Garda Siochana in Shell to sea sex shocker

Padkir wrote: »

Hmmm, but it was said earlier, a few times (can't find the post now but i'll look for it if you don't believe me) that it wasn't the fact that they caused offence, or whether they got caught or not, it was the fact that they were willing to make jokes about that topic. Therefore they couldn't be trusted by rape victims, etc.

But what you're after saying is you trust the rape crisis people because they havent got caught, not because you believe they don't make these types of jokes!

I don't know if they make jokes of this kind, cos they haven't recorded themselves and then let it go public.

I assume they don't speak like this and have a lot more respect for people in there care.

Saying the, all organisations have numpties working for them so you wouldn't know.

prinz wrote: »

Strangely enough it didn't occur in the aftermath of a sex assault. Anyone who loses trust in an entire profession because a couple of muppets get carried away trying to be funny/have a laugh is to be pitied tbh.

Absolutely. Do I make jokes about things that come up in my career, of course I do. Does any of them impair or affect my ability to do the job? Not in the slightest. It's called being able to separate reality from fiction.

You're not getting me at all.

Knowing that the people in charge of actually investigating and pursuing rape cases think it's something to have a bit of banter about in the car serves to undermine public confidence in their police force - and that does impair their ability to do their job. Jokes like this only serve to confirm in the minds of victims everywhere that the cops aren't really going to treat the crime with the seriousness it demands. Victims of sex assault need to know, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that if they report a crime it will be treated with the utmost gravity. They need to be able to trust these guys absolutely in what may be the very darkest hour of their lives. How can they, in light of stories like this?

More - and even in After Hours it's astonishing to me that so many people aren't recognising this - sex crime is vastly underreported around the world because the victims do not believe that the police force will take their accusations seriously. It matters what these guys say in "private" because it matters how they think both on and off the job. These aren't keyboard warriors or a GAA team on a stag night - these are the face and hands of justice in this country. They do have to meet a higher standard than Joe Soap, because they are in a position of authority that demands public trust, by it's nature and in order to function. An Garda Siochana is supposed to be effective, not by force of arms, but by it's moral authority as guardians of the people - stuff like this does enormous damage to that pact.

It speaks volumes that, more than being a shocking bolt from the blue, it seems to most people like a horrible example of an institutional attitude that simply happened to be recorded this time. There is something very wrong from Templemore all the way up if this is considered acceptable. And anybody trying to defend this in any way simply cannot understand the scale of the problems it betrays.

How many people here can honestly say they have never told a joke that was offensive to someone? Anybody with facebook accounts ever joked about fraping somebody? If everything that we said in private was taken as a statement of intent what would happen?

k_mac wrote: »

If they spoke like that to a member of the public or a victim they should indeed be fired. Like I already said though, they need to desensitize themselves to the crime in order to do their job properly. That's a necessary step for most working in the emergency services. People do it in different ways. Many use humor.

That is not the meaning of desensitize in a job. Doctors are not saying:
yeah we are going to kill this patient- Desensitize in that case would mean that if these people have to deal with a rape victim, dont need to empathize with the victim and can put their own feelings on the side. It doesn't mean that they talk comfortably about how they could rape someone

This is a big deal, because they are gardai who are meant to protect us and this conversation shows what scumbags some of them can be.

Wetbench4 wrote: »

Anyone who has dealt with a guard knows what they are like..

I've had numerous, professionally and socially. Never had a bad experience, so yes I know what they are like.

beatrice33 wrote: »

It doesn't mean that they talk comfortably about how they could rape someone

They weren't doing that.

Solair wrote: »

When you're wearing a Garda uniform, or when you're a teacher, a medical practitioner, a nurse or anyone who is in a position of power, you do not talk like that in any situation.

Even if they were just 'two lads talking sh*ite", it would still be pretty shocking. The fact that they were two gardai on duty means that it's completely unacceptable behaviour.

The other issue is that vulnerable people who have been victims of sexual assault have to rely on the Gardaí to be their first point of contact in a crisis and to deal with often very personal information and accounts of terrible situations. They also have to rely on them to bring prosecutions against their attackers and also to provide protection to victims.

What kind of twisted message does this "lads talking sh*ite" send out about the Gardaí. Do they find rape to be an amusing topic or something?!

Quite honestly, I think this should be dealt with directly by the Minister for Justice. It's that serious!

Also, this is the modern world, recording devices are tiny and should be assumed to be everywhere. You behave appropriately when you're on duty.

Absolute pure and utter bullshít.

I work in a shop. If I deal with a difficult customer, who might insult me in the course of my work, I will very probably say very unkind things about them to my colleagues in the staff room afterwards. It's part of the job in some respects.

If you can't have a laugh and mouth off about stupid people doing stupid things then you'd burst a blood vesel in a week in that job.

The Gardaí concerned are having a joke. Nothing more, nothing less. Whether or not it is in bad taste is completely and utterly irrelevant. Their actions, had they not been recorded, would have had no impact on the detainees.

One must remember that Gardaí were being consistently wound up by the never-ending stack of hippies that have colected in Mayo to protest something that they are in no way involved in. The protesters are the ones breaking the law, the protesters are the ones displaying nothing short of pure undiluted stupidity, and they are bringing it on themselves.

There's PC gone mad, and then there's the real world. A serious number of people down in Mao need to get over themselves.

is mise astra wrote: »

A question for the men, I am now genuinely curious have any of ye made a joke with a reference to rape in it or do ye regularly hear jokes like this going on between male friends and colleagues? I ask not because I am judging but because I would like to know if jokes like these are the norm between lads having the crack?

(a) While it's not really a male versus female issue, if a female madea joking reference about raping Brad Pitt it would hardly even register with most people.

(b) These 'jokes' are not the norm, nor are they all that uncommon, I'd say must 'jokes' of that type are actually referring to male on male rape.

Lefticus Loonaticus wrote: »

The thing that makes me most angry about this is the discrimination against a certain group in society. "Their from the crusty camp, who knows what you would catch off them". I mean, shouldnt garda leave their politcal views at home when they go to work? Or are garda recruited in the first place to be a bunch of f**king facists?

What political party do the crusties belong to, then? In fairness, protests always tend to get overrun by crusties, and it tends to take from the real people who are affected. It doesn't mean the Gardai aren't doing their job properly.

You wouldnt hear them say things like that against other groups of people, and we all know this isnt an isolated incident. Irish police, same as most other police across the world, think thats its their god given right to enforce some sort of twisted right wing agenda and that they can abuse people who have a different political view to themselves.

Political? [/QUOTE]
Again, what has calling someone a crusty got to do with politics and law enforcement?

They think that these people are some how the enemy of the state and thus deserve a good abusing.

No, they'd probably rather be at home, not having to go and police illegal activities.

The truth is that the average crusty has about 5 fold more inteligence and political awareness than any given garda.

So you call them crusties too, then? :-) The thing that makes me most angry about this is the discrimination against a certain group in society.

This particular garda who made the rape comment should be fired and put on the sex offenders register as a warning to the rest of em. IMO these people have the power to arrest and strip search people, they have to be of the highest possible caliber or else all sorts of horrendous things happen.

He hasn't committed a sexual offence. They're a bunch of lads who were caught talking ****e. End of. It's their own fault that they were overheard, but it's hardly crime of the century. God, the way people are going on about it, you'd swear they were actually planning to rape someone. Nope, it was just like lads in the pub - or banter on a building site "C'mere and I'll rape ya". As if anyone talks like that and means it... Sheesh.

Plus, as I understand it, the girl wasn't in the car with them.

LostinKildare wrote: »

Do you know a teacher who jokes about raping a particular child in his/her class? I'm pretty sure that a teacher that joked about raping a kid who was actually under his control would be sacked immediately.

NO, really?

Teachers are in charge of innocent children.

Gardaí are in charge of sometimes violent criminals who in this case clearly had no respect for the law - in fact it seems they had flown to Ireland specifically to laugh in the face of the Gardaí.

Major difference.

ebixa82 wrote: »

Heard one yesterday...something along the lines of..

"statistically 9 out of 10 people enjoy gang rape".

Told by a Doctor, obviously as he is likely to have to examine women in the course of his work, I reported him to the Irish Medical Council.

Interesting - you actually think he's likely to be a danger to society for having a sick sense of humour? Your username suggests you're in the medical field somehow - have you never made a tasteless joke? Perhaps we should imprison anyone who's ever been to a Tommy Tiernan gig and laughed?

Hmmmm - I've seen one or two of your other replies to other people. Perhaps you were being sarcastic?

prinz wrote: »

(a) While it's not really a male versus female issue, if a female madea joking reference about raping Brad Pitt it would hardly even register with most people.

(b) These 'jokes' are not the norm, nor are they all that uncommon, I'd say must 'jokes' of that type are actually referring to male on male rape.

I definetly wouldnt see it as a male versus female issue, but its obvious that when a gang of men get together their jokes are going to be more raucous than if there were females present, and also that a group of females would chat and joke about things they wouldnt in front of men. I have never heard a man or woman joking about themselves raping someone even a celebrity, I have heard men warning each other to "keep your back against the wall around that fella". I have heard the " I would like to give him/her one " but never any implication of forcing someone have sex with them, thats why I am curious to know if lads think this kind of joking is ok and they take part in it knowing it would never ever be something they would do, or is it something that most men would think is a taboo subject to joke about.