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US President Donald Trump and Ambassador Kim Darroch PA Images

Trump hits back after UK ambassador to US described him as 'inept' and 'dysfunctional'

Trump said Ambassador Kim Darroch had “not served the UK well”.

US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has hit back after leaked memos revealed Britain’s ambassador in the US had described the president and his White House as “inept” and “uniquely dysfunctional”.

Trump said Ambassador Kim Darroch had “not served the UK well” and that he and his administration were “not big fans” of the envoy.

Darroch had said Trump’s presidency could “crash and burn” and “end in disgrace”, according to a cache of secret cables and briefing notes sent back to Britain, seen by the Mail on Sunday newspaper.

Darroch allegedly wrote in one dispatch: “We don’t really believe this administration is going to become substantially more normal; less dysfunctional; less unpredictable; less faction riven; less diplomatically clumsy and inept.”

The paper said the most damning comments by Darroch described Trump as ”insecure” and “incompetent”.

A memo sent following Trump’s state visit to the UK said the president and his team had been “dazzled” by the trip. It warned Britain might not remain “flavour of the month” because “this is still the land of America First”.

He reportedly wrote that the “vicious infighting and chaos” inside the White House – widely reported in the US but dismissed by Trump as “fake news” – was “mostly true”.

Asked about the leak, Trump told reporters in the US:

The ambassador has not served the UK well, I can tell you that. We are not big fans of that man and he has not served the UK well. So I can understand it, and I can say things about him but I won’t bother.

The UK foreign ministry has said it would carry out a formal investigation into the leak.

Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt has distanced himself from Darroch’s remarks.

He said: “It’s really important to say that the ambassador was doing his job as an ambassador which is to give frank reports and personal opinions about what’s happening in the country where he works, and that’s his job to send back those reports but they are personal opinions, not the opinions of the British Government, not my opinion.

“And we continue to think that under President Trump the United States administration is both highly effective and the best possible friend of Britain on the international stage.”

From 2017 to now

Darroch is one of Britain’s most experienced diplomats whose posting in Washington began in January 2016, prior to Trump winning the presidency.

The Mail on Sunday said the memos, likely leaked by someone within Britain’s sprawling civil service, cover a period beginning in 2017.

In one of the most recent reported dispatches filed on 22 June, Darroch criticised Trump’s fraught foreign policy on Iran, which has prompted fears in global capitals of a military conflict, as “incoherent” and “chaotic”.

He allegedly said the president’s assertion that he called off retaliatory missile strikes against the Iranian regime after a US drone was shot down because it risked killing 150 Iranians, “doesn’t stand up”.

“It’s more likely that he was never fully on board and that he was worried about how this apparent reversal of his 2016 campaign promises would look come 2020,” Darroch reportedly stated, referring to the next presidential election.

Britain’s Foreign Office did not dispute the veracity of the memos.

“The British public would expect our ambassadors to provide ministers with an honest, unvarnished assessment of the politics in their country,” a spokeswoman said. 

“Their views are not necessarily the views of ministers or indeed the government,” she added, noting “we pay them to be candid”. 

“Our team in Washington have strong relations with the White House and no doubt that these will withstand such mischievous behaviour,” the spokeswoman said of the potential fallout from the leak.

© – AFP 2019

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    Mute Jason Culligan
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:12 AM

    I think you’re utterly wrong. What I would say caused Trump and Brexit is articles like this. Lumping an entire group into one box and then slapping a label like ‘narcissistic’, ‘racist’ or ‘islamophobic’ on them does nothing but alienate those people. You do not speak for me or any other millennial and I for one am sick of people like you claiming to know everything about me just because I was born within a certain timeframe. Speak to us as individuals and you might actually make some progress.

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    Mute Musical Junkie
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:18 AM

    Well said Jason

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    Mute Liam O'Reilly
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:22 AM

    I have completely and comprehensively disagreed with every Jason Culligan opinion I have read on The Journal, but this is spot on.

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    Mute scoop delivery
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:22 AM

    @Jason Culligan: Well Jason this article may be not accurate, but your views on subject Trump are vastly different than most millenials to the point of being extreme right. Having read your posts on subject Trump i think you are off kilter with pretty much all Irish People of that generation. Utmost fascination with supporting the man in the face of all the facts that are against him. Have to respect that single mindedness but it has a hint of the scary.

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    Mute Jason Culligan
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:30 AM

    You misunderstand my doggedness on the subject Scoop. If we could have a reasonable conversation on the topic, I think you’ll find that there are many areas where I criticise Trump. That being said, the criticism leveled at Trump by the media isn’t reasonable and focuses mostly on nonsense rather than real policy. Why not criticise his economic and social policies rather than complaining about insignificant points like ‘OMG he spoke about something in Sweden that might not have happened, what an idiot’?

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    Mute Mr Snuffleupagus
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:44 AM

    @Jason Culligan: I agree with you, but he’s spot on with this line, “Millennials now are more interested in a meme, a 140 character tweet, or a pithy soundbite than a detailed and rational argument. We are entering the post-factual (alternative fact) world”.

    Logic has died a death. He’s also right about the narcissism. But as you say he misses the central point. Trump was elected as a fcuk you to political correctness, SJWs, and the liberal media. It’s not responsible for all of the votes Trump got, but it is responsible for enough to swing the election. There can’t be any doubt about that. People are so sick of it they voted for Trump knowing full well he was an arsehole, and many people, like me tbh, were glad to see him elected as it shows there’s a fightback going on. I was glad to see him elected despite the fact I can’t stand the man.

    Political apathy has always been a factor among the young, so that’s nothing new.

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    Mute Mr Snuffleupagus
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:56 AM

    In a nutshell, this US election was not a political fight, it was a cultural one. It was different to the ones before it. The liberal press wrote hit piece after hit piece on the right and tried hard to denigrate everyone on the right as alt-right.

    In the UK the press did exactly the same thing castigating brexiteers as hardliners and extremists too. And Brexit too was a cultural war.

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    Mute The Crant
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:57 AM

    @Musical Junkie: What is wrong with abolishing Trans Pacific Partnership?

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    Mute The Crant
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    Mar 12th 2017, 10:11 AM

    @scoop delivery: OK lets examine a few facts. Trump beat Clinton who was financed by Saudi Arabia where women are stoned to death, gay men are killed and heads, hands and limbs cut off regularly. She paid 62 million dollars to Jaz-Z who sung about having foreign bitches to do anything for a dollar.

    Trump has got rid of TPP, a legal deal to hand multi national companies control over commerce. Trump is dead down on ISIS,. Trump is keeping his promises and realizes the globull warming gig is a scam.

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    Mute tea biccies
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    Mar 12th 2017, 11:04 AM

    Trump is a con man and just as crooked as Hillary. Neither was a very good option

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    Mute John Smith
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    Mar 12th 2017, 11:13 AM

    @Jason Culligan: For once I completely agree with Jason Culligan. This lazy trope of milleninals is utter hogwash. There is zero evidence in this lazy piece of opinion. Yes more people follow celebrities on social media than politicians, just like I was more interested in Kurt Cobain than whoever was in power back then. Trump and Brexit are a result of corporations not playing their parts in constructing fair and equal social structures, making the wealthy wealthier and leaving the middle class behind. If anyone is to blame as a group in society it is the baby boomers, who let us come to this. They say millenials have it easy, yet now there are less career driven jobs, less wages and for the first time a generation who earn less than those that came before them.

    This entire piece is a waste of words, cynical and lazy, and as transparent as thin air. This is the reason young people engage less with the media.

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    Mute Martin Critten
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    Mar 12th 2017, 11:18 AM

    Whilst we think Millennials and their kind are a modernisum. The masses were doing much the same to entertain themselves in the Colosum in Rome.

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    Mute Tony Canning
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    Mar 12th 2017, 12:04 PM

    @Jason Culligan: I’ve disagreed with your politics before but you’re spot on. I got through the first section of this and thought the same – Lumping people into the same group due to age then proceeding to say that because of age you are self absorbed shitfaces and everything is your fault… pathetic.

    If people want to find reasons for things not going the way they want then they’d be well advised to not put their own dislikes into a narrative that suits them.

    Couldn’t even get passed the first few lines of this attack – and I’m not even a millenial.

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    Mute Mirabelle Stonegate
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    Mar 12th 2017, 6:34 PM

    @Jason Culligan: So much this. I’m an older millenial at 29, and nothing like what is typically discribed for the generation..

    i vote every chance i get. my twitter account recently got locked because they noted “unusual activity”…me, tweeting for the first time in about 3 years, basically. one of a maximum of 15 i’ve sent in 6 years of owning the account. social media of all kinds is banned from my phone. facebook is only used for stuff that requires it to log in, like here. other than that, i might look at it briefly every 6-8 weeks. i can’t remember the last time i took a selfie.. the last time i got any kind of photo taken was at a graduation ceremony about a year ago. i read up on current affairs every chance i get, through a variety of different sources. i’m vocal with some of my opinions. one of the most influential and loved people in my first 5 years of life was a muslim from morroco (my cousin’s then-boyfriend) and now, more than 20 years on, i still think of him first when i hear “muslim” or “islam”.

    i got called spoiled many times as a teenager by peers, as i would buy myself something worth €200-500 every summer. this was despite them knowing that i worked hard, on hands and knees, picking fruit all summer, just to earn that money. yet at the same time, they were getting equally expensive stuff bought for them by their parents, for no reason.

    not all millennials are attention-seeking, lazy narcissists on social media all day. we shouldn’t all be tarred with the same brush. it’s highly disrespectful to do that, without knowing the person/group you’re labelling in a more meaningful way.

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    Mute Mirabelle Stonegate
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    Mar 12th 2017, 6:44 PM

    @Mr Snuffleupagus: As a reluctant millennial, the comment you quoted isn’t spot on for me, at least. and at least one other millennial i know.

    whilst i like a good meme, there’s a time and a place for that, preferably, when i’m at home, browsing the internet for fun and amusement. for the most part, i prefer reading a decent article though.

    i don’t tweet often.. about 15 times in 6 years, at most. the last one got my twitter account locked for “unusual activity”. the last tweet i took notice of was one sent by sir ian mckellan in late november, letting followers know that the play he and sir patrick stewart where performing in the west end would be aired worldwide. it showed up in my email, which allowed me to go see that play in a nearby cinema – no man’s land, a harold pinter show.

    not entirely sure what is meant by a soundbite, so won’t say more on that..

    please please please please please, don’t tar all millennials with the same brush. it is highly disrespectful. personally, i hate photos, and only have them taken for special occasions. my last facebook post was over a year ago. i mainly only keep the account around for stuff like commenting here, tbh. i’m far more interested in a good news article than the mumblings on twitter, unless it’s actually worth something, like that ian mckellan tweet a few months back.

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    Mute Paul Furey
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    Mar 12th 2017, 8:56 AM

    The best thing about selfie sticks is that they are also lightning conductor.

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    Mute danielplainview
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:57 AM

    Haha true. In all seriousness though, it’s articles like this which only add to the apathy of all generations’ disinterest with politics. We are always trying to find somebody to blame for our problems and it leads to a toxic political environment which nobody wants to be a part of. Politicians need to have a dialogue with the people and openly discuss what they are trying to do and why. Through this dialogue we might be able to engage all people into politics again and get them to believe that it is a good force of change

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    Mute Deborah Behan
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    Mar 12th 2017, 1:09 PM

    So the young people are to blame? Please. Were we so perfect? I always brought my daughter when voting and spoke to her about politics and equality. She was first able to vote in marriage equality referendum and takes great pride. If the young people are not voting maybe we should look at how we are not engaging them rather than blaming them.

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    Mute Awkward Seal
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    Mar 12th 2017, 4:18 PM

    I regularly use a selfie-stick and I’m a proud to do so. I’ve taken some amazing photographs using it. Screw all you haters #selfiestickpride

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    Mute Dietrich Död
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:07 AM

    It’s very easy to blame apathetic and narcissistic millennials for all of our political woes, but if we’re speaking in generational terms, it’s the baby boomers & generation x’rs who created the conditions that led to the structural inequalities and disillusionment with democratic institutions that characterise many mature developed nations today. They’re also the ones who voted overwhelmingly for Trump and Brexit.

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    Mute Frank Cauldhame
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:24 AM

    @Dietrich Död:

    I was thinking along the same lines plus how can something “thrive” after only a few weeks (Trump) and prior to it commencing (Brexit) ?

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    Mute The Crant
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:56 AM

    @Dietrich Död: Correct, I deliver coal and the majority of young people are eager to hear my views and many now realize, political correctness has failed society. I am dump struck at the quality of rural young people, I suspect city ones are equally great.

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    Mute Ivan Enoughofit
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    Mar 12th 2017, 8:58 AM

    No , I’d say it’s people who have had enough of political correctness and politicians B/S and said NO enough. Trump is doing what he said he’d do and the Brits voted No because they can’t axis services ( NHS) because of the ” bloody foreigners’ and last summer a Muslim army was marching up though Europe , heading for a tented village in France ,11 miles from the British coast. Those are the main reasons the British voted No. It’s probably going to be the worst decision they’ve made but was lack of understanding by main stream political parties that caused it . The same lack of understanding caused Trump in America .

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    Mute Dietrich Död
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:10 AM

    Wait, what, a ‘Muslim Army’?! The crusades are back?

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    Mute The Crant
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:53 AM

    @Ivan Enoughofit: The caption is worded in such a way as to portray Tumps and Brexit was an undesirable development. It is a welcome development. Bear in mind too that the Journal.ie has banned many contributors to its commentary pages.

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    Mute Juan Venegas
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:22 AM

    I don’t get the “Millennial” Labeling to everyone in their 20s. A Millennial is someone who reached adulthood by the turn of the 21st century. So we’re talking people who turned 18 between the late 90s and middle 2000s. All these people are now in their 30s. a 21 year old is not a millennial.

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    Mute Ben McArthur
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:34 AM

    @Juan Venegas: It’s because the current generation of the middle aged are too lazy and stupid to think of a proper label for their “young people today mumble mumble” rants.

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    Mute The Crant
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    Mar 12th 2017, 10:05 AM

    @Ben McArthur: This argument neglects to incorporate the passage of time, we are all on a conveyor belt of life

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    Mute Qwerty
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:19 AM

    Brexit only just managed to happen because it was the kind of vote where only one side is passionate. Every single leave voter made sure they cast their vote and relatively few bothered to vote for remain.

    In any election anywhere, older people always have a higher turn out. It doesn’t say anything about the younger generations. They are just conforming to the statistics that younger people don’t turn up to vote as often.

    It was democracy in action. It’s astounding to think there are politicians brazen enough to suggest there should be another vote because “people didn’t fully understand what they were voting for”. Ridiculous!

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    Mute The Crant
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    Mar 12th 2017, 10:03 AM

    @Qwerty: Brexit is proving a great boost to the UK, Ireland should follow

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    Mute Rodan
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    Mar 12th 2017, 10:18 AM

    @Qwerty:
    Yes Qwerty, it was the politicians of previous years who are “to blame” for this, (if that is even a correct term to describe a democratic decision). Years of ignoring the voices of a large section of society. The concerns of the people were ignored, in favour of looking after their big business buddies by keeping wage costs down by importing cheap labour, while at the same time the cost of living continued to increase. They have reaped what they sowed.
    The worse thing is that continue to keep their head in sand! By suggesting that the same people they have ignored for 20+ years “didn’t understand” what they were voting for they are further alienating this huge section of society. It’s easier for the politicians though isn’t it? By refusing to accept that people knew what they voted for (and the associated downsides) then they can continue to fight against the result of the vote. The truth is that many in the UK fully understood the economic trade off and voted to leave anyway.
    Why do they think Theresa May is currently enjoying the largest poll lead in the history? It has nothing to do with Austerity, the NHS, or grammar schools does it? No, it is because she is trying to implement the Brexit that people voted for. The UK Labour party should consider itself fortunate that May does not do what needs to be done to call an election now, because if she did she would have the kind of majority that would allow her to do pretty much whatever she wanted.

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    Mute Tony Canning
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    Mar 12th 2017, 12:12 PM

    @Rodan: Definitely was a case of the political class not really listening – but there was also a scare tactic thing going on on both sides of the Brexit debate.

    The remain side opted for good old fashioned “these are the terrible things that could happen” approach – mostly based around economics.
    The leave side opted for a more modern approach of tapping into the specific issues that bothered many under the surface. Some which were valid, others which were not. The leave side’s approach allowed more generalised statements to ferment into things that (IMO) were fully intended.

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    Mute AJ
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:17 AM

    Liberals and their only argument of people being racist or bigots has made them thrive. Scrap the eu and close borders!

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    Mute John Smith
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    Mar 12th 2017, 11:17 AM

    @AJ:

    Utter nonsense. The issue is that when a liberal argues points someone like yourself spins a lazy line like “Liberals and their only argument of people being racist or bigots has made them thrive.”. You fail to see the complexity of the world.

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    Mute AJ
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    Mar 12th 2017, 11:43 AM

    Ah john have i upset your feelings? Of course i see the problems but what points do these liberals make? That multiculturism is good when its forced down our throat and it only goes one way? That open borders is a good thing despite the fact it allows terrorists and criminals to travel unchecked? That an influx from a certain culture who have no respect for womens rights or gay rights is somehow good for us? That welfare tourists come and take my taxes and destroy what we have left of a health service and housing stock? Trump and Brexit were a response to idiots who ignored peoples concerns with all these issues. Youre not racist or anything else if youre just concerned with your freedoms being erradicated by an elite mob to pander to a culture that is medieval or just to enrich those at the very top. And thats all the arguments that liberals have, youre racist, bigoted and everything else and just try and shame and drown out people with noise. Times are changing and people will not accept it anymore.

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    Mute Simeon
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:31 AM

    Disengagement from politics comes when we can no longer vote for the best of a bad lot but are faced with the choice of a lesser of two evils. Hillary Clinton is a monster. She has the blood of Libya and Syria on her hand. People who care to find the truth could never vote for her. Slapping a progressive label on someone is not enough anymore.

    The European Union is another example of something we are told we have to support no matter how nasty it is to ourselves or the Greeks as it ruthlessly implements a bankers agenda.

    What the write sees as narcissism and apathy I see as a generation refusing to settle for an inferior vision for the future being implemented by an older generation who took all the advantages of post war social democracy then kicked away the ladder. We are looking at a moment in history where the choice for the establishment must again be reform or get swept aside.

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    Mute BJBcreative
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    Mar 12th 2017, 10:02 AM

    Such a lazy generalisation. It’s this kind of attempt at journalism that really grinds my gears!

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    Mute James Elford
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    Mar 12th 2017, 10:32 AM

    I marched with the Water Charges protestors. I attended the Tuam Babies protest outside Dail Eireann three years ago. I marched for equality for dads four years ago. I voted for the people I believed could make a difference. I’ve done all a person can really do. And I’ve seen how futile it all is.

    I’m not apathetic. I care deeply about my family, my friends, my country and the world. I see the same BS politics spreading globally like a virus. We are not as a generation self-absorbed. At least not to the level of the Powers That Be. The ones that try to manipulate us on a daily basis. Who insist the funds are running dry while their own massive wages roll in unabated every week.

    To recognise one’s “place” – a small cog in an ever-growing machine – does not equate to apathy. It is complete self awareness. If so called millennials appear dejected or uninterested, maybe they like so many see just how corrupt and self-serving the system and its masters are, and choose not to enter a losing battle.

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    Mute John Mullan
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:12 AM

    Capitalism has engineered individualism into society in order to prevent a collective response to the inequality produced by its neoliberalism. It has worked well. However capitalism can’t help but feed on itself and with nothing left to hold it back it will destroy itself. This is happening before our eyes. We don’t know what will replace it but whatever it is will be completely new.

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    Mute The Crant
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    Mar 12th 2017, 10:02 AM

    @John Mullan: Oh! so capitalism is the cause of what. Brexit and Trump represent the masses wrestling freedom from the leftie/green oppressors. Capitalism build Britain, America and Canada, we had communism is North Korea, Soviet Russia, Cuba, Zimbabwe and some south American countries.

    Now everyone knows someone who emigrated from here. You explain why they all go to Australia, Canada, the USA and not Russia, North Korea, Zimbabwe and Cuba. Can you develop that please?

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    Mute Pádraig Ó Raghaill
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    Mar 12th 2017, 10:20 AM

    @The Crant: – John is basically correct. The issue is you are trying to create a binary where one does not exist. Capitalism is but an umbrella term that holds a set of economic ideologies, capitalism in current form, a progression of economic ideas fleshed out over the last two to three decades, have indeed created the problems. It has reached the end of its adaptability and a new set of models are needed. So it is not capitalism versus other models you mentioned, but a new set of economic ideas, models, answers to the new problems created from addressing the old problems. It is another manifestation of the Lucus Critique that set in motion the last great changes leading us to today.

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    Mute Sue Ward
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    Mar 12th 2017, 8:54 AM

    You are spot on Hugh!

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    Mute DPentony
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:48 AM

    The left are still in blame and denial mode anyway.

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    Mute Ben McArthur
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:36 AM

    Maybe it’s not that. Maybe a generation simply realise that politics is largely a sideshow that’s not worth worrying about. The real business of government goes on quietly behind the scenes, no matter who is at the front.

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    Mute Adrian
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:56 AM

    I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the previous administrations in office (current in ireland) are pretty crap at their job, unfairly trying to introduce austerity in the eu, cost of living is too high, and people are simply voting for change, and rightly so.

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    Mute Alan O'Reilly
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    Mar 12th 2017, 10:28 AM

    How could you blame Brexit on so called millenials when the age breakdown of results show that the 18-25 age group voted 27% to leave and the 65+ voted 60% to leave

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    Mute Emmet Purcell
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    Mar 12th 2017, 12:19 PM

    @Alan O’Reilly: If you blame millenials for anything, you get a free opinion column.

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    Mute Tony Canning
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    Mar 12th 2017, 12:24 PM

    @Alan O’Reilly: I would hazard a guess that the author is looking at unreliable information which says that not enough young people got out to vote – given that age seemed to be a big indicator on whether someone would vote leave or remain.

    To b fair, there are good indications in this – but age tends to be a factor in turnout for pretty much every vote on everything so the notion of blaming people of any age groups is pretty ludicrous. More than anything it means that the remain campaign failed to appeal to the demographic they should have.

    I’m in favour of remain myself but the author of this piece just comes across as a whingey baby who didn’t get their way. For Ireland now, what’s really important is to have strong representation in order to try to get the best we can out of a situation that is going to happen.

    The problem there of course is that nobody with an ounce of sense can see much in the way of strong representation.

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    Mute Ciarán
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    Mar 12th 2017, 11:14 AM

    So let me get this right boomers spend decades voting for the security short sighted self enriching economic policies and backward social policies, create the 8th amendment, foster a culture of corruption and back hand deals, of psuedo-american individualism, create an environment in which young people need to be educated until age 22-25 then emerge on salaries that barely allow them to pay rent let alone afford a mortgage, allow inequality to spiral out of control, ravage the countryside and destroy local towns and villages with ridiculous planning laws allowing giant one off palaces nowhere near a community, then through their excesses and voting patterns cause the greatest economic disaster in the countries history saddled with more debt than can ever be paid off in my lifetime and will severely district any chance not of real radical progress or change for decades. But yeah obviously it’s all the fault of millennials, if only they cared a bit more

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    Mute Nydon
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:55 AM

    Since (at least) the ’50s I think young people have generally been more interested in things other than voting. A comparison between current voting trends and historical age related demographic engagement instead of a current ‘millennials’ V ‘all others’ would have been more relevant to the aims of the article.
    What they are currently more interested in doing (and like the rest of us will likely grow out of when marriage, mortgage and children kick in) is irrelevant. (probably less harmful in the long run than pot and head banging)
    This article basically says ” if it wasn’t for them danged good for nothing kids not stopping the rest of us, we wouldn’t be in this mess we are now”.
    Ridiculous.
    I agree with the commenter above who says that the “mess we’re in ” is not a random mess but an overdue and probably over the top reaction by the general populace (our generations) to the likes of the article writer attempting to manipulate, silence and subjugate them if their own thoughts didn’t quite fit with the “educated liberal” narrative that allowed career politicians to say nice sound-bites to their face while stabbing them in the back .
    Don’t dismiss Trump, Brexit and the rise of the far right as a failure of millennials to engage but see it as a message that all views need to be listened to and accommodated to some extent if possible in a properly democratic world.

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    Mute The Crant
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    Mar 12th 2017, 10:15 AM

    @Nydon: Take an imaginary groups of 300,000 Irish voters who voted last time. Can anyone tell us, how our country would be any worse off had those 300,000 voters not voted. Definitely votes of Catherine Murphy, Mick Wallace, Rosin Shorthall and Michale Fitzmaurice were very helpful to our voice.

    Other than that, what did their votes achieve.

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    Mute Brian McDonnell
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    Mar 12th 2017, 10:08 AM

    The “youth,” rarely turn out at the same levels as the “older,” in any general election, when most people are 19 they are too busy having fun too be bothered with something as dull and stuffy as politics, so nothing new there.
    As for narcissism, that has always been there, we all know someone who is so far up their own backside they could brush their own teeth from the inside, that person who is always right, and will not listen to anyone, they exist on both the left and right of the political spectrum. Social media has just brought it to a new level.
    Anyone with any ounce of on cop on will realise (hopefully) that most of these self styled/important/indulgent people are just doing it to sell something, be it an actual product, idea, ideal or lifestyle. If people fall for the guff being spouted by both the left and right, more the fool them, after all a narcissist is only interested in themselves, they sure as hell don’t give a damn about you, just your cash.

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    Mute Emmet Purcell
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    Mar 12th 2017, 12:15 PM

    Tired, cliche ‘blame the milennials’ nonsense. Surprised it took three paragraphs before the writer mentioned selfie sticks. And of course, Kim Kardashian gets a mention too. Anyone could have written this, and they already have in multiple identical opinion pieces, when blaming millenials for everything they dislike about the status quo.

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    Mute Phil Keenan
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    Mar 12th 2017, 11:05 AM

    Good article. You could apply that same apathy to ireland. We seem to bend over and take it without a fight. Last few years as an example. We let Europe and the banks shaft us and we still are taking a shafting

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    Mute Martin Doyle
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    Mar 12th 2017, 11:15 AM

    @Phil Keenan:Correct statement let me assure you its only the beginning wait and see when trade with UK stops
    I don’t see any other Europeans running around Ireland offering new trade ideas or business contracts.

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    Mute Una Lahiff
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:59 AM

    I have read too many opinion articles like this. Both Brexit and Trump won the vote by narrow margins (and more people actually voted for Clinton!) so the use of the word “thrive” is an exaggeration at best and really just incorrect. The day after Trump was inaugurated millions of people globally protested against him – not exactly thriving in my opinion. And that protest would largely have been organised, and its following grown, through the use of social media which Hugh and many others have derided in articles like this.

    It has always been difficult to get more young people to vote and this hasn’t improved but it is not due to the rise of social media use. There was no mention of any other elements that could cause a decline in an age group voting – more younger people work part time or retail jobs that make it harder to take time off mid-week to vote. More young people are away at college or working away from home making it harder to travel back home and vote during the week.

    Lastly there was no mention of the good social media can do when promoting people to vote. I’m thinking specifically of the Home to vote movement from the 2015 marriage equality referendum. I would hope that Hugh would find a more original topic in any future opinion articles he writes.

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    Mute The Crant
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    Mar 12th 2017, 10:19 AM

    @Una Lahiff: Each country has a vote counting system established by their constitution. No country can have a simple count of heads. In Britain, a Prime Minister can be appointed with a minority of the votes. America has its electoral college system, that suits a big country and was never is disputed until Trump won. Its just sour grapes, accepting the result is your problem, You will have prently of time to get used to it.

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    Mute Mr Snuffleupagus
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    Mar 12th 2017, 10:23 AM

    @Una Lahiff: But they won, and the press would have you believe they had no chance at all for most of each campaign. And pretty soon, the rest of Europe will follow. France too will leave the EU. And that will be the end of that. When half of the population of any given country is left unheard by mainstream media and only one view presented all the time, it rightly leads to mass animosity. How could it not?

    The US and EU swung too far to the left, and now the right has re-emerged to slow it down. This is cyclical and has been since politics began. It’ll continue on this way.

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    Mute Una Lahiff
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    Mar 12th 2017, 10:42 AM

    I understand how voting works and was not disputing the victories. Merely stating facts that this article seemed to skirt around. The winning results were narrow victories for both but victories nonetheless. My point was that simplifying the results into the argument “young people not voting caused this” was incorrect and ignored other elements in the decline of young voter turnout.

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    Mute The Crant
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    Mar 12th 2017, 10:31 AM

    I have a brother in America, New England and he tells me this. He lives in a largely democratic part of the country. He was a democrat being Irish born. He has his own coal depot in keeping with our family tradition here at home and is doing well, he voted Trump/Pence last time.

    He says that there is a growing terror within the democratic party that they could be out of power for the next 20 years. 1st they will get it very hard to find a candidate for President next time. In fact Hillary has her nose up to run again. 2nd, if anything were to happen to Trump, Pence would become president and he will be elected as the next president. It means that for the next 8 years Trump type presidents will be in power. 3rd Trump is appealing directly to all voters to dump obstructionist members of the houses of government and he only needs a little success to swing it his way. 4th pulling away from green restrictions and loosing regulation on industry will work and tilt the balance towards conservatives. I myself find it hard to believe the period can be as long as 20 years, but my brother is well informed and that is their thinking

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    Mute Martin Doyle
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    Mar 12th 2017, 11:06 AM

    @The Crant: Your Brother is smart tells it as it is

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    Mute Patrick Daly
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    Mar 12th 2017, 11:50 AM

    Absolutely rubbish,I too have a brother in NE who assures me of nearly the opposite of everything you stated. Plenty of younger dems putting their hands up to be front runner for dems eg Boston mayor O Malley.People in NE are also horrified at the thought of a Pence presidency with his socially regressive views on religion,sexuality and health.Trump removal or loosening of regs will only lead to a free for all with a short term bump but in the medium and long term will decimate not only natural resources but employment through the short sightedness of lessening of standards and oversight and as for people dumping”obstructionist” members in NE I’m assured it’s the opposite as voters are actively encouraging their reps to fight the president and gop

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    Mute Emmet O'Keeffe
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    Mar 12th 2017, 1:45 PM

    @The Crant:
    Democrats lost over 1,000 seats under Obama. 1,042 state and federal Democratic posts to be exact, including congressional and state legislative seats, governorships and the presidency.
    In many respects the Democrats are not even a national party anymore. Some support of the coasts but they’ve lost the support of middle America.
    If Republicans maintain the White House next time round the Democratic Party could face decades in the wilderness.

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    Mute Fred O'Connor
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    Mar 12th 2017, 11:43 AM

    Wow. Didn’t think one article could contain so many unfounded claims and broad generalisations. Why are his academic credentials being touted at the end? If I submitted something with this many holes in it my lecturers would have banned me from the college for life.

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    Mute Martin Doyle
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    Mar 12th 2017, 11:10 AM

    It’s easy Ireland is up to its Ba*lls in dept
    We always had direct trade to UK since the time of Jesus and before.
    We gave our fishing waters away to strangers we the IRISH need a license to fish in our own rivers waters.
    Trump got it so right he was watching waiting for the Mood of the people and he got it right.
    Yet in Ireland they are still figuring out the water rates four years now.
    Good Luck to you all.

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    Mute The Crant
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    Mar 12th 2017, 10:48 AM

    Being from a working class background, my formal education ended after passing the group certificate exam at Beach Hill College Monaghan in 1977. I admit I did not know the meaning of the word narcissism, but I googled it.

    http://www.dictionary.com/browse/narcissism – obsessed with oneself, Excessive self love. I cannot understand why the current swing towards Trump and Brexit was be a result of self love or obsession with oneselves. Hillary brought on Jaz-Z who sang about have a “garage full of foreign cars and loads of foreign bitches to do anything for a dollar”. Trump brought on the loved ones of the victims of murder by illegal criminal aliens. I cannot understand how young voters are blamed for rejecting the leftie/greenies/ libers and supporting Trump and Brexit. TPP too. Please explain someone. Meanwhile check this out, it was the last straw in the brother voting for Trump. https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&p=millie+weaver+infor+wars+at+cleavland+election+byonce+Jay-Z+you+tibe#id=1&vid=851c70419fb3385fac183ea656218fb4&action=click

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    Mute D Louise Fermigier
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:20 AM

    So true ….

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    Mute Martin Doyle
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    Mar 12th 2017, 11:08 AM

    @D Louise Fermigier: As true as your led to believe from a liberal point of view.

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    Mute Emmet O'Keeffe
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    Mar 12th 2017, 1:39 PM

    Brexit and Trump restored our faith in the democratic process. The liberal press had been turning the screws on open debate for years, demonising anyone who transgressed from a pre ordained narrative. The right to freedom of speech, a cornerstone of democratic society was under serious threat.
    Democrats, the left, liberals convinced themselves that social media was their territory, by controlling social media they could control the political environment. They lapsed into a false sense of security, confident that popular Celebs would do the donkey work on the campaign trail. The polls told us that it was inevitable. ‘Britain leave the EU? -HA HA HA’ , ‘Trump as president? – Shut up you deluded fool’
    The whole thing backfired spectacularly.
    The people have spoken.
    Long live the people.

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    Mute Seth Cheffetz
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    Mar 12th 2017, 11:21 AM

    In the case of Trump, it was having an equally horrible candidate that represented no change in Hillary that allowed Trump to win. Why would anyone care about a candidate not worth caring about?

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    Mute Hugh
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    Mar 12th 2017, 12:07 PM

    Overly condescending and a gross generalisation to condemn an entire demographic. Falsely assumes all “millennials” are the same and hold the same political ideation. Not true in my experience.

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    Mute TehJurolan
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    Mar 12th 2017, 1:36 PM

    This is a generation that thinks the Star Wars Prequels are good movies – lets be thankful they’re apathetic.

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    Mute Seth Cheffetz
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    Mar 12th 2017, 11:29 AM

    Hugh. Your opinion is highly ignorant and thankfully just that, an opinion.

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    Mute Awkward Seal
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    Mar 12th 2017, 3:53 PM

    I could write a 50 page critical treatise on this over-simplistic, fallacy-ridden steaming pile of shite of an article. What a patronising clown. But here’s my favourite bit (it was hard to choose)

    “The old division of left and right, trade unionist and employer, secular and religious are breaking down.”

    When you put it like that it sounds great! I’m not even sure it’s true though. But of course you only want to bring people together that think the same as you, while defending other fascists and extreme ideologies because the harbingers are brown. There are lots of liberals like me who are finding ourselves in the unenviable position of defending the right because the left has gone bonkers so maybe that’s what you’re referring to.

    “Millennials aren’t the foot soldiers of this new movement, they aren’t even supporters of it, but their apathy is what is allowing it to thrive. The new battle lines are being drawn as we speak: open versus closed, rational versus populist”.

    One of many of your broad stroke statements followed by a conclusion not backed up by reality. Also, rational and populist are not mutually exclusive and open and closed can be both good and bad depending on the situation.

    Click-bate rubbish and I fell for it

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    Mute Margate
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    Mar 12th 2017, 3:16 PM

    Excellent article, spot on in many ways. Not sure if some commentators on here actually comprehend what the article is really suggesting. (Why do people go off on ridiculous tangents, and not stick with the thrust of the article???)
    Most young people- and I work with them everyday, so I might just be a tad informed- have many good skills, talents, competencies and are motivated.
    However, many act out of self-interest, motivated by short-term gain (financial and other) , and really don’t give a toss about the economic, social, cultural or other fibres of THIS country, let alone in an international or global context. Don’t cite the errors/ problems of previous generations or decades- true, they existed, but we all have a Responsibility to CARE. A little stretch beyond the SELF is something to be encouraged in each young person. A little less of the SELF-AWARENESS (and its accompanying traits like a sense of entitlement, a sense of ‘I’m worth it’ and a ‘ so what ‘ attitude about anything/anybody else), and a little more of Looking at the bigger picture..

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    Mute Jake Gundersonn
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    Mar 12th 2017, 1:33 PM

    Millenials? Sounds more like “you did the hard work let us criticize’.
    And you complain of labelling! Make up your mind

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    Mute Brian McDonnell
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    Mar 12th 2017, 4:43 PM

    Stick a label on it.
    When you go to a shop and a packet of parsnips has the label “parsnips,” on it do you expect a packet of carrots, or turnips or spuds? No, you expect there to be parsnips in it.
    The trouble with modern politics is they love to stick a little label on people, especially if they disagree with you, or woe betide, dare to ask a question. If you really want to know why the idea of Brexit and ideals of Trump were bought by so many, then take a look at the labels that were stuck on many people before they even decided on who and what to vote for. If you label people as disgusting, degenerate, racist, Islamophobic or sexist, then why be so surprised when that is exactly what you get, after all, it was you who stuck the label on them. If you want to change peoples attitudes, don’t blindly label them, convince them to change what is inside.

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    Mute Stephen Byrne
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    Mar 13th 2017, 11:32 AM

    The final paragraph of this article redeems what was before just another lazy attempt at millennial-bashing. If Hugh intended message was to convey to his own political awakening then that should have been the immediate focus. Spending 80% of the word count regurgitating the same old clichés was a waste of what could have been an actually inspiring piece.

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    Mute stuohy
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    Mar 13th 2017, 8:01 AM

    I have to say i am getting sick of these nonsensical articles that have zero intellectual vigor. To prove his theory the author would have to show that this generation is uniquely apathetic compared to previous generations. Little or no effort is made to prove this. An actual interesting article would have been trying to determine this rather that have a mythical opinion of previous politically active generations

    The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers. (Socrates (469–399 B.C.) )

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    Mute James O Carroll
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    Mar 12th 2017, 9:34 PM

    maybe if politics wasn’t abunch of old yahoos carrying on about God creating global warming, maybe young people would actually start to care……….oh and the fact that CSPE in most schools is under-resourced

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