The "Partners in the Community" have been busy. What with bogus residents meetings, articles in the South Belfast News, and now this wonderfully pompous piece in the Irish News. It reads like something written by one person and submitted in the name of another.
"....I understand the annoyance caused especially when loud music and voices deprive me and my family of sleep"
So far so good, but,
"I feel the annual villification of those who will be our future doctors, teachers, accountants, politicians and taxpayers is hysterical and misdirected."
Fuck me!! Does this person not see that part of the problem is that these fools will be our future professionals? Does he/she want them teaching their kids? If so this person must be a piss-poor parent. Do they want to be represented in court or a representative body by these fuckwits?
"They are too busy working part time to pay their rent and food bills and struggling to keep up with their studies"
Well it's an argument. How about they're too busy drinking themselves sensless and wreaking utter havoc in the street until 4am or later. They never go to class. They lie in bed boozing off their hangovers. Their parents got fat on farming subsidies. They didn't fucking earn those Mercs and 4 wheel drives. Of course "Mummy" and "Daddy" are "paying their rent". The student loans are spent on alcohol.
They don't care that their drinking dens are "squalid bed sits and cramped hovels". They're not victims. All they want is somewhere to party. Mr/Mrs/Ms Holy Land Resident needn't pretend that they're here to study. For what it's worth, the average HMO grant from the Housing Executive was £24,000 and could go up to £36,000. 10,000 HMO's in Northern Ireland at £24,000 equals £240 million. 5000 HMO's in South Belfast equals £120 million. All of this money came out of the Housing Budget. The Government has banned the construction of public housing for the last ten years. Now we know where the money went.
"Consider the reality of student life - no cozy Housing Executive or Housing Association accomodation for them to study in"
What?!! We have 20,000 homeless, the Housing Executive is not allowed to build houses, and the "Partners in the Community" want to make hundreds or even thousands of families rent from private landlords. Look at their contributions in the South Belfast News.
As well as wanting "Cathy Come Home" to be the new Housing Policy the author descends into Right Wing hysteria.
"Serious crimes, armed robberies, assaults on the elderly, sexual crimes, hundreds of millions in benefit fraud........."
He/she must read the Daily Mail, or the Sun. Either way this individual hates working class people; you know, the kind that don't get to go to university because they have no rich mummy and daddy to pay the rent, £3000 annual tuition fees and didn't go to some fancy grammer school where they were spoon fed through their A levels.
"I wasn't smart enough to go to university, but I'm wise enough to know it takes effort to earn that degree and a worthwile job."
Whoever wrote this must be laughing at the fool in whose name it has been submitted. It truly is a terrible thing to be a pawn.
Now to address the point made. These people are not smart. They do not earn their degrees and there will not be "worthwhile jobs" for even half of them. Still at least they can go back and shovel pigshit on Daddy's farm.
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11 comments:
What makes it different from you? You won't get off your backside and earn your degree either. At least students pay their way...
Grammar schools, with an A, not an E. Love from one of the 'spoon-fed' fuckwits that clearly aren't as intelligent as you (or as good at spelling).
I do a lot of typos. Oh well.
There are two kinds of students in my experience. The real ones often have to work through their degree. 50% of students are honestly there to study and even go to class!!! The bogus students are here to have a 3 year long party. The universities are afraid to fail them, as are their counterparts across the water.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1273840,00.html
It angers me to see academia debased by such people. If things had gone differently I would be lecturing now. I would find it very difficult to pass the work of people who clearly should not be there. It would grate my conscience like sandpaper.
Lets not pretend that people whose parents have their snouts in the farming subsidy trough pay for themselves. I don't see them doing a whole lot of anything other than living out the caracture of the Drunken Irish Imbecile. Look at St Patricks day two years ago, and the one before that, and the one before that etc. I wish we still had the traditional St Patricks day riot in University Street. At least then they were showing their true colours. What interests me is that while we had a "designer" riot on these occasions complete with nobody getting hurt, where were the thousands of "students" from the Holyland when the Lower Ormeau needed numbers. They were nowhere to be seen apart from a handful of Ogra.
I hate Designer Republicans. I hate Rebel Nights in the Hatfield. Across the street from it is a memorial to people that I Knew. I helped carry the coffin of one of them down the Ormeau Road. It was an honour to do so. After that massacre I was at the protests every year. People got hurt. I remember Gerard Rice carrying a blood soaked plastic bullet he'd had to extract from a man's face.
The thousands of "students" were nowhere.
Don't pretend you people pay your way, or ever have, or ever will.
Granted, some students in the Holylands do like to indulge in a little "light Republicanism" and it is pretty pathetic. But surely its better than having people being killed on the streets. And that has nothing to do with your original point anyway so I don't see any reason you brought that up. Maybe something for a later blog. I'll admit that there are a lot of idiotic students living around the Holylands but there are quite a few residents who are just as bad. Residents may say they've been pushed into the kind of things like the car burning incident a few weeks ago but that kind of thing will only make things worse. What's happened here over the past few decades is an example of that. It's convenient that the whole situation of students against residents has only become a big issue since the "end" of the Troubles. You can't have a go at the "Prods" anymore so you have to find someone else? Singling someone out just because they're a student is just as moronic as what some of the students themselves do. Most do pay their way. Maybe you would like every student to have lost some kind of body part before they're officially paid-up. I've been struggling to pay my way for the past 3 years and even now, when I have a placement job (getting just over minimum wage, which is still 3 times what the average student receives in a year), I'm still struggling. Even if you go out 1 night a week and stay in the rest of the time, it is nigh on impossible to survive on what you are given. Also, not all farmers are given huge subsidies. My girlfriends father is a farmer and has never been able to take money from her parents as there simply isn't enough. Honestly, I think it's just sour grapes on your part. The Holylands would be a better place without idiotic students, yes. But it would also be better off without the fanatical residents of your ilk too. Maybe then people could get along. The way you are carrying on at the minute, you should get used to having rowdy students about because nothing will change of you carry on like this.
First of all, it's not some students here who are rowdy, it's the majority. This is what the Holylands has become. It's partyland pure and simple. That's how the residents were driven out. Lets not pretend otherwise. This was a thriving community 15 years ago. Why would people want to leave an area so conveniently located? I'm not aware of anyone who left who wanted to go.
http://holylandswarzone.blogspot.com/2007/05/latest-outrage.html
http://holylandswarzone.blogspot.com/2007/04/sell-your-home-and-get-fuck-out-of.html
The community has been driven out. Don't pretend you're unaware of the fact.
http://holylandswarzone.blogspot.com/2006/09/shush.html
As for students and republicanism lite, It's not some. We're dealing with a cultural phenomenon. These people are a mass of sectarian chauvanists. They're also hypocrites. The point I was making about the Ormeau Road was that they have no substance. They would not turn out in support of that community. The thought of being dragged off the road was too much for them. Where's their republicanism when things get real?
The point about farming subsidies was a generaliation not a universal. Not all farmers are rich, but I see plenty of rich farmers kids going mad in the Holylands. And once again I see them as an example of unearned wealth and the mediocrity of the priveleged. Those without privelege are forever struggling to realise their potential. It's impossible to do so when you're living in a place like this.
The car burning was inevitable. No I don't endorse it, and no I'm not a fanatic. The bottom line is how far do you think you can push people before they hit back?
http://holylandswarzone.blogspot.com/2006/10/resistance.html
Will there be more resistance activity? Yes. How far will it go? I honestly couldn't tell you.
You appear to be blaming in the victims for the horror they have to live in. What happens when people refuse to be victims? What happens when they say "Fuck this. We're not gonna lie down and take it"? Work it out.
Hi folks,
I often read this blog as a form of entertainment and amusement, but on some rare occasions interesting comments are made and inspire me to respond.
The creator of this blog is obviously a very frustrated and angry person, but this isn’t a reason to be abusive and critical of him. He’s already admitted that he’s got mental health issues and has to take medication to control it. So telling him he’s ‘SICK’ is just stating the obvious and makes you sound stupid.
He’s admitted that he can’t sleep and needs to take medication to aid him to sleep. So suggesting he’s got a distorted view of the Holylands is also stating the obvious as sleep deprivation will do that to you.
So what should you do with him? Well it’s simple, leave him alone. Don’t blog him and don’t feed his anger and frustration with hateful comments. He needs anger to keep motivated.
This person has obviously been ignored during a lot of his adolescent life. He may look like he’s from a working class background, but he isn’t. I have a suspicion that he came from good middle class family who didn't really except his educational failures. He probable moved to a real working class area in his early twenties, because he views this as the place where people go when you’re a failure, but someone like him wouldn’t fit into a proper working class area. Proper working class neighbourhoods can sniff out the impostors and generally work hard to drive them out. That’s why he has now ended up in the Holylands.
This area suits him. He’s probably been offered a transfer a couple of times, but has refuses them. He uses excuses like the areas they’ve offered me doesn’t suit or they’ve offered me a one bedroom flat but I have a 3 bedroom house. The truth is he doesn’t want to leave. He has a small group of associates who hate students and this is what bonds them together and gives him comfort. If he didn’t live in the Holylands they wouldn’t want to speak to him. He’s seen by these people as a very useful scapegoat. This guy doesn’t burn cars or damage property. Do you know why? Because he’s cowardly, he’s telling the truth when he says he’s not doing the vicious stuff. He does know the people who are doing the vicious stuff and I have a strong suspicion they probably tell him about it after they do it or they use him as a lookout while they do it. He then goes off and blogs about it and instantly the police think it’s him, as he knows stuff he shouldn’t. This person might set petty fires or do a bit of late night painting and blog about other residents, but these are kiddie things. He’s not capable of doing some of the more serious things. He wishes it was him BUT IT WASN’T.
Finally
I’ve heard some interesting comments from other, but I think I should highlight a few key things before I go:
1: The Holylands area has a lot of good working class people. This isn’t a student area like the Elms. Some people have been living here for over 40 years, they don’t move because they raised their families in these homes and watched their children play in the street outside. Think about it, would you like someone to force your granny or granddad out of their house, just because they want to party. I don’t think you would.
2: The Holylands has a large number of middle class residents. These people work as Doctors, Teachers, Civil Servants, Police Officers, Journalists and Lawyers to name a few. These people could be interviewing you someday, so respect for your neighbour might be a sensible decision.
3: The lack of sectarianism isn’t the reason for the student-resident problem, but the issue has become more prevalent, since the end of the troubles. I would say that this is because HMO developers have only really started to develop the area since the late 90’s, also more student come to Belfast to study instead of going to the mainland (which use to be the norm). The Belfast nightlife is the best in the country and all these young children from the country can’t wait to go out and enjoy it, but not being use to it they don’t know when to stop. How many places in Northern Ireland can compare to the Odyssey.
4. South Belfast is a very dangerous place to live and the Holylands is one of the worst. Criminals who have been put out from all over North and West Belfast live in this area. There are sex offenders, Alcoholics and Drug Dealers. Folk’s be careful and use your head !!!
That’s me I’m finished. I’m sorry for any spelling errors I may have made, but I hope the message has been communicated.
Thank You
What a fascinating post. Sigmund Freud's alive and well and living in Belfast. Finally he's found his level.
It's a circular argument to say sleep deprivation will make you ill and cause you to hate students. What do you think is the cause of the sleep deprivation? "Students" going fucking crazy!! Of course people are going to be on medication (why don't you ask them) and of course they're going to hate the cause of their emiseration. How could you expect otherwise from them. Relations between residents and "students" are the worse they've ever been and get worse every year. Saying that sleep deprivation, extreme noise and chronic stress and the necessary medication causes a distorted view of the Holylands is a bit like saying that the Blitz gave people a distorted view of the Luftwaffe.
I look like a working class person because I come from Turf Lodge, but we did leave and I went to one of those fancy grammar (with an "a") schools. In fact it was a prod school so now you know where the pompous attitude comes from. How I miss those boring pompous prods. I'd rather have them over these inbred yokels any day.
No I have not had any housing offers and my neighbours, who are queueing up to get out, can't get rehoused either. Wake up and smell the coffee. There's a catastrophic housing shortage. Ask the Homeless.
No I'm not doing the "vicious stuff", and its quite funny to have the cops watching me non-stop while other people do the business. And , as I've said before, it's a strictly don't ask, don't tell business. The people who know me do not consider me to be a coward and I'll take their opinion over yours any day, mate.
I'll answer your additional points in numbered order:
1. Of the 100 or so residents who remain probably half are pensioners. They refuse to leave and I find their defiance admirable. However, most of those who owned their homes did. Landlords would put scumbags in next to them and then make them an offer. If they refused they'd have another year and another and another. You will not be surprised to hear that a lot of them died a lot sooner than they should have. Declan Boyle infamously cut off the water supply to a woman who was dying of cancer. He allegedly laughed when told of her condition.
2.The middle class fled this place a long long time ago. They had the means and the wit to get out. I truly envy them. This area was once a wonderful mix of social classes, real (not bogus) students, punks, immigrants, bohemians. It was home and I'll always miss it. The area appears to have been redlined about 15 years ago and has been visibly dying for at least 12.
3.These "young children from the country" are supposed to be adults who have come here to study. The truth is that 50% of the undergraduates are here to abuse education. They use it as an excuse for a 3 year party. I'm ashamed to say I ever represented these people.
4.The Holylands is a very dangerous place. Think about the people who have to live here. How can you raise children in an area where the state resettles sex offenders?
I hope that answers all your points. Your contribution is noted. Thank you for sharing that with me.
I would like to thank you for your prompt response. This will be my last post, however I feel that I should write and apologise for my use of the word ‘Coward’. In my rush to type what was a very long winded comment, I used some words that sound rude when you read them out loud and which may have made my post sound argumentative. This was not my intention! The words I should have used were “afraid to be jailed”. It’s not a minor issue, but it should be cleared up.
You’ve surprise’s me with the frankness of your answers. I’m not often wrong in relation to people, but it seems I was.
I only have one final comment. In Northern Ireland there are 3 well known names that have come to symbolise a revolutionary, terrorist and extremist. These are Lenny Murphy, Michael Stone and Robert Sands (Bobby), but the other thing that links them is their background. They all grew up in the same type of estate and were targeted by their peers for being different or because people thought they were different. In their later years they tried to prove they were more loyal by going to the extremes.
Even when they went to jail they had people who accepted and respected them, because of what they did.
I’m not sure if this was the same for you, but going to the school you did, at the time you did. I’m sure you can understand this mentally, but with the troubles gone, what does a person with these feels do to prove his desire to be accepted by his community do? When they go to jail who would accept them?
"I was only a working-class boy from a nationalist ghetto, but it is repression that creates the revolutionary spirit of freedom” (Robert Gerard Sands)
Thank you for getting back to me. For what it's worth I am not afraid of going to jail. In fact I am facing just that prospect. A certain individual (who I am not allowed to name) is trying to get me sent down for the crime of criticising them on this blog. This individual is one of a number of prominent figures who are using the harrassment laws to silence me. It is, apparently, a criminal offence to criticise a public figure for their failings in their role. I was in court on Monday, but the case was adjourned because the PPS cannot get their case together.
I suffered a very serious and almost fatal assault for criticising these people. You will I think, not be surprised to hear that the police are doing everything in their power to avoid prosecuting the individual responsible. If I had to, I would go through the same experience. I might live, I might die, but I will apologise for nothing.
Compared to being murdered, prison seems quite trivial. I'm quite prepared to do time for the crime of free speech.
Taking a kid out of Turf Lodge and inserting him into a grammar school full of middle class prods was a culture shock for all concerned. After seven years there I had absorbed much of their politics and pomposity. It was the experience of being homeless that reawakened my class consciousness. So I'm free of their politics, but most of the pomposity remains.
I had hoped that the Provos would replace chauvanism with socialism. Instead they've given us hypocricy and neo-liberalism.
My loyalty is to my class, whatever their religion. For me the Holyland was once an example of tolerance and cultural openness. Now the community has been driven out. I suppose "social cleansing" is a better term than "ethnic cleansing", but it's a term I have used. It's not totally inappropriate.
http://holylandswarzone.blogspot.com/2007/04/sell-your-home-and-get-fuck-out-of.html
http://holylandswarzone.blogspot.com/2007/09/share-love.html
http://holylandswarzone.blogspot.com/2007/05/latest-outrage.html
http://holylandswarzone.blogspot.com/2007/04/another-family-flees.html
What do I do? I stand by my neighbours, which is more than some with loud voices do. I don't endorse the resistance. I merely describe it and the desperation that drives people to it.
http://holylandswarzone.blogspot.com/2007/09/its-come-to-this.html
These people can do whatever they want to us, and the police endorse it. Someone will probably end up dead here. I hope it's not me.
'...the "Partners in the Community" want to make hundreds or even thousands of families rent from private landlords.'
Why shouldn't they rent from private landlords? Unless they are instead going to buy the property, I fail to see what the better alternative is.
Join the real world and stop wasting my taxes.
I suggest you watch "Cathy Come Home"
Of course to understand it you would need to have a conscience. Feel free to argue that we should add to the 140 million doled out to landlords every year. Feel free to argue for the abolition of Public Housing. That is, after all the UK government's policy. Feel free to waste taxpayers money on Rachmanism. And when you've done that crawl back under your stone.
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