What if the Internet had been around during the 'Troubles'

blackcard

When I see the comments about attacks by IS, I wonder how history would have been changed  if the Internet had been around during the 'Troubles'

The Backwards Man

You'd have a lot of yahoos here finding themselves with the shoe on the other foot.

It surprises me that some of them are able to put their own shoes on in the morning in saying that.

blackcard

I would imagine that there would have been widespread calls for internment, widespread anti-Irish sentiment

eeguy

What's different now is the immediacy with which we learn about incidents and attacks.

If something happened during the troubles, news outlets would dispatch reporters, interview witnesses, corroborate evidence and present the story with as many facts as possible.

Now we just have internet journalists (read: social media regurgitators) who get their stories through unverified tweets, publish whatever they like with no oversight, then edit and re-edit a story as many times as they want leaving the reader totally confused and fearful.

RayM

The #upthera and #nosurrender hashtags on Twitter wouldn't just have been a load of tweets about Scottish football teams.

Junkyard Tom

The censorship of Republican voices and views would have been ineffective and a lot more people would have known just how rotten-to-core the RUC/UDR were. Support for the Republican cause would have been an order of magnitude greater.

LordSutch

Junkyard Tom wrote: »

The censorship of Republican voices and views would have been ineffective and a lot more people would have known just how rotten-to-core the RUC/UDR were. Support for the Republican cause would have been an order of magnitude greater.

You would say that :rolleyes:

jeanjolie

It's unlikely that the world would be as it is with a communication network like the Internet.

There's a theory that the brutality of WWII was fueled by the inability of populations to see different groups within their nations and other nations with the humanity that they do today.

The internet would almost certainly have prevented the Troubles.

blackcard

Equally, the anti- Irish sentiment would have been exacerbated

FrancieBrady

The truth about what the British were actually doing would have emerged much quicker.
Partitionists would not have been able to ignore what was going on.

Yamanoto

The URL would've blown up a florists in Aughnacloy

Junkyard Tom

LordSutch wrote: »

You would say that :rolleyes:

The RUC/UDR was a viper's nest of colluders and murderers.

This is the Glenanne Gang (over 99% of their murders were of innocent Catholics) which was the tip of the iceberg.

John Oliver Weir - RUC.

William "Billy" McCaughey- RUC.

Billy Hanna - UDR.

Robin "The Jackal" Jackson - UDR member and an alleged RUC Special Branch agent

Robert McConnell - UVF and 2nd Battalion UDR corporal.

Laurence McClure - UVF volunteer and RUC SPG

James Mitchell - an RUC Reserve.

Robert John "R.J". Kerr - UDA commander.

Harris Boyle - UDR soldier and UVF volunteer.

Wesley Somerville - UDR soldier and a UVF lieutenant.

Gary Armstrong - RUC sergeant.

Captain John Irwin - UDR intelligence officer

Thomas Raymond Crozier - UDR, and UVF.

James Roderick McDowell - UDR, and UVF

John James Somerville - UDR

Norman Greenlee - UDR soldier and UVF volunteer.

Gordon Liggett - (UDA).

William Ashton Wright - UDR soldier.

Joey Lutton - UDR.

Laurence Tate - UDR

William Thomas Leonard - UDR

Ian Mitchell - RUC

David Wilson - RUC

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

My mother and aunt were country girls working in Dublin the day of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings in 1974. It was a Friday it happened. My grandad went to the train station that evening having heard the news but not knowing whether either of his daughters would get off the train. Stressful, to say the least. They were both OK.

Manach

Well both governments would have pressed for the immediate "regulation" of the Internet - for the good of the people of course - just as what is occurring in the UK and France now. A good primer on the history of such insurgences, Hoffman's "Inside Terrorism", show how these sort of measures are short-term policies designed more to show that "something is being done" by the politicans than for any real sense that such censorship solves anything.

Mint Sauce

I'd say readers of the Daily Mail on Facebook would have called for the deportation of all Irish Catholics from the UK, the same as they are doing with British born Muslims now.

LordSutch

FrancieBrady wrote: »

The truth about what the British were actually doing would have emerged much quicker.
Partitionists would not have been able to ignore what was going on.

Oh dear, you guys.

Dare I say the Provo's operations would have been stopped much quicker due to public outrage as the detail of their atrocities became available much quicker, (to a much wider audience).
The Americans for example would have not have tolerated Bombs being planted in pubs, shops, trains & cars, etc specially when they saw the immediate aftermath online....

blackcard

I don't know if I would have had the courage to post my opinions at that time

eeguy

Mint Sauce wrote: »

I'd say readers of the Daily Mail on Facebook would have called for the deportation of all Irish Catholics from the UK, the same as they are doing with British born Muslims now.

Probably citing stats as to how Catholicism is growing fast, Sean is the most popular new baby name and how we all have big families and don't work.

Rumpy Pumpy

LordSutch and Junkyard Tom would both have made the ultimate sacrifice, by starving themselves to death in front of their keyboard's in a month long, round the clock effort to highlight their cause.

Carlos Orange

People would probably have been justifying bombing pubs because of british foreign policy.

FrancieBrady

LordSutch wrote: »

Oh dear, you guys.

Dare I say the Provo's operations would have been stopped much quicker due to public outrage as the detail of their atrocities became available much quicker, (to a much wider audience).
The Americans for example would have not have tolerated Bombs being planted in pubs, shops, trains & cars, etc specially when they saw the immediate aftermath online....

No, details of their acts were available and they still maintained support.

The British suppressed and covered up what they were up to for years.

wordofwarning

Junkyard Tom wrote: »

Support for the Republican cause would have been an order of magnitude greater.

Most people and I will never support terrorists. You might like to window dress it by calling it the 'cause' but terrorism is terrorism. Blowing up a bar of innocent people or causing £500m worth of property damage is terrorism.

I am struggling to see why I would support the 'cause' by hearing the justification of why a terrorist caused £500m worth of property damage with the object of creating a United Ireland...

Even if the British media were reporting the terrorist or republican POV, I personally could not have cared less. So what if the RUC, were killing Catholics. They were killing Catholics, therefore terrorists could justify killing innocent people in London?

We look at our TV in disgust when terrorists kill innocent civilians as revenge over a US airstrike etc. Yet you are telling me we would support the innocent killing of Brits if we could hear the justification from terrorists?

Junkyard Tom

LordSutch wrote: »

Dare I say the Provo's operations would have been stopped much quicker due to public outrage

This is absolutely ridiculous. The public got plenty of outrage via the censored media. Also, if you believe that public outrage could do anything to stop Republicans in places like south Armagh you're having a laugh.

The mighty British Army, you so laud, had to fly its rubbish in and out of its bases on helicopters... that's humiliating.

LordSutch

FrancieBrady wrote: »

No, details of their acts were available and they still maintained support.

The British suppressed and covered up what they were up to for years.

I have this vision of you & Junkyard Tom (together) sitting in your bedroom in a place like Ballyfermot, wearing balaclavas, string vests & hobnail boots, listening to the Wolfe Tones LOUD, with a large poster of Gerry Adams in a tight polo neck sweater on the wall looking down on you, as you sip on a shandy

You old rebels . . . .

Junkyard Tom

wordofwarning wrote: »

terrorism is terrorism...

So what if the RUC, were killing Catholics.

FrancieBrady

LordSutch wrote: »

I have this vision of you & Junkyard Tom (together) sitting in your bedroom in Drimnagh wearing balaclavas, string vests & hobnail boots, listening to the Wolfe Tones LOUD, with a large poster of Gerry Adams in a tight polo neck sweater on the wall looking down on you, as you sip on a shandy

You old rebels . . . .

Do you spend much time imagining people who post on forums? Strange thing to do in that detail.

blackcard

I imagine it would have been extremely difficult for Irish people working in Britain. I was one of those. In fairness, I was treated very well.

LordSutch

FrancieBrady wrote: »

Do you spend much time imagining people who post on forums? Strange thing to do in that detail.

I thought it was brilliant.

But honestly, will you two never let up re your IRA heroes.

FrancieBrady

blackcard wrote: »

I imagine it would have been extremely difficult for Irish people working in Britain. I was one of those. In fairness, I was treated very well.

The British public would have been better informed too though.
The truth would be there to find for the more intelligent Briton. The myopic, oh what a wonderful war crowd would not listen anyhow.

FrancieBrady

LordSutch wrote: »

I thought it was brilliant.

But honestly, will you two never let up re your IRA heroes.

I found it a bit creepy tbh. But horses for courses I suppose.

I think the hero's were the nationalist people tbh. They now have equality and parity of esteem and a place in government. All denied them until it was secured by the negotiators in the party they elect to represent them.

Google it

LordSutch

FrancieBrady wrote: »

I think the hero's were the nationalist people tbh. They now have equality and parity of esteem and a place in government. All denied them until it was secured by the negotiators in the party they elect to represent them.

Now now, don't be trying to twist thigs there^

The PIRA terrorised for the best part of thirty years for a United Ireland @any cost!
...that was their goal > and they failed miserably.

The SDLP are to be commended for not getting embroiled in the mayhem.

Junkyard Tom

LordSutch wrote: »

your IRA heroes.

I don't have any heroes. Unlike you with the RUC/UDR/BA I'm fully aware that the IRA were ruthless killers and have no problem condemning them for acts like Kingsmill, Enniskillen, bombing bars etc.

FrancieBrady

LordSutch wrote: »

Now now, don't betrying to twist thigs there^

The PIRA terrorised for the best part of thirty years for a United Ireland @any cost, that was their goal > and they failed.

The SDLP are to be commended for not getting embroiled in the mayhem.

The British and the sectarian statelet they propped up were terrorising for much longer causing the conflict/war.

The UI project is very much alive and the British are back in their barracks and the sectarian statelet and it police forces gone forever.

Google it. The internet will show you the truth

LordSutch

Junkyard Tom wrote: »

I don't have any heroes. Unlike you with the RUC/UDR/BA I'm fully aware that the IRA were ruthless killers and have no problem condemning them for acts like Kingsmill, Enniskillen, bombing bars etc.

'You two' spend an awful lot of time defending the Provo's for some reason, as you have just now^

As regards the security forces, well without them an awful lot more people would have been blown to smithereens by the various bombings (foiled by the Army & the police). The little robot thingy was always being sent in to check out dodgy looking cars in town centres, many of which contained bombs designed to main and kill < The Army defused many of them.

It was said at the time that the Bombers only had to get lucky once, while the security forces had to be lucky every time they attempted to defuse an IRA bomb.

FrancieBrady

LordSutch wrote: »

'You two' spend an awful lot of time defending the Provo's for some reason, as you have just now^.

As regards the security forces, without them an awful lot more people would have been blown to smithereens by the various bombings (foiled by the Army & the police). The little robot thingy was always being sent in to check out dodgy looking cars in town centres, many of which contained bombs designed to main and kill < The Army defused them.

It was said at the time that the Bombers only had to get lucky once, while the security forces had to be lucky every time they attempted to defuse a bomb.

The internet may one day show that those 'security forces' may have helped blow up a few people in Monaghan and Dublin and actually shows were they actively took a side and killed on its behalf.
So much so it was restructured and renamed in disgrace.

Google it.

LordSutch

FrancieBrady wrote: »

The internet may one day show that those 'security forces' may have helped blow up a few people in Monaghan and Dublin and actually shows were they actively took a side and killed on its behalf.
So much so it was restructured and renamed in disgrace.

Google it.

Must you end every post with 'Google it'?

Goodnight.

RayM

LordSutch wrote: »

It was said at the time that the Bombers only had to get lucky once, while the security forces had to be lucky every time they attempted to defuse an IRA bomb.

"We only have to be lucky once" - I think that's probably my favourite line uttered by any terrorist organisation (it's definitely near the top of the list anyway). So chilling, and also so inspirational - I've applied it to many aspects of my life, from online dating to job interviews to exams.

Junkyard Tom

LordSutch wrote: »

As regards the security forces, well without them an awful lot more people would have been blown to smithereens by the various bombings (foiled by the Army & the police).

Absolute ill-informed nonsense. The unionist militias were one of the principal causes of the conflict. The British Army were brought in to protect the Nationalist community from them and Stormont was suspended because unionist politicians could not be trusted even by the British.

FrancieBrady

LordSutch wrote: »

Must you end every post with 'Google it'?

Goodnight.

You display classic symptom's of being misinformed you clearly don't know how to use the internet.
Just trying to help you.

end of the road

wordofwarning wrote: »

Most people and I will never support terrorists. You might like to window dress it by calling it the 'cause' but terrorism is terrorism. Blowing up a bar of innocent people or causing £500m worth of property damage is terrorism.

I am struggling to see why I would support the 'cause' by hearing the justification of why a terrorist caused £500m worth of property damage with the object of creating a United Ireland...

Even if the British media were reporting the terrorist or republican POV, I personally could not have cared less. So what if the RUC, were killing Catholics. They were killing Catholics, therefore terrorists could justify killing innocent people in London?

We look at our TV in disgust when terrorists kill innocent civilians as revenge over a US airstrike etc. Yet you are telling me we would support the innocent killing of Brits if we could hear the justification from terrorists?

the property damage was to do economic damage. given a choice between it and killing civilians i'd take the property damage every time.

the_syco

The crap both sides pulled would be on the internet, such as the liaison between the RUN and loyalist terrorists, and the disappeared, the republican kill count, and how they killed so many catholics.

Widdershins

RayM wrote: »

"We only have to be lucky once" - I think that's probably my favourite line uttered by any terrorist organisation (it's definitely near the top of the list anyway). So chilling, and also so inspirational - I've applied it to many aspects of my life, from online dating to job interviews to exams.

Your favourite motivational quotes are based on terrorism? Well, that's a new one.

Widdershins

If the internet was around then, nobody would have a clue whose story to believe, as it would be full of propaganda and lies, much like it is now.

RayM

Widdershins wrote: »

Your favourite motivational quotes are based on terrorism? Well, that's a new one.

I sometimes think I should have "that was a joke" in my sig.

tomwaterford

Widdershins wrote: »

If the internet was around then, nobody would have a clue whose story to believe, as it would be full of propaganda and lies, much like it is now.

It would have been good/interesting to see what counter surrveilence techniques would have arisen

As towards the end of the troubles they were able to devlop some at the time very good techniques about counter surrveilence around mobile phones (including 1 famous but harmless incident around westminister)...

.but the prolofication of the internet and gps of iphones etc would have lead to massive issues....but oppurtunities (possibly wrong word?) aswell for them to track mobile patrols??...


thank fcuk its unlikely we will ever find out

FrancieBrady

Widdershins wrote: »

If the internet was around then, nobody would have a clue whose story to believe, as it would be full of propaganda and lies, much like it is now.

Wrong, there was plenty of propaganda and cover up.
There was only one side the media was interested in destroying/exposing - the republican/nationalist side and to an extent the loyalist/unionist one.

Where the internet would have made a difference was in exposing the actions of those actually responsible for society - the two governments.
You would have known who opened fire first on Bloody Sunday - Ballymurphy etc. etc.
You would have know what the Heavy Gang got up to etc.
And censorship would have been as ineffective as it was counterproductive.

Atoms for Peace

jeanjolie wrote: »

It's unlikely that the world would be as it is with a communication network like the Internet.

There's a theory that the brutality of WWII was fueled by the inability of populations to see different groups within their nations and other nations with the humanity that they do today.

The internet would almost certainly have prevented the Troubles.

I have to disagree, as for those with extreme views the net is an echo chamber for strange ideas ranging from misogyny to ISIS inspired mass killings.

PistolsAtDawn

Rumpy Pumpy wrote: »

LordSutch and Junkyard Tom would both have made the ultimate sacrifice, by starving themselves to death in front of their keyboard's in a month long, round the clock effort to highlight their cause.

Men starved themselves to death for a cause they believed in and this is to be made fun of?

eeguy

PistolsAtDawn wrote: »

Men starved themselves to death for a cause they believed in and this is to be made fun of?

You can make fun of anything after a while.

9/11 got funny within 2 years.

Dyr

I suppose this Film might have been made in time to save some lives

http://www.unquietgraves.com/

Widdershins

RayM wrote: »

I sometimes think I should have "that was a joke" in my sig.

Bit there's a grain of truth in every joke. And I could believe it.