Has Ireland gotten so bad?

jester77 · 12-03-2015 12:47pm #1

Just saw an article where the Gardai recommend people not to use their mobile phones in public places.

I haven't lived in Ireland in about 15 years, has the country really gotten that bad?

Charlie19 · 12-03-2015 12:52pm

There was a guy arrested for masterbating in a supermarket the other day.

So yeah its pretty grim over here.

Ruu · 12-03-2015 12:53pm

Just keep your wits about you and not be wandering aimlessly during the early hours of the morning after a night out and generally you should be okay.

somesoldiers · 12-03-2015 12:53pm

I work around the IFSC and we are forever getting warnings about using mobiles around the area. Just keep it in your pocket til you get where your going, same in every big city really

Your Superior · 12-03-2015 12:54pm

sugarman wrote: »

No.

Its just more and more dopey people walking around in a world of their own, that arent street wise and wonder why their phone was snatched in a grab and run.

Isn't the whole point of a mobile phone that you can walk around while using it? Pretty poor state of affairs if that's not possible in some places.

Saipanne · 12-03-2015 12:54pm

Depending where I am in Dublin dictates how careful I am with my phone.

deadybai · 12-03-2015 12:56pm

I thought before clicking on the link that the campaign was for people who are looking at their mobile while crossing the road. Thats what it should be for! Otherwise, I dont know anyone who has had their mobile snatched.

The Backwards Man · 12-03-2015 12:56pm

Yep, Ireland has got so bad that the civil police force of the country have resorted to issuing press releases containing common sense advice for drunken revellers to have a wee bit of cop on about them.

Hell in a handcart, that's where we're going.

catallus · 12-03-2015 12:57pm

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Hell in a handcart, that's where we're going.

Who can we blame?!

seamus · 12-03-2015 12:59pm

No, of course it hasn't. But the advice is for the same reason why you wouldn't walk down the street waving a €500 euro note around in one hand. Because someone could whip it off you, go around the corner and it's gone.

In the case of a phone, they duck in around the corner, into a phone shop run by some asian guy and walk out with €50.

As others say, this advice is really only relevant in parts of Dublin - primarily D1.

Menas · 12-03-2015 12:59pm

Tabloid nonsense. I am walking down O'Connell street in Dublin typing thi

Alf Veedersane · 12-03-2015 12:59pm

catallus wrote: »

Who can we blame?!

De Bankers.

The Backwards Man · 12-03-2015 1:00pm

catallus wrote: »

Who can we blame?!

I blame Muslim water meter installers with a gay agenda.

Timberrrrrrrr · 12-03-2015 1:00pm

catallus wrote: »

Who can we blame?!

Probably wont be long before Denis O'Brien gets the blame somehow

The Backwards Man · 12-03-2015 1:01pm

Trigger Happy wrote: »

Tabloid nonsense. I am walking down O'Connell street in Dublin typing thi

Very considerate of your mugger to press 'post reply'.

You wouldn't get that in Marrakech.

El Weirdo · 12-03-2015 1:01pm

catallus wrote: »

Who can we blame?!

The do-gooding, lefty, hand-wringing, bleeding heart libtards; that's who.

If we had capital and corporal punishment in this country, we'd be fine.

catallus · 12-03-2015 1:03pm

El Weirdo wrote: »

The do-gooding, lefty, hand-wringing, bleeding heart libtards; that's who.

If we had capital and corporal punishment in this country, we'd be fine.

NOW yer talkin'

Rabble rabble!

It's PC gone gay!

somesoldiers · 12-03-2015 1:05pm

deadybai wrote: »

I thought before clicking on the link that the campaign was for people who are looking at their mobile while crossing the road. Thats what it should be for! Otherwise, I dont know anyone who has had their mobile snatched.

I had 3 robbed directly out of my hand but would have been around 1999-2001, around the Drumcondra, Fairview area. Each time I was walking home from the pub with the phone out, typing a text.

Twice was someone on a bike ( doubt it was the same person)
Once a car pulled up with 3 lads in and said "give us your phone", what can you do?

2 of them were Nokia 8810, which were the coolest phones ever. Sorry cant post pic in work

http://lv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_8810#/media/File:Nokia-8810.jpg

Hasn't happened since, though it always stays in the pocket nowadays

FunLover18 · 12-03-2015 1:06pm

It's like Mad fúcking Max over here!!! No one is safe!!!

SEPT 23 1989 · 12-03-2015 1:07pm

basic street smarts should be taught in secondary school

gerrybbadd · 12-03-2015 1:08pm

Charlie19 wrote: »

There was a guy arrested for masterbating in a supermarket the other day.

So yeah its pretty grim over here.

Sure he was only a wánker anyhow!:eek:

Ah, its no worse than it's ever been really. Fair enough point about phones though. These smartphones are so expensive. It's not like many people were bothered running up stealing your Nokia 3210 15 years ago, they'd need a wheelbarrow to make off with it

catallus · 12-03-2015 1:09pm

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

basic street smarts should be taught in secondary school

Street smarts? Surely kids know what street they live on?

Wide Load · 12-03-2015 1:11pm

It wasn't like this when Big Daddy Bertie was running the place! He made sure the streets were safe!

bb1234567 · 12-03-2015 1:12pm

No, Ireland is an incredible safe country with very low crime rates, no matter what type of crime, petty such as robbery or any violent crimes. Anyone who tells you otherwise is highly misinformed or just one of those gob****es who loves to go on about how **** ireland is compared to australia in canada.

Magico Gonzalez · 12-03-2015 1:13pm

Whenever people from South America visit Ireland, or even live (t)here they consider it a paragon of virtue and order. At least outside of the drunken shenanigans post pub. Honestly, my father in law is always describing Ireland here over in the same way we would describe Switzerland.

There is no crime. Everything runs on time...etc. It makes me laugh.

Anyway, it's all perception. If you live somewhere truly chaotic Ireland does seem sedate and civilised, if you live in Switzerland it probably seems like a country over run by drunken maniacs where public services and amenities are planned and delivered by 5 year olds. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

"Gotten" sounds Swiss, it's not English anyway.

SteM · 12-03-2015 1:24pm

OP - 15 years ago if you had have walked around Dublin with a €500 piece of technology, that's the same size as a chocolate bar, waving it around for everyone to see the same thing would happened.

Is it right that it happens now and would have happened then? No, but that doesn't mean the place has gotten bad. It means that scumbags will always pick on the low hanging fruit.

The Diabolical Monocle · 12-03-2015 1:32pm

FunLover18 wrote: »

It's like Mad fúcking Max over here!!! No one is safe!!!

I've taped razor blades to my phone so that when someone tries to rob it they'll cut their hands.

I sometimes rub my poo on the blades so that their wounds will become infected.

kneemos · 12-03-2015 1:33pm

Thought phones could be blocked. What's the point stealing them?

FunLover18 · 12-03-2015 1:35pm

The Diabolical Monocle wrote: »

I've taped razor blades to my phone so that when someone tries to rob it they'll cut their hands.

I sometimes rub my poo on the blades so that their wounds will become infected.

Jaysus, you're doing well if you can afford to waste a second meal like that

The Peanut · 12-03-2015 1:35pm

Ruu wrote: »

Just keep your wits about you and not be wandering aimlessly during the early hours of the morning after a night out and generally you should be okay.

True, serious shortage of common sense going around

LDN_Irish · 12-03-2015 1:37pm

kneemos wrote: »

Thought phones could be blocked. What's the point stealing them?

Very easy to get them unblocked, it's illegal but there's still a thriving market.

To answer the OP, no, ireland is grand. For some reason "place is getting worse" is written underneath every news article about anything bad that ever happens on FB and the like. I think the Irish just might be the best in the world at rose tinting the past.

5rtytry56 · 12-03-2015 1:37pm

otherwise known as 'cop - on'.

dub_skav · 12-03-2015 1:38pm

LDN_Irish wrote: »

Very easy to get them unblocked, it's illegal but there's still a thriving market.

To answer the OP, no, ireland is grand. For some reason "place is getting worse" is written underneath every news article about anything bad that ever happens on FB and the like. I think the Irish just might be the best in the world at rose tinting the past.

We used to be, not so much anymore

The Diabolical Monocle · 12-03-2015 1:41pm

Charlie19 wrote: »

There was a guy arrested for masterbating in a supermarket the other day.

3 for 1 offer with double clubcard points.

a man can only take so much.

Karl Stein · 12-03-2015 1:43pm

Magico Gonzalez wrote: »

if you live in Switzerland it probably seems like a country...

Ah yes, Switzerland... where they plan their spontaneity weeks in advance.

Nodin · 12-03-2015 1:58pm

El Weirdo wrote: »

The do-gooding, lefty, hand-wringing, bleeding heart libtards; that's who.

If we had capital and corporal punishment in this country, we'd be fine.

Cut the hands offof them and they'd drop their phone stealin habits quick enough!!!!!

ohnonotgmail · 12-03-2015 2:02pm

Magico Gonzalez wrote: »

Whenever people from South America visit Ireland, or even live (t)here they consider it a paragon of virtue and order. At least outside of the drunken shenanigans post pub. Honestly, my father in law is always describing Ireland here over in the same way we would describe Switzerland.

There is no crime. Everything runs on time...etc. It makes me laugh.

Anyway, it's all perception. If you live somewhere truly chaotic Ireland does seem sedate and civilised, if you live in Switzerland it probably seems like a country over run by drunken maniacs where public services and amenities are planned and delivered by 5 year olds. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

"Gotten" sounds Swiss, it's not English anyway.

In fairness it is so bad in south africa that they mugged a journalist as he was getting ready to do a piece to camera. the muggers didnt care that there was a camera pointed at them.

ThunbergsAreGo · 12-03-2015 2:03pm

Edit: No idea how to add images in correctly

MonkieSocks · 12-03-2015 2:04pm

The Backwards Man wrote: »

I blame Muslim water meter installers with a gay agenda.

Yep....Muslimins, stealing our water, just so they can have something to dip their Salad In.

Bob24 · 12-03-2015 2:05pm

Trigger Happy wrote: »

Tabloid nonsense. I am walking down O'Connell street in Dublin typing thi

I am not a fan of that particular newspaper, but issues with endemic mobile phone theft are just fact.

I have had my mobile stolen from me along the quays a few months ago (D2 side if anyone wants to know :-)); grabbed by a guy on a bike while I was writing a text message. Had heard of numerous people to whom the same thing happened but though I was not a prime target as these thugs seem to concentrate on foreign looking young women. These stories were definitely not as frequent 5-10 years ago.

One of my friends was just walking on Dolier Street minding his own business. Out of nowhere a women started hugging him. He pushed her back wondering what was going on and said the whole thing lasted less than 5 seconds. A few minutes later he noticed his phone was gone from his pocket. Garda station told him they see this all the time and there was probably another person who got the phone during the few seconds it took for him to process the situation and react to what the woman did.

Magico Gonzalez · 12-03-2015 2:06pm

Karl Stein wrote: »

Ah yes, Switzerland... where they plan their spontaneity weeks in advance.

Pros & Cons I suppose, you don't need to cover your mobile in turd and razor blades over there I imagine. Your biggest concern regarding personal safety is probably avoiding skiing into a tree at the weekend.

Here, you leave your "good" mobile at home and carry an old undesirable one around with you during the day as at some stage here, if you stick around for long enough, being robbed is a likely event.

Again, Ireland is somewhere in the middle. A good place to be.

suicide_circus · 12-03-2015 2:07pm

FunLover18 wrote: »

It's like Mad fúcking Max over here!!! No one is safe!!!

Just walk away. Give me your phone, price of a few cans and I'll spare your lives. Just walk away and we'll give you a safe passageway in the wastelands. Just walk away and there will be an end to the horror.

kowloon · 12-03-2015 2:10pm

The Backwards Man wrote: »

I blame Muslim water meter installers with a gay agenda.

On the bright side, we have some fabulous new halal water.

Mint Aero · 12-03-2015 2:19pm

It's gone to sh*t. Too many scumbags per capita.

biko · 12-03-2015 2:22pm

Mint Aero wrote: »

It's gone to sh*t. Too many scumbags per capita.

That should read "Too many scumbags per capital". It seems this is mainly a Dublin city centre issue and not very common in other cities?

jimgoose · 12-03-2015 2:28pm

Imagine being advised against walking around a busy, cosmopolitan city with $1,000 or so worth of kit the size of a cigarette-packet in your hand while your head is a million miles away. Tut-tut. I blame <takes deep breath> ISIS, single mothers, John Charles McQuaid, Joe Duffy (his son), that solicitor fella above in The Dublin wot de bank are takin' de house off of, Irish Water, Lance Armstrong and all his works and all his empty promises, the Insurance industry, unemployed builders, employed builders, shiftless Corporation workers and the IndaKinny(). But not necessarily in that order.

Mint Aero · 12-03-2015 2:28pm

biko wrote: »

That should read "Too many scumbags per capital". It seems this is mainly a Dublin city centre issue and not very common in other cities?

Yes Dublin but I avoid it completely and haven't been there in 2 years as a result. Waterford is awful, there just isn't enough capita "for a city" to cover up the sight & sounds of scummers everywhere.

donegaLroad · 12-03-2015 2:30pm

we have lost 4 garda stations locally due to cut backs. There was a spate of burglaries during the last couple of years where gangs of 3 and 4 would target older people living alone in remote locations.. most of those responsible were from over the border and there were a couple of Dublin criminals suspected also. I never remember robberies happening as often as they are lately.

dont bother · 12-03-2015 2:34pm

Ireland has not gotten worse - it's still the same horrible dump it always was - that's the problem, nothing has changed for the better since the place was foolishly taken away from british rule...

the only thing maybe that has gotten worse is the attitudes of all the d!ckheads that live here and think too much of themselves.

Satriale · 12-03-2015 2:37pm

Best way not to get mugged is to walk around looking like you want to steal a phone...

jimgoose · 12-03-2015 2:38pm

Satriale wrote: »

Best way not to get mugged is to walk around looking like you want to steal a phone...

The best way not to get mugged is to walk around straight, purposeful and wide-awake with your head up.

Has Ireland gotten so bad?

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