I always thought that the parks in Belfast, the upkeep of which we pay for
out of our ever-increasing rates, were provided for the safe enjoyment of
all.
This is certainly not the case with the Clement Wilson Park at Shaw's
Bridge, for it has of late, when the sun shines, become the exclusive
reserve of a horde of drunken, abusive teenage louts.
Not content with defacing the natural beauty of the environment with the
abandoned detritus of their binge drinking sessions, these morons take it
upon themselves to deliver insults and abuse to all who frequent the
vicinity.
Unable to control their aggression and having no respect for anything or
anybody, including themselves, they hurl racist, sexist, and ageist abuse at
those attempting to walk by the river or on the cycle track/pathway.
They clearly have plenty of money for drink, cigarettes and junk food, as
evidenced by the large volume of waste they leave in their wake of misery,
scarring the once pristine grass and water's edge.
So much for our schools providing life-long lessons in good citizenship and
the myth of young folk caring about the environment.
This situation is the grim and depressing evidence of the opposite.
Calling police is a waste of time and I don't bother any more. They are too
busy doing other more important business, such as fiddling with paperwork,
sampling curried chips or guarding the vans delivering the bloated salaries
to our do-nothing MLAs.
Either that or you spend half your conversation being interrogated as to
your details, while the actual miscreants continue to frolic and deliver
abuse with impunity.
In other countries, similar parks are a peaceful pleasure for locals and
visitors alike, but in Belfast they are increasingly becoming places of
fear, loathing, drunkenness, thuggery, bullying and law-breaking, to be
entered with extreme caution.
They should be identified with clear warning signs delivering the message:
'Abandon all standards of hope, decency and normal behaviour, ye who enter
here'.
Hi: 17°C / Lw: 12°C
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