Why there are so many junkies (chavs/knackers)in Dublin?

eduzzino5

Please don't get me wrong - I don't want to offend or to insult anyone.
I don't even know the right word to use (knackers/chavs/scumbags/junkies). I moved from Boston to Dublin last year and it seems to me there are so many knackers in the city.

Just wanted to understand if there is a reason (bad welfare? high level of drugs? low police enforcement?) of why there are so many knackers in Dublin (especially in the city center)

strandroad

Lots of social housing and methadone clinics located in the city centre in comparison to other cities.

No policing or political interest

jeonahr

Police don't really do much or have much say with the type of people you're talking about.

Del2005

All the drug treatment centres are in the city centre. Not helped by the lack of enforcement of our laws.

ThisRegard

Maybe you're just good at noticing it due to the massive increase in heroin and other opoid abuse in Boston over the years and you just have that nostalgic feel for home?

gerrowadat

They live there.

Donal55

Plenty of chavs, knackers and junkies in the states too.
Probably something to do with town twinning.

G.G.G.

Lol, the drug addicts are here cos treatment clinics? Pretty sure they usually open cos there's already a high proportion of users in an area.....

Around the world, high concentrations of drug addicts (and associated social issues) tend to happen in similar environments. Low socio-economic status, associated unemployment, financial and mental stress,cyclical educational underachievement, a culture counter to the mainstream...

Prune Tracy

"It happens in America too" is a bit overly defensive - I don't think the opening poster has disputed that, but they're asking about Dublin.

I reckon it's due to a policing vacuum, and I know that some major American cities have needle parks for addicts to hang out in - there aren't such places in Dublin though.

Donal55

Prune Tracy wrote: »

"It happens in America too" is a bit overly defensive - I don't think the opening poster has disputed that, but they're asking about Dublin.

I reckon it's due to a policing vacuum, and I know that some major American cities have needle parks for addicts to hang out in - there aren't such places in Dublin though.

Not being defensive in my post. Just pointing out the naivety of one coming from the states to here and seeing the same problems.

Purple Mountain

eduzzino5 wrote: »

(knackers/chavs/scumbags/junkies). I moved from Boston to Dublin last year.

You picked up the lingo fairly quickly!

Little to do with the policing, and lots to do with the judicial 'slap on the wrist' approach this country has fallen in love with.

There are lots of scumbags because there's no reason not to be a scumbag. This is a country-wide issue, and is easily dealt with, but there is no political will, as has been said.

G.G.G.

Anyone read anything lately about the benefits of treating drug addiction as a health, not justice issue.

volono

Hi op,
like other posters have mentioned and i could be wrong on the exact figures but its my understanding that there's 7 methadone clinics from amiens street on wards in the city center , some homeless accommodation and the homeless persons unit is directly across from pearse street garda station. The point being is that these people have to travel into that area of the city every day to collect said methadone as you'll find the vast vast majority are not on '' take home '' supply ie 5 days worth of methadone at a time. Why are they centered there??
Have any of you looked into suboxone use as an alternative to methadone by the way??
Have any of you asked why these people are heroin users in the first place?? and by that i mean people from disadvantaged backgrounds and otherwise (which includes people ''that live there'' as one poster mentioned?? )
Have you seen the European commissioned study from back in the 80's that stated that the north inner city was one of the most impoverished, under resourced areas in the WHOLE OF EUROPE at the time , no wonder Tony Gregory is still idolized in those areas and this is with the I.F.S.C. and some of the most profitable companies in the WORLD operating on the doorstep.
I feel people are very quick to judge others and it's not only ''junkies '' etc but in all walks of life , the question should be WHY??, how can we have an ever increasing homeless crisis , hospital crisis in fact a crisis in every social provision i can think of ??
People don't want to think like that though?? do they , we see junkies and homeless and beggars and what do we think?? F them , but imo it's the failure of successive failed policies on behalf of the elected governments to implement a plan to eradicate them.
Do people truly believe that the vast majority of elected officials have our best interests at heart ?? , like seriously!!
I am on the side of nurture in the nature versus nurture debate and although millionaires have come out of impoverished backgrounds i believe you are a product of your environment which makes it so so much harder.
A quick look at the school tables every year will tell you that, and please have a look!! whats so sad is that it has become generational now , your socialised into it.
I could go on and on and on and i'm sure someone will respond by saying that wait , we live in an open society were any child can go onto 3rd level etc etc but what are they getting socialised into??
Whats that saying?? ''show me a child at 7 and i'll show you the person they'll be''
IMO we all have to start looking beyond the small stuff and find a way to elect officials that will genuinely implement policies to fix whats really wrong with our society so that the days of this are over.
Just back to the op and another poster touched upon it . America now has more deaths per annum from legalized opiods than they do heroin , Purdue pharmaceuticals have been found out to have fudged there clinical trials re Oxycontin have you looked into that??
Have you asked yourself why there's over 40 MILLION PEOPLE on food stamps in America , I only hope you do wake up!!!!

worded

Some are very inciteful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-UjRhP_dbI&sns=em

dd972

A very, entrenched class system wherein the sort of law abiding average Joe who's socially and economically between these people and the middle classes represents a much thinner layer of society compared to other countries.

Lack of political will and intent to improve the areas these people live, if you're unlucky enough to be born in them you're pretty much regarded as human trash by the state and the middle classes.

Drugs and Alcohol pandemic.

A self-perpetuating, dead-end infantile culture that based around being either a Jack-the-lad, a thug,(or maybe both) and having to have 3 kids by the age of 22.

Complete lack of boundaries, which actually works out positively for them in many respects, growing up believing you can do what the f**k you like creates this uninhibited aspect about them, I don't really see the anxiety about them that afflicts people who have to hold down jobs, pay mortgages, etc.

If you think about Dublin in relation to the rest of the country in terms of demographics, they probably stand out all the more, I've read that many of them are descended from a Famine influx into the slums of the city in the mid 1800's even that in it's own way renders them different. I've even met English born people with Irish parents who are more quintessentially 'Irish' than lower-class Dubliners in terms of connection with the parishes they originate from, the GAA, Church, etc.

volono

dd972 Dublin has and always will be completely different than the rest of the country regarding parishes etc. i could name 8/10 different gaa clubs in my local enough vicinity and I've never even picked a gaa ball up in my life. Completely different than living in a town down the country ,that's another problem we have , localism /parish pump politics
The reason the English you know are more Irish than 'those Dubliners' well maybe because their parents had to leave here because they had f all and because of that they were all the more irish and brought their kids up to be extremely proud of their heritage , you only have to have relations in England /America to realise that.
To sheila , absolute moronic thing to say and least we forget millionaires get child allowance money from the state every month too

eduzzino5

Donal55 wrote: »

Not being defensive in my post. Just pointing out the naivety of one coming from the states to here and seeing the same problems.

Did I say there are no knackers in the states? Nope, I didn't. And before you ask me, I'm Irish - just been living in the states for a while. Now I came back and I see so many knackers in Dublin, even in very central places like the spire and I was wondering why and where these people come from (they are born as knackers from a junkies' family or they are "normal" lads and because of the drug become like that?)

volono

eduzzino will you define a ''knacker'' and ''born a knacker''

eduzzino5

volono wrote: »

eduzzino will you define a ''knacker'' and ''born a knacker''

Sorry, I was just wondering if junkies are born a family of junkies hence they grow up like that or if they are normal lads that after taking drugs start to wonder around the city yelling at people, asking for change and getting into fights.

Just as a side note: I do not want to upset anyone and I do apologise if my post looks racist/vulgar. I use the word "knackers" as I feel most of Irish people would use it, if there is a more appropriate word I'm happy to use it

volono

no luck eduzzino no ?? usually travelling , experiencing different cultures etc, opens the mind obviously not in your case , no one is born a knacker.
Where you born a snob?? like i said in a previous post look into the reasons for it and make an informed decision on why yourself , wake up

volono

it's not about upsetting people the problem being the replies you'll get are others biased opinions (myself included) i tried to include a couple of very small reasons on why i think the problem is there but ultimately its down to yourself to look into it all you can and make your own conclusions

testaccount123

Pathetic thread

volono

testaccount123 wrote: »

Pathetic thread

Absolutely fabulous contribution well done you!!!:):):)

Foweva Awone

eduzzino5 wrote: »

Sorry, I was just wondering if junkies are born a family of junkies hence they grow up like that or if they are normal lads that after taking drugs start to wonder around the city yelling at people, asking for change and getting into fights.

Just as a side note: I do not want to upset anyone and I do apologise if my post looks racist/vulgar. I use the word "knackers" as I feel most of Irish people would use it, if there is a more appropriate word I'm happy to use it

Addicts, maybe? Or heroin addicts, if that's what you mean specifically?

I would consider "junkies" to refer to people with a heroin addiction, but it's an offensive term, and not one I'd ever use. (I have close friends who are heroin/methodone addicts in recovery.)

To me, chavs/knackers/scumbags would be people with ASB issues - whether drugs are involved, or not. Again, though, not words I'd ever use myself.

Jawgap

Actually, I believe the correct terms is skangers or at a push scobies......

.....a few years ago the HSE made the decision to centralised the methadone / rehab clinics and 'bring them in' from the suburbs......as a result, the junkies came in to town, then the dealers, then the junkies who weren't on methadone etc.....

judeboy101

Purple Mountain wrote: »

You picked up the lingo fairly quickly!

He doesn't know about scrotes yet

Wanderer78

Very difficult questions op, but here's my answer:

These are the forgotten, people with highly complex issues such as mental health issues, behavioural problems, personality disorders, complex disabilities including learning disabilities etc etc. We have decided it's best to largely ignore these types of issues in our society, but it's also important to note, we ain't the only country doing it. By ignoring these issues, we create reactive systems of dealing with them, such as methadone clinics etc, and we believe by putting many of these individuals into institutions such as our prison systems etc, solves these complex issues, but it strangely resembles an 'out of sight, out of mind' mentality!

I'm sure they're other very good reasons why explained earlier and more to come, by others. Hope you enjoy your time here.

Stoner

In some cities in the states they pick up the drug users and drive them away from the centre, there are zones and tourist spots they need stay out of.

San Francisco about 10 years ago was terrible, but they've addressed that issue to a large degree.

However it's a tactic of literally kicking the can down the road.

Americans seem at peace with having areas where living conditions are terrible, they drop the addicts off in these spots, nobody of note lives there. Locals simply don't go there, middle-class Americans are terrified of them, tourists seldom see them.

Get a bus from NY to Boston and you'll see what I mean.

eduzzino5

volono wrote: »

no luck eduzzino no ?? usually travelling , experiencing different cultures etc, opens the mind obviously not in your case , no one is born a knacker.
Where you born a snob?? like i said in a previous post look into the reasons for it and make an informed decision on why yourself , wake up

Such an amazing contribution! What do you think I'm doing? I'm asking because I don't know, if you feel touched by my thread, just close the browser and sure somewhere else dude!