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More Southern Double Standards?
Damn it seems like so much has happened over the weekend while I've been offline! I really wanted to post on the shooting dead of 2 post-office robbers at the weekend in Dublin and the response, but haven't had a chance until now.
Dublin Robbers Shot Dead By Police
Gardai apparently shot and killed 2 men taking part in an armed robbery of a post office in Dublin, and Amnesty are calling for an enquiry!! The men were part of a group of 4 raiders carrying out the robbery which the gardai foiled. The 2 who were shot by the police officers were transferred to hospital where they were pronounced dead.
Now these guys were armed and obviously dangerous. Now the Gardai, who from the sounds of it did a great job protecting the public from these scum, face an enquiry to see if they "had done everything possible to avoid shooting the men" - I ask you.
Follow up:
Seemingly in keeping with local feeling around the area where the men grew up*, Bertie Ahern replied "The gardai are out there doing a very difficult job against people who are firing shots and shooting people day in, day out in various locations and the gardai have to respond."
While I welcome Mr Ahern's response, I wonder if he would have applied the same pragmatic logic had the PSNI shot dead a couple of members of the gang responsible for the Northern Bank robbery at Christmas. To me it matters not whether the 'scumbags' in question are from Dublin, Belfast, London, New York or anywhere else. Scumbags are scumbags and if you enter a premises with a gun, with the intention of committing a crime you're asking for trouble and I applaud the Garda for giving it to them. I just wish our police could afford the same treatment of our own scumbags.
* I can't remember the source, but I heard a report on a quick survey conducted in the aftermath of the killing which I believe stated that people from the local area had no sympathy for the robbers, even though they were from the same area. Contrast this with the uproar that greets much tamer police "brutality" in Northern Ireland!!