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Comment by rmc | Hacker News Reader

> Same as in Belgium then. They even throw stones at fire-fighters when they are doing their job. So nothing to worry about, right?

Who reports that people do that? Tabloid newspapers? They've been lying about that for decades.

After the 1989 Hillsbourogh disaster (where people died due to health & safety issues, and negligence from the police), tabloid newspaper The Sun wrote a full page headline accusing Liverpool fans of attacking police who were trying to save people. It was a complete fabrication.

"Those people" attacking our police/first responders is a common lie that sells tabloid newspapers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsborough_disaster#The_Sun

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The same things started happening in Germany and it's widely reported even by left wing media. It'd be almost comical if you called them liars, too.

Remember when all the German press reported that firefighters were kept out of a left-wing squat in Berlin after a girl died there, and then the next day the fire department had to clarify that this wasn't what happened at all? This was a couple months ago, probably the sort of incident you were thinking of.

Lies are rampant. Especially racist anti-immigrant lies:

http://hoaxmap.org/

Do you have a link to the clarification? I missed that one.

In your Twitter account, you seem ready enough to admit the reality of political violence, and even to commend it. (Retweet: "If US folks wanna see more nazi punching, just look at the attempted Pegida rally last year in Dublin. alt-hugs given freely")

By _protesters_ against other _protesters_. There's surely a difference between someone at a political rally being punched by someone with a different political opinion (especially by someone from the "black block", which largely serves to make these crimes harder to attach to a single individual), and LEOs or EMTs being attacked during routine circumstances.

I don't quite understand you. Are you saying that attacking political activists is more acceptable than attacking someone during "routine circumstances" (such as a pub brawl, I presume)?

I live in Finland, where our criminal code actually has a separate crime called "infringement of freedom to political activity", for threat of violence or endangering well-being of others who express their opinion, participate a demonstration or set up an association for peaceful political activity. So attacking someone at a political rally is a worse crime than a random violent attack.

I personally agree with him, I can't see the problem.

To avoid misunderstanding, are you saying that it's acceptable to physically assault people because of their opinion, or do you "agree" with something else?

>To avoid misunderstanding, are you saying that it's acceptable to physically assault people because of their opinion

Of course it depends on the opinion, but I see nothing wrong with it in principle.

Having myself been attacked by a frothing gang of leftist 'protesters' at a legitimate and absolutely peaceful demonstration, I guarantee you, I can see the problem.

So obviously you're gonna try to follow me down all over the internet. Wonderful. Stay on point./

Hardly. I followed the Twitter link given in your profile. The quoted retweet was at the top.

It's well documented in Sweden.

you mean that the cost issues of bulletproof vest for firefighter were also fabrication ?

Presumably, as you haven't added any source for your anecfact?

Plenty of sources tell us that emergency services in metropolitan areas in Sweden wear protective vests. There are cost issues, and there are image issues, i.e. if the firemen are protected against you stabbing them, it's "militarization" and you'll see them as your enemy.

E.g. Svenska Dagbladet (no fringe publication, a major newspaper): https://www.svd.se/ambulanspersonal-far-skyddsvastar

Of course, this is not unique. Plenty of American cities have the same: http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime-and-courts/madi...

Denial of reality is as bad as story fabrication

Not Belgium but the Netherlands, I've seen it myself. Here it's a public issue, even being discussed in parliament.

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