Occupy Belfast!

[picador]

While out on the prowl last evening I noted a tented city had sprung up in the square opposite St Anne's Cathedral

BBC News - Occupy Belfast protest has 'no negative impact': Dean

Does anyone know what the purpose of the protests is - to protest capitalism or to protest Anglican cathedrals?

[eskrimador]

While out on the prowl last evening I noted a tented city had sprung up in the square opposite St Anne's Cathedral

BBC News - Occupy Belfast protest has 'no negative impact': Dean

Does anyone know what the purpose of the protests is - to protest capitalism or to protest Anglican cathedrals?

Neither. The Occupy movement is about governments supporting people and real industry rather than exclusively exposing their nations to unwarranted debt accrued by a banking system that has brought most of the world to it's knees but foisted upon national debt.

[Castle Ray]

Has anyone taken much notice of the Occupy Belfast people? How many of them are there and do they sleep in those tents or just arrive during the day?

[eskrimador]

Isn't it odd that we can riot 24 hours a day for a week because some people did/didn't walk down a road but cut our services, freeze our wages (at a time when world food and fuel prices are rising), lay off workers, all the time the bankers who fek'd the whole thing up are carring on as usual and the people that protest against it are branded as lefty freaks?

[SeamusNapoleon]

Them folks have no right causing disruption as they do!

Sure they aren’t even residents of the area and yet they think they can come down at a particular time of the year and cause all this mayhem, disrupting foot-traffic and intimidating locals just so they can make a political point.

I ask you, who do they think they are?!

[IvanTheSevere]

Isn't it odd that we can riot 24 hours a day for a week because some people did/didn't walk down a road but cut our services, freeze our wages (at a time when world food and fuel prices are rising), lay off workers, all the time the bankers who fek'd the whole thing up are carring on as usual and the people that protest against it are branded as lefty freaks?

Yeah I was thinking about starting a thread on how Dublin rioted over Willie Frazer but not over the IMF coming in....

[picador]

Neither. The Occupy movement is about governments supporting people and real industry rather than exclusively exposing their nations to unwarranted debt accrued by a banking system that has brought most of the world to it's knees but foisted upon national debt.

What's their fixation with cathedrals? They should go after banks.

[eskrimador]

What's their fixation with cathedrals? They should go after banks.

Maybe because their Goths.

Actually, I think that there may be a mental link to the true compassion for people that the anglican communion often exhibits, especially in England.

Certainly Rowan Williams and John Sentamu seem to be the only voices out there who challenge the ConDems.

[redstar58]

There's a small occupy protest here in Edinburgh, but it seems to mostly be full of middle-class English students. From what I've seen, those who are protesting, are actually not going to be affected by cuts and the like.

Also thought it was wierd that while I was having a conversation with a rough sleep ( giving him information about a charity I work for ), we were asked to move along, as we were bringing down the tone of the protest. Was almost speechless!

[damon]

]Does anyone know what the purpose of the protests is - to protest capitalism or to protest Anglican cathedrals?

You're a bit slow. They've been there for ages. There's nine tents for sleeping and a couple of gazebo tents for cooking and whiling away the days. It looks extremly boring, but I'm sure they come and go, and if you chill out just enough you can find that you can put in long hours and days just hanging out doing hardly anything. I've seen them kicking a football about in the square.
No one is taking much notice of them that I've seen, but I'm sure people do come by for a chat. Billy Bragg even popped in.
It's got nothing to do with the cathedral, it's just a square in the city centre where they can be and not be of any bother at all.
So they don't even need on policeman there. The one in London has attracted quite a few homless people, and if you had nothing else to do might be a welcome change to the normal homelessness.