PRC-UTE
10th December 2004, 18:22
Community Aceptability V's Anti-Social Activity
Who is Responsible?
By Charlie Clarke
The last year in North Belfast has been a difficult if not nearly impossible one for the republican working class communities throughout the area, as we have watched a dramatic rise in anti-social activity and crime, drugs and death driving taking over our areas.
The working class have found themselves under increasingly unbearable pressure from these elements that are destroying the very heart of society and have been left feeling powerless and abandoned in their plight. Whole communities have been rendered powerless by the will of these tyrants, leaving them with a free reign to cause unwarranted destruction and mayhem in their wake. The elderly, the sick, and the children of our communities are no longer safe from the evils of this select few. Lawlessness is the authority in North Belfast.
Republican Socialism recognises the working class have the right to be protected from those who would try to destroy and steal from them what is rightfully theirs. They have the right to be safe in their homes, in their workplace, in their schools and their playgrounds, and in their retirement years. We have a duty to protect the vulnerable sections of our community, to defend those unable to defend themselves. We have an obligation to secure a safe environment for our children free from the evils and dangers of drugs and death driving. We have a responsibility to protect the human rights of the working classes and to ensure that they are not breached or trampled upon by any other. How do we successfully do this, and just exactly who is responsible for it? How can we prevent the human rights of one individual holding those of an entire community to ransom? These two questions hold the answers to the problems facing our society today.
Our society is not normal. We have faced some of the most horrendous and bloody years of the conflict in this island of Ireland. Casualties and fatalities resulting from the conflict are phenomenally high here in proportion to the rest of the island. North Belfast was a burial ground for thirty years of loyalist and state forces murder. We had no police force to protect us; rather, we had an extension of the Loyalist murder squads to facilitate their assassination attempts against our community and who provided them with safe entry and exit as well as the intelligence to do so. How could we call that normality? The very statutory agencies put in place, supposedly for our welfare and protection, were involved in a cold war of attrition against us. Our people were brutalised, imprisoned, slaughtered and murdered at the hands of these police impostors. Our community was under attack from all fronts.
So, in the absence of a substantial and impartial police force empowered to protect our community, it was left to republicans to somehow fill this void created by the British state. Military minds were forced to undertake a complex situation and make it right, resulting in the implementation of martial law throughout our areas. ‘Quick fix’ solutions were favoured rather than ‘long term’ settlements. The absence of a suitable and acceptable police force of the working class had its own detrimental consequences upon our community. Would be and aspiring criminals saw a loophole in the system that would enable them to procure their wealth without the interference of unwelcome law enforcement. Anti-social activity increased dramatically in the years to follow, as well as the need for martial law. The essence of our community was being flushed down the drain.
When we look at the new lows of anti-social and anti-community behaviour rife within North Belfast today, it is understandable how a whole community can feel abandoned and helpless. The perpetrators of these attacks against the working class seem to be getting away with it! Martial law and physical force punishment are being repressed by the desire for non-violent approaches to this problem. More and more people are speaking out against such actions and we are faced with a society who claims that punishment ‘shootings and beatings’ are no longer acceptable in this day and age.
We have apologists’ for the criminals within our communities also, who, despite the actions of these individuals and the devastating consequences inflicted upon the working class by these thugs, refuse to accept that there is a problem. Rather, they prefer to castigate the very people who are trying to resolve such matters.
Then there are the parents or guardians of these thugs, some of whom refuse to accept that their offspring would be capable of such things, others have just simply given up and fail to deal with the problem directly as responsible parents should. Dysfunctional families are popping up all over North Belfast, with the children telling the parent what to do, absent parents who drink heavily every night, parents who have been taken by the addiction to drugs and prescription drugs, all of these have a major role to play.
Then of course there is alcohol and drugs! Children can so readily receive these potent, addictive and destructive substances whenever they wish. Underage drinking is rife in North Belfast, as is the taking and experimenting with concoctions of illegal and prescription drugs. The amount of bars and social clubs that encourage the underage client is devastatingly high. Late bars, rave and techno music, the accessibility to the premises without the producing of verifiable I.D., the availability of ‘alco pops’ and secluded, dark corners that are essential for the illusive drug barons to conduct their trade, enable the underage client to become vulnerable to the impressions and advancements from the leeches that we should be protecting them from.
Fuelled by a deadly thingytail of drink and drugs, and on a dangerous high, these youths are thrown out onto the streets in wild and highly impressionable packs. The young male trying to impress, or the rebellious teen hell bent on destruction and mayhem are icons for those who are under the influence of these highly potent concoctions.
The need for these drugs becomes increasingly higher as the addictive qualities take control of the user. The average user in North Belfast is between the age of 15 – 25, often with no prospect of work or income. A source for the purchasing of these drugs is vital. This often leads to the user turning to crime to accumulate the money for their purchase. As we have recently experienced in North Belfast, the practice of strapping the drugs to the individual with the benefit of ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ is another way to procure these substances. These credit agreements are regulated by no one and often lead to either the threat or use of violence against the individual. If no money can be produced, then the bad debtor is forced to rob, steal and eventually deal to pay off the debt owed to his lender.
Consumerism is another factor in this maze of causes. The definition of this is:
con·sum·er·ism (k n-s m -r z m)
n.
1. The movement seeking to protect and inform consumers by requiring such practices as honest packaging and advertising, product guarantees, and improved safety standards.
2. The theory that a progressively greater consumption of goods is economically beneficial.
3. Attachment to materialistic values or possessions: deplored the rampant consumerism of contemporary society.
Society today enforces peer pressure upon our class. It dictates what is fashionable and what is not. What to wear eat and drink and what isn’t ‘cool’ to be seen with or in. This pressure to our impressionable youth is immense. You need to be wearing the right trainers, jeans, shirts etc., you need to have the right labels on your clothing and accessories – society says so! How do the poorer youth acquire these products and items of fashion? How do they clothe themselves in the right attire so that they can be ‘cool’ on the streets? If they don’t work, then where do they get the money? Theft and anti-social behaviour. They rob homes, shops; steal money, electrical items, and jewellery; sell drugs and stolen goods. It is a downward spiral that few can come off.
The eventuality of all of these activities is that they will come into contact with the Police. Normally in any society, when caught by the police for committing a crime you go to jail. In areas like republican North Belfast however, this is the last port of call for the criminal elements within our community. Instead, these young men and sometimes teenagers, are lured deeper into the world of deception, (threatened with the prospect of being imprisoned and faced with the potential to do whatever they please), by becoming agents for the British state forces and informing on the whereabouts’ and activities of republican activists within their areas. This amnesty and green light to do whatever they desire without fear of reprisal from the PSNI is the catalyst for the anti-social activity in the north of Belfast.
The community needs to take back ownership of its streets. It needs to empower itself to tackle the ever-growing problem of anti-social activity. It needs to rise to the challenge and refuse to waver. The days of hiding behind closed doors in these areas are over, fooling oneself with the lie that “it isn’t at my door so it’s not my problem”. It is all our problems. True, the problem may not be at your door tonight – but who knows what will happen tomorrow? Ignoring the problem isn’t going to make it go away, all that will do is to ensure it’s growth. So what do we do?
Do we leave it to the community watch groups?
Do we leave it to the Republican groups?
Do we leave it and hope that the PSNI will deal with it?
The answer to these questions is NO!
I refer back to my previous questions;
How do we successfully do this, and just exactly who is responsible for it?
And;
How can we prevent the human rights of one individual holding those of an entire community to ransom?
One answer to these questions is this: that we join together as a community, a whole community and refuse to bow to the pressures and threats of these thugs. We are all responsible of permitting this problem to spiral out of control within our areas, one way or another. Whether it be being an apologist, ignoring the problem, refusing to get involved, failing to parent our children, covering for others in their guilt, buying alcohol for those underage, buying or supplying drugs to others, selling run-around cars to those without licenses etc. we all have a responsibility to tackle this problem head on – we have all contributed to the causes. Do not be disillusioned either, there are good decent children in these areas too, in fact the majority of the children are just that, and we need to ensure that we do not punish them for the offences of a few.
However, the human rights of these anti-social elements are just as important as those within the community, and we cannot allow our anger or frustrations to infringe upon their rights. We need to draw a balance. It is by ensuring that we do not infringe upon the rights of the perpetrator that we prevent them from holding our rights to ransom. Any actions that we may take as a concerted community must not mirror the wanton destruction that has been levelled at us.
We need to come together and support the initiatives within the community, we need to stand shoulder to shoulder in the face of adversity and refuse to back down. We need to work together to tackle the problem and not to shy away whenever it becomes too tough. We need to speak up for one another when others try to tear down. Punishment for persistent offenders’ has to be calculated and effective, and should be met with silence! The community cannot persevere with those who continually refuse to be part of us. It is by being a true community that we will break this oppressive burden that is poisoning our society. It is by regaining our voice that we can be heard.
Charlie Clarke
Irish Republican Socialist Party.
Who is Responsible?
By Charlie Clarke
The last year in North Belfast has been a difficult if not nearly impossible one for the republican working class communities throughout the area, as we have watched a dramatic rise in anti-social activity and crime, drugs and death driving taking over our areas.
The working class have found themselves under increasingly unbearable pressure from these elements that are destroying the very heart of society and have been left feeling powerless and abandoned in their plight. Whole communities have been rendered powerless by the will of these tyrants, leaving them with a free reign to cause unwarranted destruction and mayhem in their wake. The elderly, the sick, and the children of our communities are no longer safe from the evils of this select few. Lawlessness is the authority in North Belfast.
Republican Socialism recognises the working class have the right to be protected from those who would try to destroy and steal from them what is rightfully theirs. They have the right to be safe in their homes, in their workplace, in their schools and their playgrounds, and in their retirement years. We have a duty to protect the vulnerable sections of our community, to defend those unable to defend themselves. We have an obligation to secure a safe environment for our children free from the evils and dangers of drugs and death driving. We have a responsibility to protect the human rights of the working classes and to ensure that they are not breached or trampled upon by any other. How do we successfully do this, and just exactly who is responsible for it? How can we prevent the human rights of one individual holding those of an entire community to ransom? These two questions hold the answers to the problems facing our society today.
Our society is not normal. We have faced some of the most horrendous and bloody years of the conflict in this island of Ireland. Casualties and fatalities resulting from the conflict are phenomenally high here in proportion to the rest of the island. North Belfast was a burial ground for thirty years of loyalist and state forces murder. We had no police force to protect us; rather, we had an extension of the Loyalist murder squads to facilitate their assassination attempts against our community and who provided them with safe entry and exit as well as the intelligence to do so. How could we call that normality? The very statutory agencies put in place, supposedly for our welfare and protection, were involved in a cold war of attrition against us. Our people were brutalised, imprisoned, slaughtered and murdered at the hands of these police impostors. Our community was under attack from all fronts.
So, in the absence of a substantial and impartial police force empowered to protect our community, it was left to republicans to somehow fill this void created by the British state. Military minds were forced to undertake a complex situation and make it right, resulting in the implementation of martial law throughout our areas. ‘Quick fix’ solutions were favoured rather than ‘long term’ settlements. The absence of a suitable and acceptable police force of the working class had its own detrimental consequences upon our community. Would be and aspiring criminals saw a loophole in the system that would enable them to procure their wealth without the interference of unwelcome law enforcement. Anti-social activity increased dramatically in the years to follow, as well as the need for martial law. The essence of our community was being flushed down the drain.
When we look at the new lows of anti-social and anti-community behaviour rife within North Belfast today, it is understandable how a whole community can feel abandoned and helpless. The perpetrators of these attacks against the working class seem to be getting away with it! Martial law and physical force punishment are being repressed by the desire for non-violent approaches to this problem. More and more people are speaking out against such actions and we are faced with a society who claims that punishment ‘shootings and beatings’ are no longer acceptable in this day and age.
We have apologists’ for the criminals within our communities also, who, despite the actions of these individuals and the devastating consequences inflicted upon the working class by these thugs, refuse to accept that there is a problem. Rather, they prefer to castigate the very people who are trying to resolve such matters.
Then there are the parents or guardians of these thugs, some of whom refuse to accept that their offspring would be capable of such things, others have just simply given up and fail to deal with the problem directly as responsible parents should. Dysfunctional families are popping up all over North Belfast, with the children telling the parent what to do, absent parents who drink heavily every night, parents who have been taken by the addiction to drugs and prescription drugs, all of these have a major role to play.
Then of course there is alcohol and drugs! Children can so readily receive these potent, addictive and destructive substances whenever they wish. Underage drinking is rife in North Belfast, as is the taking and experimenting with concoctions of illegal and prescription drugs. The amount of bars and social clubs that encourage the underage client is devastatingly high. Late bars, rave and techno music, the accessibility to the premises without the producing of verifiable I.D., the availability of ‘alco pops’ and secluded, dark corners that are essential for the illusive drug barons to conduct their trade, enable the underage client to become vulnerable to the impressions and advancements from the leeches that we should be protecting them from.
Fuelled by a deadly thingytail of drink and drugs, and on a dangerous high, these youths are thrown out onto the streets in wild and highly impressionable packs. The young male trying to impress, or the rebellious teen hell bent on destruction and mayhem are icons for those who are under the influence of these highly potent concoctions.
The need for these drugs becomes increasingly higher as the addictive qualities take control of the user. The average user in North Belfast is between the age of 15 – 25, often with no prospect of work or income. A source for the purchasing of these drugs is vital. This often leads to the user turning to crime to accumulate the money for their purchase. As we have recently experienced in North Belfast, the practice of strapping the drugs to the individual with the benefit of ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ is another way to procure these substances. These credit agreements are regulated by no one and often lead to either the threat or use of violence against the individual. If no money can be produced, then the bad debtor is forced to rob, steal and eventually deal to pay off the debt owed to his lender.
Consumerism is another factor in this maze of causes. The definition of this is:
con·sum·er·ism (k n-s m -r z m)
n.
1. The movement seeking to protect and inform consumers by requiring such practices as honest packaging and advertising, product guarantees, and improved safety standards.
2. The theory that a progressively greater consumption of goods is economically beneficial.
3. Attachment to materialistic values or possessions: deplored the rampant consumerism of contemporary society.
Society today enforces peer pressure upon our class. It dictates what is fashionable and what is not. What to wear eat and drink and what isn’t ‘cool’ to be seen with or in. This pressure to our impressionable youth is immense. You need to be wearing the right trainers, jeans, shirts etc., you need to have the right labels on your clothing and accessories – society says so! How do the poorer youth acquire these products and items of fashion? How do they clothe themselves in the right attire so that they can be ‘cool’ on the streets? If they don’t work, then where do they get the money? Theft and anti-social behaviour. They rob homes, shops; steal money, electrical items, and jewellery; sell drugs and stolen goods. It is a downward spiral that few can come off.
The eventuality of all of these activities is that they will come into contact with the Police. Normally in any society, when caught by the police for committing a crime you go to jail. In areas like republican North Belfast however, this is the last port of call for the criminal elements within our community. Instead, these young men and sometimes teenagers, are lured deeper into the world of deception, (threatened with the prospect of being imprisoned and faced with the potential to do whatever they please), by becoming agents for the British state forces and informing on the whereabouts’ and activities of republican activists within their areas. This amnesty and green light to do whatever they desire without fear of reprisal from the PSNI is the catalyst for the anti-social activity in the north of Belfast.
The community needs to take back ownership of its streets. It needs to empower itself to tackle the ever-growing problem of anti-social activity. It needs to rise to the challenge and refuse to waver. The days of hiding behind closed doors in these areas are over, fooling oneself with the lie that “it isn’t at my door so it’s not my problem”. It is all our problems. True, the problem may not be at your door tonight – but who knows what will happen tomorrow? Ignoring the problem isn’t going to make it go away, all that will do is to ensure it’s growth. So what do we do?
Do we leave it to the community watch groups?
Do we leave it to the Republican groups?
Do we leave it and hope that the PSNI will deal with it?
The answer to these questions is NO!
I refer back to my previous questions;
How do we successfully do this, and just exactly who is responsible for it?
And;
How can we prevent the human rights of one individual holding those of an entire community to ransom?
One answer to these questions is this: that we join together as a community, a whole community and refuse to bow to the pressures and threats of these thugs. We are all responsible of permitting this problem to spiral out of control within our areas, one way or another. Whether it be being an apologist, ignoring the problem, refusing to get involved, failing to parent our children, covering for others in their guilt, buying alcohol for those underage, buying or supplying drugs to others, selling run-around cars to those without licenses etc. we all have a responsibility to tackle this problem head on – we have all contributed to the causes. Do not be disillusioned either, there are good decent children in these areas too, in fact the majority of the children are just that, and we need to ensure that we do not punish them for the offences of a few.
However, the human rights of these anti-social elements are just as important as those within the community, and we cannot allow our anger or frustrations to infringe upon their rights. We need to draw a balance. It is by ensuring that we do not infringe upon the rights of the perpetrator that we prevent them from holding our rights to ransom. Any actions that we may take as a concerted community must not mirror the wanton destruction that has been levelled at us.
We need to come together and support the initiatives within the community, we need to stand shoulder to shoulder in the face of adversity and refuse to back down. We need to work together to tackle the problem and not to shy away whenever it becomes too tough. We need to speak up for one another when others try to tear down. Punishment for persistent offenders’ has to be calculated and effective, and should be met with silence! The community cannot persevere with those who continually refuse to be part of us. It is by being a true community that we will break this oppressive burden that is poisoning our society. It is by regaining our voice that we can be heard.
Charlie Clarke
Irish Republican Socialist Party.