A United Ireland. Opening up the discussion.

[Wildweasel74]

Well, just by chance i work in Ballymena too!

[johnnycool]

Well, just by chance i work in Ballymena too!

There, but for the grace of god go I.

[Rossfan]

I work in Ballymena, it's got plenty of Poles, Ukrainians and Romanians who work the factories

I wouldn't be about the place at night but if we look at the history of the place with regards to Harryville and the nightly bigot campaign at the chapel many years ago I'd say the locals have more incidents to be concerned with than the foreign workers

As I said strange that the white rapists murders ok, those of colour not ok.

If the scum rioting worked in the factories .....
Oxy moron I know...

[imtommygunn]

Been plenty of badness about Ballymena over the years too as there would be a fair few drug related issues and there have been going back to when drugs would have started to be a thing when there were little to no foreigners about the place. That's before you mention the sectarian issues that exist in it too.

[screenexile]

Had a quick look but did I miss the riots when Davy Tweed was done for child abuse??

[Milltown Row2]

Had a quick look but did I miss the riots when Davy Tweed was done for child abuse??

Yeah or the riots in Lisburn for wee Jeff

[Rossfan]

I must have missed Allister's and DUP's condemnation of the violence and burnings.

[Milltown Row2]

Dropped a few hand grenades today while chatting to the Ballymena folk !!

I said, there be some houses burnt out over the weekend when they get the names of all the sex offenders in Ballymena!

[RedHand88]

Dropped a few hand grenades today while chatting to the Ballymena folk !!

I said, there be some houses burnt out over the weekend when they get the names of all the sex offenders in Ballymena!

What's the feeling? Are they disgusted or secretly/openly supportive?

[Milltown Row2]

The feeling is it's not one of their own and they'd be happy to rid them all out tonight..

All my appointments talked about it..

They'll use things like you've daughters haven't ya? I said I do but in most sexual assault cases it's usually a family member... it didn't faze them there's plenty of Roma families in Ballymena, seems the same in most townships, but they'll be looking over their shoulders this next while..

Lads will still go and get their cars washed there though.

One guy said he's worried the Filipinos will get it next as they are good workers ..

[SaffronSports]

Fact is when the wee girl got murdered and cut up last year they done f**k all.

[tyroneStatto]

Was just thinking there in a few weeks time it'll be 30 years exactly from the Lee Clegg Riots. The North will always be a powder keg.

[Milltown Row2]

I wonder will Nolan be chatting about this?

[armaghniac]

The feeling is it's not one of their own and they'd be happy to rid them all out tonight..

All my appointments talked about it..

They'll use things like you've daughters haven't ya? I said I do but in most sexual assault cases it's usually a family member... it didn't faze them there's plenty of Roma families in Ballymena, seems the same in most townships, but they'll be looking over their shoulders this next while..

Lads will still go and get their cars washed there though.

One guy said he's worried the Filipinos will get it next as they are good workers ..

The Filipino family in Cullybackey already "got it".

[Milltown Row2]

Seen this post somewhere


A child's trauma was weaponised last night. The rioting in Ballymena was never about protecting women. It was about power.

A young girl - a child! - has had something utterly reprehensible done to her. My heart goes out to her, her family, and with everyone standing with them in support. No child should ever suffer what she's been through. She deserves justice, and she deserves a community that protects her.

4090 sexual offences were recorded in NI last year. If violence was how we responded to sexual violence, the streets would be burning every day. But they're not. And they won't be. Since 2020, 25 women have been killed violently in NI. No riots. Most of those responsible were men from here. Pretending this threat solely comes from outsiders while ignoring what's happening in our homes is cowardice.

The truth's harder to face. The real threat to women here doesn't come from people arriving from other places. It comes from men.  And as in this case, sometimes boys. From a culture that refuses to take responsibility for its own violence. NI remains one of the most dangerous places in Europe to be a woman. The numbers are there. The stories are there. The grief is there for anyone who cares to see it.

Rage is understandable. But if your outrage leads to racial scapegoating instead of demanding justice, you've made your choice clear; it was never about her.

There's a choice to be made. People can keep swallowing the stories they're handed, letting their anger be shaped for them, treating strangers like enemies 'cause someone told them to. Or they can start asking who benefits when communities tear themselves apart. If you're angry, good. Be angry at the systems that fail victims, at the poverty that breeds violence, at the men who get away with it again and again.

And if you've suddenly found yourself with an urge to do more to protect women, great. Support Women's Aid. Fund services for survivors. Push for proper consent education. Stand with (and listen to!) the people who've been doing this work for decades. Hold the perpetrators accountable. Hold the politicians stoking hate accountable. Hold the people exploiting this violence accountable. But don't pretend you're helping victims by attacking strangers.

What's happening isn't new. It's what always happens when fear's louder than solidarity. When people are told that scarcity is someone else's fault instead of asking who built the system that left them with nothing. There's always someone ready to point the finger; always someone ready to hand you an enemy.

But none of it fixes anything. None of it makes women safer. None of it heals the harm that's been done. And none of it will stop until people decide to stop letting fear choose their enemies for them.