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'There's a fair few nutters in every party': The key moments from the RTÉ leaders' TV debate

The seven-way debate took place in NUIG tonight.

“THERE ARE A fair few nutters in every party, including my own.”

Some unusual words to come from the mouth of any party leader, never mind that of Leo Varadkar during a general election TV debate.

The seven leaders from the main political parties took part in RTÉ’s first live TV debate of the election campaign last night. 

The 90-minute programme was moderated by Claire Byrne and was broadcast live from NUIG in front of a 300-strong audience. 

The leaders of political parties which included – Fine Gael’s Leo Varadkar, Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald, Fianna Fáil’s Micheál Martin, Green Party’s Eamon Ryan, People Before Profit’s Richard Boyd Barrett, Labour’s Brendan Howlin and Roísín Shortall of the Social Democrats – clashed over housing, pensions, crime and taxation.

So, what were the main moments from tonight? 

The clap-o-meter

What topics and comments engaged the audience the most? Housing. No doubt about it. The issue sparked notable ‘whoop whoops’ and loud applause from the crowd in Galway this evening. 

The first buladh bos came with the call for an immediate rent freeze from Howlin.

This was followed by a strong audience reaction when Boyd Barrett mentioned Nama selling off €40 billion worth of State-owned land to vulture funds and private developers. 

Another outburst of applause was heard when the issue of banks was raised, and how Irish customers are being charged some of the highest mortgage rates in Europe, as well as when he highlighted that vulture funds and cuckoo funds pay little or no tax in Ireland.  

Certainly by this measure, Boyd Barrett had a good night tonight, resonating strongly with those on location.
All party leaders put forward their ideas of how to build more homes.

There were a couple more loud claps when McDonald said that Martin could not distance himself from the housing crisis “when he was the co-author of it”. 

There was a notable reaction from the audience when Varadkar slapped down Martin after he said that he couldn’t just wash his hands and pretend like his party hasn’t been in government for the last nine years. 

“We had to spend five years cleaning up your mess,” Varadkar hit back.

micheal martin RTE screengrab RTE screengrab

Housing has been dubbed one, if not the most important, issue of this election, and tonight, this seemed to ring true. 

All party leaders put forward their ideas of how to build more homes. Varadkar admitted that many people cannot afford their own home. He said his party is changing that through the Help-to-Buy scheme.

“You might as well give the cheque to the developer,” said Ryan, who would prefer the government go down the cost-rental route, also known as the Vienna model. 

Varadkar said they were looking at that model – citing just two pilot projects in the works. 

Martin said they’ll build homes through the local authorities, pointing out that Fine Gael promised affordable housing four years ago. It was never delivered upon, he said. 

rte debate Varadkar discussing tax that banks pay with McDonald. RTE screengrab RTE screengrab

While the Fianna Fáil leader perhaps failed to distance his party from Fine Gael’s housing policies of the past, Howlin and McDonald were eager to highlight it by saying there has been a “small trickle” of housing delivery, with the crisis not getting addressed under Fine Gael. 

When asked where all these construction workers are who are going to build all these wonderful houses, Boyd Barrett quipped: “They are building hotels we don’t need.”

Who will they couple-up with? 

The debate kicked off with a question straight out of Love Island – who are the parties willing to couple-up with after the general election?

Coming across like a team, Martin and Varadkar again ruled out doing business with McDonald.

Both pointed to a story on The Irish Times website this evening that reports that the party leader, as well as Sinn Féin candidates, have signed a pledge stating that they would be guided by instructions from its ruling body – the ard comhairle. 

McDonald said it was “incredibly arrogant” when party leaders say her voters should be “disregarded” and that they won’t go into government with Sinn Féin. 

“It isn’t personal,” replied Varadkar, who added it is largely to do with policy issues. 

Martin mentioned “the provos” when talking about the ard comhairle, arguing that it is different to how any other party is run. McDonald said it isn’t a “shadowy unelected entity”,pointing out that the members are voted for by the party membership at their annual Ard Fheis, which is televised. 

She said it is no different than the GAA, claiming it has the same structure – but Martin said it was fundamentally different than the national executive of other parties. 

The Fianna Fáil leader, seemingly more bothered by the idea of coupling up with Sinn Féin than Varadkar, said Sinn Fein are being arrogant. 

Martin said his party has “no obligation at all” to declare that he will enter into government with her party. 

“There’s very little we disagree on,” Brendan Howlin said of the Greens and Social Democrats, which could be the hint of a voting bloc to come, but Ryan and Shortall were a lot more coy about being dragged into any firm commitment or arrangement.

Empathetic Leo part two?

At the previous head-to-head between Micheál Martin and Leo Varadkar it was noteworthy that at several points during the debate the Taoiseach attempted to account for a perceived lack of empathy towards the issues in society his government has presided over.

“I show my empathy, I show the fact I care in the work I do. Maybe I don’t say the right words, but I show them in the work that I do,” he said on the Virgin Media debate. 

So, was empathetic Leo back again tonight? Not so much. 

There were barbs between Martin and McDonald at times, first with the “cleaning up” comment to the Fianna Fáil leader, and then a testy exchange with the Sinn Féin leader over her assertion that banks have not paid tax on their €2.4 billion profit.

Varadkar was keen to point out the bank levy has resulted in over a €1 billion from the banks. 

The Taoiseach used a bit of humour at times, showing he seemed a bit more at ease compared to last week’s debate. When asked about decriminalisation of drugs, he said: 

“I’ll try and avoid the long pause this time.”

Last week, you could have imagined tumbleweed blowing by when it took Varadkar what felt like decades to answer a question from Pat Kenny, telling the host that he had tried drugs in his youth. 

When put to Varadkar that one of his party colleagues said that some people in the Green Party are “nutters”, he replied: “There are a fair few nutters in every party, including my own.”

Pensions and auction politics

As the debate bedded in, the discussion moved on to taxation, with Varadkar stating that his promise of tax cuts is not a “bribe”.

He said it is merely allowing people keep more of their own money in their pockets. If Brexit goes downhill, he said that raising the income tax threshold to €50,000 probably won’t happen. 

Martin claimed that Fine Gael promised to cut the USC on a big election placard last time around, and that never materialised. He urged the public to be skeptical of tax cut promises. 

As Martin and Varadkar went back and forth on tax policy, McDonald intervened to remind viewers that of the two men “one crashed the economy and one is building the most expensive hospital in the world”.

“Who are you going to trust – those that reduced your taxes, or those that brought you the USC,” said the Fine Gael leader. 

On pensions, parties have already set out their stall. However, Boyd Barrett managed to land a dig by stating: 

“[The] people who really robbed the pension fund were the people who took billions out of the fund to bail out the banks.”

On farming, Ryan admitted that his party are in favour of culling the beef herd, something Varadkar disagreed with. The Green Party said the other parties “don’t get it” when it comes to climate change. 

As the debate came to a close, the leaders appealed to the voters.

Varadkar played the strong economy card for Fine Gael, while Martin said “more of the same” was not going to fix the health and housing crisis. McDonald appealed to voters with talk of the old boys failing the electorate, and asking the public to give Sinn Féin a chance. 

Will McDonald’s performance manage to keep her party polling numbers afloat? Did Martin manage to create enough space between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael? Did Varadkar successfully drive home his economic message? And did Ryan, Howlin, Shortall and Boyd Barrett manage to chip away some support from the most popular parties? 

We’ll have to wait for the most important poll (as they say). And that’s on 8 February. 

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115 Comments
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    Mute jinn
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    Jan 6th 2017, 8:18 AM

    They should get locked up for a long time

    433
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    Mute Jimmy Hound
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    Jan 6th 2017, 8:54 AM

    When they go low we go high, love trumps hate.

    62
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    Mute Ó Connmhaigh
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    Jan 6th 2017, 10:06 AM

    I’m sure this will be the lead on all networks for the next 5 days.
    Al Sharpton will lead demonstrations throughout the land.
    People will riot.
    Televised panel discussions on the state of race relations will dominate the airwaves.
    Then again…

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    Mute Cosmo Kramer
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    Jan 6th 2017, 11:07 AM

    Four people arrested, named and charged in Chicago and comments open. One person arrested in Brazil and comments permanently closed.. Something doesn’t add up..

    164
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    Mute thejynxeffect
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    Jan 6th 2017, 11:25 AM

    @Cosmo Kramer: nothing adds up anymore! thejournal just deleted a large portion of this thread it did not like!

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    Mute Cosmo Kramer
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    Jan 6th 2017, 11:37 AM

    Exactly, we have a load of hacks sitting in an office in Dublin telling us what we’re allowed comment on, and even the stories we’re allowed comment on these same hacks allow us to only say only what they agree on..

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    Mute thejynxeffect
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    Jan 6th 2017, 11:41 AM

    @Cosmo Kramer: might have something to do with Dave O’Keeffe. Every time he is made look stupid, which is a regular occurrence, threads get deleted.

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    Mute Damocles
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    Jan 6th 2017, 11:54 AM

    @Cosmo Kramer: “what we’re allowed comment on”

    On their site.

    You can say what you like on another site. You can even set up your own. But you’ll be legally culpable for what is said on your site.

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    Mute Ó Connmhaigh
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    Jan 6th 2017, 12:12 PM

    @Damocles:
    not if you have disclaimers, as they have on UK newspaper websites and where comments even on the Guardian would get bounced off or rejected from Irish media websites

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    Mute ktsiwot
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    Jan 6th 2017, 3:18 PM

    @Cosmo Kramer:
    it called litigation and all media outlets are terrified of Hickey and DOB.

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    Mute Superfiends
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    Jan 6th 2017, 8:07 AM

    What do you expect when white people and continuously demonized by the media and liberals. There are college classes titled “The problem with whiteness”. White lives matter is laughed at despite the disproportionate amount of white people who are victims of crime by black people.

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    Mute alphanautica
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    Jan 6th 2017, 8:16 AM

    @Superfiends: you should review the % of the population in the sample you are referring to that are white and their distribution of wealth.
    If 80% are white and hold all the wealth then that will explain why it is actually proportionate.

    53
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    Mute Superfiends
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    Jan 6th 2017, 8:24 AM

    O I see, so white people are responsible when they are the victims of crime. Nice mental gymnastics, dude

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    Mute Maurice Bourke
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    Jan 6th 2017, 8:29 AM

    @superfiends Please post a link to the statiatics and we will see if alphanautica is right or not.

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    Mute Paulo mclawlor
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    Jan 6th 2017, 8:30 AM

    @Superfiends All lives matter….

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    Mute Julian Friesel
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    Jan 6th 2017, 8:40 AM

    that’s what BLM stands for. you could also call it “black lives matter too”. the babe is pointing out that to white people black lives don’t seem to matter. the socio-economic circumstances play a huge part in the unequal distribution of violent crime in the US.

    29
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    Mute Jonny Irish
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    Jan 6th 2017, 8:49 AM

    70% of all African Americans are single parent family’s. The issue is not about race, but culture. They feel they are not accountable for their actions and blame white people for everything that’s wrong in their lives. The whole slavery argument shouldn’t even be entertained in this day and age and the black lives matter “movement” is nothing more than a racist cult.

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    Mute just me
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    Jan 6th 2017, 8:54 AM

    Ah single parents-that explains everything so…. as a single parent I was unaware that this automatically meant my son was destined for a life of crime-I’ll let him know.

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:02 AM

    Jonny, when black people are punished more severely and incarcerated more often and for longer than white people who commit similar crimes that tends to reduce the free male population. When it pays for a broke family to not marry and to instead claim single parenthood that effects your statistics. Also, I was raised by a single parent. It happens in every culture.

    33
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    Mute vNblxOSQ
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:02 AM

    @alphanautica: What kind of gobshight logic is that? You’re justifying attacks on white people because they are better off?

    156
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    Mute Maurice Bourke
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:04 AM

    Judging by thumbs asking people politely to prove what they’re saying is highly disapproved of.

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    Mute vNblxOSQ
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:04 AM

    @just me: That’s a distortion of the post, it’s not all about you Just Me

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    Mute vNblxOSQ
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:06 AM

    @Maurice Bourke: The stats aren’t in question, it is a/n’s assumption from them that is flawed

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    Mute Thunder Snowman
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:14 AM

    @just me: Jonny Irish didn’t mean any offence to single parents, lots of children grow up in single parent families and do just fine, however, statistically speaking, children raised in single parent families are more likely to lead a life of poverty and crime.

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    Mute Ana Nonymous
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:27 AM

    That statistic is 3 years old and was expected to start dropping. 24% of children in Ireland are in a single parent home and to be honest I call BS on this loan parent/single parent nonsense. A single parent should be classed as a child who only has one parent involved in their life. My Husband has 50/50 custody of his child week on week off yet mother classes herself as single parent despite having a LIve in boyfriend. Realistically the child has the best with 4 full time parents present.

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:38 AM

    Technically she can’t legally be classed as a single parent if she has a live in boyfriend. Not for social welfare purposes anyway

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    Mute Jim Brady
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:40 AM

    This loan parent thing sounds interesting. Do you need to join up like a library, and can you get them for the weekend?

    29
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    Mute Francis Mc Carthy
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:52 AM

    @Dave O Keeffe: Johnny will ignore those pesky facts,but good on you for pointing them out..

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    Mute Maurice Bourke
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:54 AM

    @sumetiamtum so if I asked alphanautica to provide a link to a study showing poverty equals crime in American context I would have got more green thumbs?

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    Mute CeannairBlue
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    Jan 6th 2017, 10:24 AM

    @Dave O Keeffe: You assume she’s told them. No chance that’s happening – she’d lose benefits.

    21
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    Mute Ana Nonymous
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:35 PM

    Oh but Dave she is, dragged is through court for maintenance claimed poverty to the judge until our solicitor questioned her about the BF waiting outside her claiming FIS and carers allowance. Weekly income €700 after taxes and welfare boosts

    2
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    Mute Bairéid Rísteard
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    Jan 6th 2017, 7:55 AM

    White lives matter

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    Mute Clon Lad
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    Jan 6th 2017, 7:59 AM
    54
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    Mute Karl Wallace
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    Jan 6th 2017, 8:09 AM

    Game, set and match. There’s no way these guys will get the treatment that football player did and what he did was worse.

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    Mute Alan b..
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    Jan 6th 2017, 8:31 AM

    Everyone’s life matters

    96
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    Mute Awkward Seal
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    Jan 6th 2017, 8:35 AM

    Yeah it’s not a competition. It’s about treating everyone the same. These Chicago teens haven’t been sentenced yet so it’s hard to compare the cases. They also don’t even have the intelligence to feign remorse. Unfortunately the court system can be played if you know how. The ex-footballer should have gotten jail time but you can’t say from a single case if it’s because he’s white. As an aside I think hate crime legislation is ridiculous. The only thing that matters with motive is whether it was intentionally or not.

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    Mute Julian Friesel
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    Jan 6th 2017, 12:47 PM

    @Awkward Seal: well, if someone makes it their mission to kill all [insert colour, affilitaion or ethnicity] then the intention is more criminal than someone who will go out and fight anyone who’ll have it. But yes, i agree for the most part.

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    Mute Ben McArthur
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:03 AM

    Wasn’t all the Hope and Change stuff supposed to herald a new golden era of race relations? Turns out that you can’t create a world where race doesn’t matter by talking about race 24/7 after all. Fancy.

    141
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    Mute Tony Daly
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:15 AM

    @Ben McArthur: race can’t be swept under the carpet and ignored in a context of the reality of racism continuing to exist.

    13
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    Mute Peter Buchanan
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    Jan 6th 2017, 10:36 AM

    Racist dirt bags

    125
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    Mute Alex Falcone
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:30 AM

    The disturbing thing is that no one is surprised at their unconscionable behaviour.
    During his presidential campaign Donald Trump supporters were often violently attacked by Democratic thugs intent on causing mayhem and destruction and the response of the Democratic leadership left a lot to be desired, in many instances even going so far as to justify the actions.
    The coverage in the liberal press was pathetic, portraying the attacks which in essence were attacks upon the very foundations of democracy as ‘amusing’ anecdotes.
    Of course the general consensus among the liberal commentariat online was that these sort of attacks were perfectly acceptable on the grounds that the victims were Trump supporters.
    Obama’s comments are laughable. This is the guy who spent his time in office fraternising with black rappers and high fiving Black Lives Matter leaders on the White House lawn.
    And now the chickens have come home to roost, the nation is on the verge of race war and Democrats are running for cover. As usual.
    This is Obama’s legacy. The buck stops with him.
    An America divided on race lines. A country on the brink of civil war.
    Truly depressing.

    89
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    Mute Tony Daly
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:39 AM

    @Alex Falcone: civil war! Race war!

    You are getting a little incontinent.

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    Mute Alex Falcone
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:42 AM

    Good morning Michael. Wondered where you had got to.

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    Mute Tina Kanayo
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:43 AM

    @Alex Falcone your being over dramatic now. Race war????

    7
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    Mute Ó Connmhaigh
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    Jan 6th 2017, 11:22 AM

    @Alex Falcone:
    the fact that Hilary Clinton said she wanted to “make America whole again” clearly implied that after 8 years in office race relations under Obama had failed.
    An interesting demographic shift was portrayed in a graph in the NY Times last year showing that different races were on the move across the US: blacks back to their traditional heartland in the Bible belt states, whites mostly in and around New England and central and northern states, and Hispanics hugging states close to the Mexican border.

    As former head of the UK Commission of Racial Equality, black Briton Trevor Phillips, said in his Channel 4 programme several months ago: “I realise now that people prefer segregation, no matter what you do”.

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    Mute Drew TheChinaman :)
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:42 AM

    Time to end this political correctness, social justice tirade once and for all… criminals, thugs and degenerates are what they are, skin color is irrelevant.

    Oh and…

    Lisa: Mom, I know your intentions are good but aren’t the police the protective force that maintains the status quo for the wealthy elite? Don’t you think we ought to attack the roots of social problems instead of jamming people into overcrowded prisons?
    Marge: Look Lisa, it’s McGriff, the Crime Dog!
    *uses a hand puppet*
    Marge: Hey, Lisa, help me bite crime, ruff, ruff!

    88
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    Mute Tina Kanayo
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:47 AM

    What PC was ignored? They were charged with a hate crime, and were condemned by everybody. Why are people making it seem like they were let go and congratulated by Obama?

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    Mute Alex Falcone
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:53 AM

    @Tina Kanayo:
    There are the very people Obama claims to have empowered.

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    Mute Tina Kanayo
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    Jan 6th 2017, 11:23 AM

    oh come on? I can bet my mortal soul if the races were reversed, the media would be blaming Trump and you would be defending him. The alt-right were throwing a hissy fit when Milo was banned from Twitter because of the comments from some of his supporters. My point ultimately being you cant blame a person or an organisation because a small minority does evil things because of it. If that was the case, then violent video games , films, music etc etc. would be banned. Is that the society you want to live in ?

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    Mute Adolf Adams
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    Jan 6th 2017, 1:02 PM

    @Drew TheChinaman :):
    Time to end this political correctness, social justice tirade once and for all… criminals, thugs and degenerates are what they are, skin color is irrelevant.

    Maybe if it was our country we could demand this that and the other but it’s not our country.
    So what exactly is your point?
    Go live in America and your comments might make sense.

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    Mute Drew TheChinaman :)
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    Jan 6th 2017, 1:19 PM

    Very true… not our circus not our monkeys as they say.

    But as culture the world over gentrifies and becomes more globalized… the way we behave and our values become consistently more American lead by an American dominated corporate and media world. So you’re right maybe I should say let’s make sure this kind of rubbish stays over there.

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    Mute Marcus Bale
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    Jan 6th 2017, 1:52 PM

    @Tina Kanayo get off your high horse you fool

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    Mute Tina Kanayo
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    Jan 6th 2017, 4:38 PM

    Marcuw Bale why call me a fool, did I insult you? if your cant debate me, ignore me. No need to call people names when they havnt insulted you.

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    Mute Eamon Mac Gowan
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    Jan 6th 2017, 8:57 AM

    Blacks are never charged with “hate crimes”, it seems that white lives don’t matter at all.

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    Mute Ben McArthur
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:00 AM

    @Eamon Mac Gowan: These four were. It’s right there in the first line of the article.

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    Mute Tony Daly
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:07 AM

    @Eamon Mac Gowan: you are factually incorrect.

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    Mute Jimmy Murphy
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    Jan 6th 2017, 10:46 AM

    Horrible racist attack. Oh wait, it was black people attacking a white man. So now it’s a hate crime, not racist. Yeah right.

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    Mute Julian Friesel
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    Jan 6th 2017, 12:45 PM

    @Jimmy Murphy: racist attack = hate crime

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    Mute Tony Daly
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    Jan 6th 2017, 8:09 AM

    This was a monstrous, heinous and indefensible attack, just as bad and as despicable as if a bunch of caucasians had attacked a black victim.

    Trump’s divisive and polarising election as Prrssident does not mitigate what happened.

    A greater outrage was the murder of 9 black peoples in Church by a white supremacist.

    The perpetrators should be tried and severely punished but it is also important that a real effort is made to gain insight into what precisely caused the perpetrators to act in the cruel, sadistic and hateful way in which they acted.

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    Mute Ray Middleton
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    Jan 6th 2017, 8:16 AM

    Trump isn’t president

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    Mute Jason Culligan
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    Jan 6th 2017, 8:43 AM

    @Tony Daly:

    Tony, race relations have degraded to their lowest point since the Civil Rights Movement and that has happened entirely under Obama’s watch. The Ferguson shooting in 2014 sparked it off and relations have been steadily deteriorating ever since. The Obama administration, through it’s condoning of BLM’s hateful rhetoric and rioting, has done nothing but facilitate this degradation.

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    Mute Lisa Saputo
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    Jan 6th 2017, 8:44 AM

    Well said Tony! A balanced and intelligent view of events.

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    Mute Tony Daly
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    Jan 6th 2017, 8:53 AM

    @Ray Middleton: I said that he was elected as President. He is President Elect. Would you prefer that I use the tautology, “elected as President Elect” ? If so, happy to oblige you.

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    Mute Larissa Caroline Nikolaus
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    Jan 6th 2017, 8:53 AM

    @Jason Culligan: Exactly how is stating that Black Lives Matter, racist?

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    Mute thejynxeffect
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:03 AM

    @Larissa Caroline Nikolaus: it’s not racist Larissa, it’s just stupid. Stupid people like to break down the importance of human life into sub-categories based on the narrative provided to them by the media. Saying Black Lives Matter suggests that all other races are getting preferential treatment from police & government and that blacks are in some way being targeted like Frederick Douglass. It is precisely what is returning America to the 1960′s.

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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:05 AM

    @Jason Culligan: I disagree with you. There have been incidents of considerable notoriety which have exacerbated tensions but these are not necessarily representative of the overall position.

    You are reading too much into the fact that President Obama is non Caucasian.

    The more obvious and compelling concern is the election of a racial divisuve figure such as Trump whose elevtion has already provoked an escalation in everyday incidents of racial tension and hatred.

    It is important to bear in mind that just as a minority of black people are racist against white peoples, so also is a minority of white people racist against black people.

    Because of the superior political, social, legal and economic strength of the white community in the US and due to historical considerations, the primary oppressors and agents of racial oppression have been members of the white community, with the black community being the victim of many generations of oppression and unfair treatment, the social and restated effects of which have not yet been fully addressed.

    I would go so far as to posit that on absolute numbers, as distinct from percentages, white racism against blacks is more prevalent than black racism against whites.

    Certainly, in terms of cumulative impact, the effect of white racism against blacks has been more virulent, profound, persistent and damaging. This remains the case but hopefully reform will continue despite the abberation of Trump.

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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:09 AM

    Why do people even entertain Jason? Seriously, race relations are not at their worst in 50 years, they’re immeasurably better than they were 20 years ago. Also, how people react to a black man being elected president is not his fault. Unless you think he should have ruled himself out on account of his blackness

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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:14 AM

    @thejynxeffect: the origin and context have to be considered.

    The origin was in the sequence of killings of black people by policemen in at best dubious circumstances and at worst, in a few cases, cold blooded executions of unarmed civilians.

    Language is important but background and context are important in explaining the use of rhetoric.

    Read ” The Language of Politics” by Mark Thompson, if you are interested in the use of language in a political and advocacy context.

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    Mute Tina Kanayo
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:24 AM

    @Tony Daly, Obama was not president during the 60s. Race relations pre the Civil Rights Movement was even worse as AA had NO RIGHTS! Ever heard of Emmet Till? Jason before speaking on the AA history, please read a history book before sprouting inaccuracies. BLM I would agree is divisive and does not nothing for race relations other than give AA a victim complex. Sad but true, but there is issues facing AA communities that must be addressed and rectified. To deny otherwise is completely and utterly wrong. Glad to see those evil vermin locked up awaiting prosecution. However lets not act like they are indictive of all black people as Dylan Roof does not represent all white people.

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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:24 AM

    @Tony Daly: Bullsh*t Tony.

    “The origin was in the sequence of killings of black people by policemen”.

    It may come as a surprise to you that people are shot every day in the U.S. by police. This includes blacks, whites, asians etc. Most of the time police are defending themselves, sometimes they are not justified in using force.

    The only issue is that the media will highlight the incidents it wants the public to pay attention to and quite literally ignore incidents that do not fit their narrative. This is to create a victim mentality among blacks and a guilt mentality among whites. It’s classic divide and conquer. This is where the “white privilege” narrative came from. Easily led people buy this crap, others know how the media works.

    If this video wasn’t posted on Facebook for everyone to see, the story never would have seen the light of day.

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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:30 AM

    @thejynxeffect: you ignore the facts and circumstances of the appalling and shocking killing of black people who were unarmed. It is not just about percentages. It is about the specific incudents of targeting black victims.

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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:37 AM

    @Tina Kanayo: Obama was not President during the 196os but led and motivated by the great Martin Luther King, Jack Kennedy, more so his britches Robert Kennedy and even Lyndon Johnson initiated a process of civil rights reform which continued to positive and beneficial effect and which gave rise to the eventual election of President Obama.

    I was making the narrow point that I don’t consider it fair or reasonable to seek to blame President Obama for racial tensions in the US. Also, I don’t consider it ab accrual,conclusion to say that race relations in the US are as bad as Jason Cullingan seeks to misrepresent them as. There are certainly tensions but these are not at the lowest ebb since the civil rights movement.

    Much of the criticism of President Obama has been racially motivated in my opinion.

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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:41 AM

    @Jason Culligan: Here is a wee bit of reading for you :http://csgv.org/issues/guns-democracy-freedo/insurrectionism-timeline/

    Hope this helps.

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    Mute Tina Kanayo
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:48 AM

    Sorry my comment was in response to Jason.

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    Mute thejynxeffect
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    Jan 6th 2017, 9:55 AM

    @Tony Daly: I give up Tony.

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    Mute Francis Mc Carthy
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    Jan 6th 2017, 10:05 AM

    @thejynxeffect: That is great news.

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    Mute Nazerene
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    Jan 6th 2017, 10:16 AM
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    Mute CeannairBlue
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    Jan 6th 2017, 10:26 AM

    @Larissa Caroline Nikolaus: Because those spouting it don’t believe that any others do.

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    Jan 6th 2017, 10:28 AM

    @Francis Mc Carthy @TonyDaly: Actually it was fake news! i’ll never give up! ; )

    “Criticism of President Obama has been racially motivated in my opinion.” – Oh yes, criticizing a black president for increasingly bad race relations is racist.

    You’re saying race relations are not that bad and then you call criticism of Obama (of which there is plenty) racially motivated. Your argument is an oxymoron Tony. Well done.

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    Jan 6th 2017, 10:43 AM
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    Mute Trisha Tully
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    Jan 6th 2017, 2:26 PM

    Basically Tony Daly, it comes down to a sense of decency. Something a lot of white people & a lot of black people have I believe. There will always be people who blame their problems on others. Yes there are racist while people & racist black people. Unfortunately that’s just life. There’s no need to go looking for a good reason for why they did what they did. There isn’t one.

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    Jan 6th 2017, 3:20 PM

    People entertain Jason Dave O Keefe because unlike some people posting comments on the Journal, he speaks a lot of sense. Also he keeps his comments short & to the point unlike some who like to come across as superior by using unnecessarily long & convoluted sentences.

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    Mute Matt Donovan
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    Jan 6th 2017, 11:46 AM

    White lives don’t matter & blacks cannot be racist… so sick of hearing this crap! Some of the most bigoted people I’ve encountered are black, that fight or riot that happened in town recently which was organised on Facebook consisted of mainly male black teenagers. I witnessed them first hand. They attacked & racially abused white people & got away with it. This mentality exists because the PC liberals say that it either doesn’t exist or when it is shown otherwise then it’s societies fault or white people’s fault. This is an clear example of professional victim hood in order to avoid responsibility for their actions. Their apologists are worse. I watched the footage in question & as the father of 2 autistic children it can tell you its both heartbreaking & infuriating to watch! Hopefully they’ll get many years in prison which they deserve. Over here they’d get compensation & a rally courtesy of the SWP/PBP/AAA & all the rest of them.

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    Mute Julian Friesel
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    Jan 6th 2017, 12:42 PM

    @Matt Donovan: white lives matter as much as black lives and any other colour’s. Racism knows no colour, nationality or political views either. Anyone can be racist.

    The one thing i’d add though: BLM does NOT mean “Only Black Lives Matter” but rather “Black Lives Matter TOO”. That is the idea of the movement and the majority of their subscribers agrees with it. Like in most civil rights movements you have some people who try to ride the wave and mis-use it for their own agenda, BLM itself is not a racist movement at all.

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    Jan 6th 2017, 3:10 PM

    Perhaps you could try tell that to the BLM movement as a whole Julian or the degenerates who assaulted the victim in the video. I wouldn’t get your hopes too high though as the professional apologists are out in force.

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    Jan 6th 2017, 3:54 PM

    @Matt Donovan: I agree that the behaviour of the 4 young adults in the video is absolutely despicable. Particularly the way they seem to get enjoyment out of their torturous sadistic ways paitns them in a light that allows little to no room for interpretation. They are dangerous criminals who need to be locked away for a long time, maybe for good. There is no doubt, more so after they showed 0 remorse, a typical indication of sociopathy.

    I am also really tired of the old “racism can only be executed by the powerful party…” blergh, complete nonsense. That is what apoglogists say.

    BUT, and this is a MAJOR BUT, the police (!) in their country has shot severeal unarmed and innocent (t the very least alleged innocent) civilians at point blank and got away with it, seemingly purely on a race-based argument. As despicable as these 4 criminals have acted, there is literally NOTHING worse than corrupt and trigger-happy police force, that have a get out of jail card. That is precisely what the Gestapo in Nazi-Germany did. That is what the Gulag did. Once you cant trust the law enforcement to be impartial, you cant trust anyone.

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    Mute Aaron Roche
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    Jan 6th 2017, 12:24 PM

    Obama’s fault, not Trump’s!

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    Mute Julian Friesel
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    Jan 6th 2017, 12:44 PM

    @Aaron Roche: Why is it either’s fault? I think it is the fault of the racist teenagers who committed the crime. The president was nowhere near, nor was the president elect.

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    Mute Sean og S
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    Jan 6th 2017, 1:08 PM

    What a poxy response from a poxy president. Say what you see you absolute disaster

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    Mute Marcus Bale
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    Jan 6th 2017, 2:06 PM

    They look exactly what they are America’s African American Ghetto dirt . The state of them .

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    Mute Mercurial One
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    Jan 6th 2017, 2:36 PM

    What is it with the trend among some black american’s, for giving their kids nonsense names that sound like cheap perfume or pharmaceutical products??

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    Mute Marcus Bale
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    Jan 6th 2017, 2:02 PM

    As a parent who knows the struggles and worries having a child with special needs i can honestly say this is the stuff of nightmares . Imagine the trauma and worry and fear that kid felt . And imagine his parents fear and anxiety as that shower took upon themselves to have fun . I can honestly say there was tears and lots of anger reading this . I couldn’t watch that video . 2 minutes alone with . That’s all i pray for . 2 minutes and pure annihilation .

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    Mute Gerard Henry
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    Jan 6th 2017, 8:24 AM

    Black violence towards whites is going on a long time and is pushed under the carpet so as not to show blacks in a bad light these are pro Obama anti trump liberal supporters

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    Mute Alois Irlmaier
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    Jan 7th 2017, 12:17 AM

    The world is full of sick nutcases and it seems to be getting worse?

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