Civil Liberties 2008

I can see the glances and the CCTV overhead. The security men are looking mean and moody. It's HMV Grafton Street. Yet it could quite easily be Dunnes, Next, M+S or any retail, financial, health centre in fact. We have a culture of spying by way of CCTV but also heavy security men prowl the amenities of every city like lions in a jungle. It is, I'm told, much worse in the UK. Unsettling. I have no objection to the need for security in a store, when I worked for a brief time, mercifully, in Tower Records all the staff had to have their own bags searched upon leaving the store each evening when the place shut.

When I go out to the centre of the city and the weather is fine it puts me in a good mood. However it soon makes me nervous when I walk into a store eg. River Island. Why can't I remain in that good mood? Security! It has made me uncomfortable about browsing. 'I'll try on a sweater, it might not be the right size' I think but, as usual, I get the eye from Mr Security in his brilliant white shirt and his jet black tie with stripes on his shoulders. I bet he never concerns himself about being intimidated. Although he has no qualms about unnerving me.

On holidays a few years ago, in the UK, I happened to be staying with my Uncle and his charming wife. It was lovely weather so I decided, unannounced, to go for a walk and after about an hour returned back to my relative's dwelling. "Oh there you are Ian" was my Uncle's concerned welcome. "One of the neighbours rang and said there was a young (You've got to allow me some licence, I was 30 at the time) man that fits your description walking around."On the one hand I was happy with the concern shown but, alongside that, got the impression that I was regarded as a snooper. Back in Ireland we are more relaxed about people wandering about. We as a nation are more at ease with liberties than the British and so I am proud to say life is freer in the Emerald Isle. But for how much longer will that last?

On the television over the weekend I was watching Sky News when a report was shown on a protest near a coal plant in rural England. Most of the activists were young and wanted to show their disquiet about the existence of the coal plant which, they say, will damage the environment. As the protest gathered pace (1,500 were present) police used horses, dogs and even helicopters to break up a relatively small section (70) of militant protesters. In the UK police are much tougher than their counterparts in Ireland and public order is top priority for the various forces across Britain. However, to allow some balance, people need to be permitted to protest peacefully. It should not become unlawful to stage a non-violent demonstration. Most of those at the demo were peaceful.

I think that if someone who looks slightly odd enters an establishment, these days, they are subject to considerable scrutiny. The store detective's antennae will be alerted and for many, who are being watched, this presents no problem. I find, though, people who go into a shop (even to browse) are distrusted first and trusted second. In many newsagents it is not permitted to physically look at the magazines on display. You can expect a tap on the shoulder if as much as a page is turned.

Another annoyance to many Dubliners is the severe lack of public toilets in the city, due to criminal behaviour. Many eateries will now no longer allow passers by to use their sanitary facilities unless they purchase something in the premises. Just because of a minority of miscreants the majority lose out. That is where we are in 2008 and who knows how far people's liberties will be eroded in the future. Life may not be as free in our society as it once was but at least they aren't as bad as Zimbabwe or Burma. Thank God for that!