Garda Injured: IMCer Response to criticisms of Coverage of This

by blip Mon May 03, 2004 21:30

i am not a troll... i am however a student, and yes, i come from a middle class family. if this makes me "irrelevant" or unworthy to comment then so be it. i visited this site out of a genuine desire to get an alternative view on saturday's events. i have found much that is commendable and newsworthy here and much that is just crude, paranoid gibberish. i attended the march to farmleigh, not out of any radically leftist political bent but because i did not want to be intimidated by the excessive police preparations and the paranoid media in the run up to the day and because i think the right to protest is important and should be defended. i was disgusted by all the hype, however i honestly thought the police on the day were surprisingly accomodating. my initial reaction to the water cannon was that they were unneccesary and setting a dangerous precedent for public order issues in ireland. However, on the day they saved countless batonings, missiles and martyrdom on both sides, they safely dispersed what would have been a dangerous situation and perhaps most importantly they provided an entertaining finale to a long march. something was bound to happen after such a long trek from town, there were elements in the crowd that clearly won't going to settle for standing behind a banner in the middle of a cordoned off road out in the suburbs. it is a shame that people played into the hands of the media by giving them their photo-op but i suppose that's just the nature of the beast in these situations (i.e. non-single issue/ free for all demos). the bullshit printed in the papers on sunday was an astounding misrepresentation of what happened but so is much of what i've read on here.
i have to agree with cabhog about much of the editorial decisions on this site.. to delete articles that try to give a different perspective in order to bolster the argument of one side is not just utterly unprofessional, it is not in anyone's long term interests if this site hopes to become a valid alternative to the mainstream press.
to post a photo of someone with no evidence and state categorically that they are a guard is slanderous and reprehensible. this person was causing trouble and acting suspiciously? fair enough, put a massive photo of him on the homepage and ask for information. inform people that he was acting suspiciously, explain on what grounds, ask him to come forward etc etc. i dont know who makes editorial decisions on this site and i don't envy them their job with all these maniacs running round spouting shite, but just remember that if yiz want to maintain the moral high ground yiz have to work for it. either dont delete anything and be a truly open and inclusive forum (that'll soon be run into the ground by gobshites) or draw up a clear set of editorial guidelines and stick to them (and be prepared for a lot of abuse). thats my two cents for now for what its worth...

by Mimberof Defarce Mon May 03, 2004 20:14

i tink you bowsies in indymedia are very unfair. you did not report the serious injury i got when i got back to the baracks on saturday nite.
i caught my finger in the door and it hurt like hell, and its all your fault cause if youse reported it properly i wud be able to claim compensayshun. yur not really independent, dis was a far more serius injury than the broken bones we gav yer mates.
i wud hav bin able to take a month off if youd reported this injury.

by kevin kelly Mon May 03, 2004 17:05 kplcards at yahoo dot com

If it wasn't for indi we would only have the corporate lies , indi do an important and worthwhile job .

by Nighthawk Mon May 03, 2004 05:56

No, you are not being paranoid. There are trolls around, but not that many as they each use more than one identity.
When they find that people counter their arguments effectively then they resort to abuse, usually of the more obscene kind. That is their true level, both morally and intelectually.
To the editors - keep doing what you are doing, Saturdays reporting of unfolding events was excellent.

by . Mon May 03, 2004 05:24

"All the Gardai gave you was a much needed gentle wash."

So the batons blows were all imaginary then?

Despite the fact that they have been clearly documented in photos such as:
http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/may2004/violentassault.jpg

I can only conclude you are a troll - ie someone trying to start arguments and spread confusion - rather than someone genuinely interested in getting at the truth.

Talking of trolls, there seem to be quite a few around... or am I just being paranoid? :)

by Chekov Mon May 03, 2004 02:57

The Grassroots protest caused harm to not a single family enjoying the day in town. We did what we said we were going to do, we enjoyed a noisy, fun day out. It was the media bullshit and extravagent security operation that troubled people's confidence, not anything that the protestors did or said.

by Joe McGovern - Citizen Mon May 03, 2004 02:26 Mcgovern_6 at hotmail dot com

You negative people spoiled an otherwise day of celebration and fun for me, my wife and my children. i would like to have gone into town in confidence of my family's security.

I rejoice in the successes of the past decade and am proud of the way our President and Taoiseach handled yesterday's a day of history. All the Gardai gave you was a much needed gentle wash. Next time I hope they up the water pressure.

Ireland has the highest GDP per capita in the EU after Luxemburg and you begrudgers still complain!

Rejoice and be happy. Isolate the negative people. Even Ian Paisley is copping on!

However, there are none so deaf as those who do not want to hear.

JMcG
Taxpayer and Citizen with Rights

by david Sun May 02, 2004 21:34

"One female Garda officer was injured during the protests but her injuries were not serious"

Its not nice that any people should get hurt, but if the right wing trolls want to get hung up on this incident especially when the garda press office themselves are playing it down

by trollwatch Sun May 02, 2004 20:54

evil troller above!!!!!!!!

spouting lies!!!!!!

are you really saying a hospital offered a person with a broken leg, over the counter pain killers!

obvious lie!

delete now!


this is a disgraceful attack on the decent people who work in A & E across dublin

by sambadood Sun May 02, 2004 20:06

Hopefully she was offered more than paracetomol when she was brought to hospital, unlike the protester who's leg was broken by her workmates.

by toneore Sun May 02, 2004 20:04

should they give you a statement anyway? You're not a journalist or member of the press. Haven't you got exams to study for, pal?

by toneore Sun May 02, 2004 20:02

The Gardai have a job to do. They don't have time to sit behind a laptop that their parents bought, uploading images and engaging in student ranting under the guide of "We're the MEdia". Not in my name, you're not.

by Donnacha Sun May 02, 2004 19:57

If you don't have anything constructive to say - say nothing.

D.

by Sir Anthony Sun May 02, 2004 19:57

May you should think about joining us at the Indo ..... we don't have very stringent requirements about that kind of thing ...

by use_a_spellchecker Sun May 02, 2004 19:34

Learn how to spell or at least use a spell checker.

It is "uncommunicative" not uncommicative.

Don't consider a job in journalism ....

by Donnacha Sun May 02, 2004 16:45

The Press Office is usually like that. Most journos get their information from their contacts rather than the press office. So I wouldn't take it personally.

How's this for a suggestion: Why doesn't someone from IMC ask for an interview with a senior Garda when the heat dies down? The worst they can say is no, but you might be surprised.

D.