A class of artists who dare not speak their name ?
A class of artists who dare not speak their name ?I know some people who could whistle, pee and write a bit of graffiti.
They know that they are not obeying the law. The reason they do it is to hide the phone until the person on the other end can't hear them and they hold the phone nearer their mouths.The thing that makes me laugh, (and cringe) are these phones with a built in hands free system and the drivers that think somehow, they are obeying the law by holding them in front of there faces and not to their ear.
Members of the Gardai, the ambulance service and the fire brigade service if they are acting in the course of their duty and holding the mobile phone in relation to the performance of their duty are exempt from this law.
It seems we are living in a society hell bent on labeling as many people as possible as criminals. We enact more and more laws with the purpose of appearing as if we are doing something. More people are caught for more and more offences. Respect for the law diminishes, as the relationship between citizens and law enforcers becomes strained. Meanwhile the more dangerous and psychotic criminals go about their business, safe in the knowledge that the agents of state are busier pursuing easier targets.
So, whilst the Guarda are building their cases against major criminals - not an easy job in any country - you'd have more respect for them if they ignored what you perceive to be lesser crimes?
You are personalising the argument. I never said I had high or low respect for the Gardai. I was putting forward the case that our interaction with law enforcement shapes our perception. For the most part, that interaction here in Ireland has been excellent, and Irish citizens and the Gardai share a good relationship. Why sour that relationship by seeking to criminalise more and more actions (smoking in cars being an example)? Why isn't there the appetite for tackling muggings, knife crimes and rapes, that there is for catching people talking on a phone or hiding in a ditch along the dual carraigeway to catch someone over the speed limit?
To argue your case by suggesting I have any opinion on the matter, or by trying to put words in my mouth doesn't serve the debate.
Fair enoughNo wish to personalise things here, Shnaek.
I am not necessarily suggesting that. What I am suggesting, though perhaps I could have been clearer on that point, is that creating more and more 'lesser' crimes may not be the best way to engender support and respect for law enforcement. Of course, dangerous behaviour needs to be tackled. Studies have shown that using a handset while driving is dangerous, so we need to stamp it out. But it surprises me that threads spring up on these matters daily, whereas (as the victim of assault myself - now I am personalising!!) there aren't that many threads on violent assault, or putting the more dangerous elements of our society behind bars. Only this morning it was reported that a violent criminal got early release from jail. Yet there are no threads on this. Perhaps the concentration on the small matters shows that most people here have not experienced the more serious crimes themselves. That has to be good news.But I am curious about your line of thought that lesser crimes should be ignored because it's hard to prosecute the bigger ones.
I wasn't trying to say this at all, so I hope my argument wasn't taken to mean this. I amn't talking about cutting anyone slack. Rather I am talking about taking out the serious criminals as a priority, rather than, for example, handing out speeding tickets to Joe Shmoe driving at 105 on a 100 stretch of road.In my own experience, people's goodwill towards the Guards because they'd cut you some slack on a minor crime tends to dissolve when it's their circle of family & friends who are hurt in some way by someone else committing a "minor crime".
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