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Pepe's avatar

A very interesting report. The echo chamber problem is becoming universal to all western countries. A very depressing future in which debate cannot be civil, taunting, humorous, or provocative. We cling to an ever shifting conformity which has dumbed down all of society.

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Pat C's avatar

The way this probably goes is not that it attracts an electoral outlet to develop but rather the sentiment will not be responded to in any way that gets at the root of the problem. The FG reaction is entirely one so far of a party of governance trying to remove the visual contradictions that enflame public sentiment, not of meaningful policy reversal. It would be somewhat akin to the CDU in Germany's activities in 2017 - making the migration problem go away in terms of public disorder but not addressing the asylum issue.

Blaming the "far right" is as you said a time worn IT/RTE classic, but I would suggest, speaking even as someone whose politics are quite a bit right of centre, that the lack of electoral outlet will cause some of the sentiment on display to get, if not hijacked, than at least combined in some cases, into the sub political "far right" stew of issues which more often than not just devolves into conspiracism. It will then become low status, even moreso than now, to publicly oppose existing policy, but the political market will not have been met, and it will turn into cynicism over time. The same thing happened in France, for example.

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Conor Fitzgerald's avatar

I think the most likely positive outcome from a restrictionist perspective is that the system is made more strict but that the rhetoric (talking about the far right etc) doesn’t change and there’s still no true right wing party. I think the chances of such a party emerging are still basically nil

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Forest's avatar

As you note, there's no one to vote FOR. So there's no incentive really to change tack, as long as no one breaks ranks. Bit of rhetoric at local level should do the trick.

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Conor Fitzgerald's avatar

I’m pretty pessimistic about this stuff as a rule but in this case I actually think something will have to happen. The pressures from immigration, asylum, housing etc are going to get massively worse from here on in

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Forest's avatar

Well I suppose they're grudgingly agreeing to enforce a law or two.

It's not a new observation but it's only now I'm getting it. It's the NGOs against the citizenry, it's them the politicians are afraid of. At least American lobbyists spend their own money.

My sense is that there are very few against the women and children from Ukraine, even the men, or real war torn countries. There are material impacts - my mother's friend was moved to an old folks home over an hour away - her children will do it but the old friends and neighbours who'd drop in for 20 mins after doing shopping, collecting pension or whatever, won't or can't. It deeply affects quality of life. But people aren't mad about that when they think of war torn widows and orphans. There is generosity there.

But no one likes piss takers, even while understanding why.

The wailing and rending of garments about the Fawr Roysh is just Twitterpoisoning. People wont forget it and there will be bumpy times ahead.

You might be of age to remember when American Cultural Imperialism got the lefties animated in hipster pubs. Times change eh.

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Eamonn McKeown's avatar

Weren’t the Shinners always a bunch of Marxists? At least from the ’70s. I don’t follow politics from the auld sod but I never would have expected anything from them. And almost all of my neighbors and friends are SF voters. They even brow beat me into voting for them once - told me they’d vote for me if I didn’t. Lol.

It’s terrible that I grew learning about an Ireland that couldn’t support it’s own people yet here we are still.

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Gordon Superior's avatar

Cormac Lucey was on Brendan O'Connor's radio show last weekend. He's the only media personality I've heard to question this constant "invocation of the far right". I wonder will he be invited back.

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Conor Fitzgerald's avatar

I don’t know Cormac but good for him. I think it’s ok to worry about the downside of talking about migration but ritualistic refs to the f** r***t have become an almost comical trope in Irish life, I’m glad someone else is pointing it out

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