and pro-working class agenda 2) that people favoring sensible and fair immigration and asylum policy necessarily are on the right of the political spectrum.
If anything if one looks at many of the immigrant communities in the U.K. and U.S you’ll find that many are natural Conservatives in their values and lifestyles. I suspect you’ll find in time the same will apply to many of those entering here.
Think about it!!!

by francis j Tue Jan 18, 2005 14:44

Fair enough, but at the same time, compared with Middle class liberals, working class tend be far more reactionary and materialistic.

by hui Tue Jan 18, 2005 19:49

"Fair enough, but at the same time, compared with Middle class liberals, working class tend be far more reactionary and materialistic"

I wouldn't necessarily agree that they are more materialistic than middle classes- just more overtly eager to acquire the outward trappings of wealth perhaps.

Reactionary? Yes, definitely but who says being reactionary is in itself wrong.

The key point is they tend to bear the brunt of social policy disproportionately but enjoy much less influence in the actual decision making.


Those who support mass immigration seem to delight in inflicting their social experiment on the least able to resist it and then use their educational and social advantage to malign and smear them for their oft clumsily voiced objections -just like every bully, liberal bullies prey on vulnerability and revel in unfair advantage.

by Dogmatic Tue Jan 18, 2005 19:53

Most of RAR's members are working class, not that it makes a difference. Racism equally affects all the class spectrum, it isn't worse in working class areas, it is just more likely to manifest itself violently by a very small number of youths in certain areas. Certain people like Tony only view their politics through immigration, they are completely focused on the colour of people's skin and presume to know what RAR's campaigns are about. edited to remove personal comments

by Numb Wed Jan 19, 2005 00:11 numb at yahoo dot ie

The Irish are so skilled at disguising racist views and our predilection for racist opinions, is on a par with some of the worst offenders in Europe. Ireland is a racist place, we've always been racist. Our racist prejudices are well recorded in America and England, and our racist prejudices can be encountered in Donegal,Dublin, Galway, Waterford and Cork etc.

I'm not foolish enough to deny its existence. Its ingrained and festering within Irish society, no matter where you look. The influx of Eastern Europeans wont help matters, the Polish and Latvians are the biggest racists, I have ever come across!!!

The Irish are RACIST also, learn to live with it and spare us the soul searching. We treat the travelling community like scum and are racist towards them. Its alright for the bastards in Foxrock or Dalkey, to comment on the problem, they don't live alongside it.

Also, these very people have blocked countless planning projects that would have seen an influx of unwanted travellers. They don't want them on their doorstep!!!Anyone considering a move to Poland? No, didn't fucking think so. I've been all over the world and believe me, the IRISH are racist bastards, the ambiguity of being Irish, allows us to disguise it more readily and effective, than anyone else in this world.

The fucking Irish will throw financial help towards victims of the Tsunami, but would do fuck all to support harmony and understanding, via financial aid, in our own communities. We'll sit back and moan about the bed shortages in hospitals but wouldn't dream of marching agains't the government in protest on any number of issues. I'm not going to protest agains't racism, by doing that, I'd be engaging in a "feel good" exercise of futility. By all means, stamp it out, but it wont be in my time.

by Dogmatic Wed Jan 19, 2005 12:59

RAR now meet at 7 o'clock every Friday in the Teachers club. They welcome new members.

by fred Thu Jan 20, 2005 15:14

"Most of RAR's members are working class,
ewven if this true doesn't in itself mean that you speak for that class though.

by Dogmatic Thu Jan 20, 2005 16:50

I am not a member of RAR but i do support their work and as i said it is irrelevant because it is an issue that affects all classes equally