After footage went viral of a young Irish teen being badly beaten and stabbed numerous times in the back by a black youth in Cork, many have asked why no public figure or organisation has spoken out about the incident.
The savage and animalistic attack saw the boy lying dazed with a bloody face before one of his attackers turns him on his side and pulls up his jacket o stab and slash his back.
The attack, which was praised by some social media accounts afterwards was seemingly inspired by the racial tensions and riots that have engulfed many American cities and London following the death of convicted criminal George Floyd.
The horrifying footage has provoked outrage and disgust amongst ordinary Irish citizens but no response from any public figures or public statement from An Garda Siochana, save a press release and the incident has been written about only in obscure terms by most media outlets.
Just as the viral video showing a another white teen in Limerick being beaten and kicked in the head while on the ground by two black youths screaming about “slavery” was ignored by almost every Irish media outlet, save TheLiberal.ie, this video will fade into obscurity without public outcry.
Many have hypothesised the reaction from the media and government had the footage showed two white men beating a black teen while shouting about racial injustice.
It is likely it would have become international news provoking mass media coverage and likely a response from highest levels of the Government and the Gardai.
In fact, it is likely that every paper in the country would run the story on its front page, every celebrity would be outspoken on their righteous indignation and the Taoiseach and Garda Commissioner would be on their way to Cork to visit the boy in hospital and meet his family.
However, as the boy being beaten and stabbed is white and his attackers are black, it is treated as a non-incident for the most part.
While Irish politicians from every party in the Dáil were falling over themselves to express their dismay at the death of convicted criminal George Floyd in Minneapolis and their sympathy for his family, not one has spoken out about this incident.
Already social media outlets are censoring the video for dubious reasons.
So, the question, as thousands of Irish people defy the lockdown to protest for a dead woman beating, home-invader and the broader Black lives Matter movement is, do Irish lives matter?
As George Orwell wrote in Animal Farm “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others”.
Watch the full footage below – warning, it contains graphic content.
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