# Remember Kevin Vickers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 26, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-kevin-vickers/755744 "2016-05-26T16:01:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-kevin-vickers/755744/21 "2016-05-28T17:13:23Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Brave? In the first instance, absolutely. > In this most recent instance, no, not in my opinion. > > He manhandled a weedy unarmed protester before the actual authorities had time to step in and do something. He had no authority to do so. He had no knowledge of the circumstances, nor of the local laws pertaining to protests. He let his hind brain take over from his cognitive brain. > > I’m glad it all worked out well, but he could have created a worse situation out of a bad one. Yeah, I’m seeing a loose cannon who doesn’t like protestors. I don’t know much about Irish laws, but if I were that protestor I’d be calling lawyers to see what laws may have been broken. Here’s a different perspective: [Should Canadian ambassador Vickers have grabbed Irish protester?](https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/05/27/should-canadian-ambassador-vickers-have-grabbed-irish-protester.html) ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-kevin-vickers/755744/22 "2016-05-28T19:36:28Z")
Have a look at the guy’s [shirt](https://youtu.be/EJzLcw-k3sQ) two seconds into the vid during the private commemoration. Have a look at the US government’s [sanctions](https://www.treasury.gov/ofac/downloads/ctrylst.txt) list. > [@](#): > > REAL OGLAIGH NA HEIREANN (a.k.a. 32 COUNTY SOVEREIGNTY COMMITTEE; a.k.a. 32 > COUNTY SOVEREIGNTY MOVEMENT; a.k.a. IRISH REPUBLICAN PRISONERS WELFARE > ASSOCIATION; a.k.a. REAL IRA; a.k.a. REAL IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY; a.k.a. RIRA) > [FTO] [SDGT]. Have a look at my previous post referring to the [ongoing terrorist attacks by the Real IRA](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=19363120&postcount=13). ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-kevin-vickers/755744/23 "2016-05-29T01:37:28Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Have a look at the guy’s [shirt](https://youtu.be/EJzLcw-k3sQ) two seconds into the vid during the private commemoration. What am I missing? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-kevin-vickers/755744/24 "2016-05-29T01:44:04Z")
Irish Republican Prisoner’s Welfare Association. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-kevin-vickers/755744/25 "2016-06-01T17:39:27Z")
Vickers was a dickhead for what he did, he should have let the appropriate authorities do their job. I can’t but imagine what the headlines would have been like if an Irish ambassador to Canada had weighed in in the same manner. Muffin, the Good Friday Agreement was in 1998. The idea that any but the most fringe elements would attempt to launch a terrorist attack in Dublin during 1916 commemorations, even at an event such as this that stuck in many a craw, shows a profound misinterpretation of the situation on the ground in the Republic of Ireland. ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-kevin-vickers/755744/26 "2016-06-01T18:15:14Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Vickers was a dickhead for what he did, he should have let the appropriate authorities do their job. I can’t but imagine what the headlines would have been like if an Irish ambassador to Canada had weighed in in the same manner. I agree that Vickers’ actions aren’t totally kosher and seemed to be done in a rage. One thing to keep in mind is that Vickers’ previous job was to head a security organisation tasked with protecting politicians. His old job was _being_ that authority that grabbed a dude who was harassing dignitaries and politicians. Maybe he could have done it without the raegface but that’s a nitpick. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-kevin-vickers/755744/27 "2016-06-06T10:18:20Z")
It’s worth noting that Vickers’ reaction was to remove the protester from the vicinity of the crowd. The protester wasn’t hurt (at least by Vickers); he was neutralized as a threat to the others without beating him up, shooting him or otherwise harming him. Seems like a proportionate response. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-kevin-vickers/755744/28 "2016-06-06T13:02:17Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > So there’s Vickers, aware of the substantial terrorist threat level and ongoing terrorist/guerrilla attacks, sitting at a ceremony that is tremendously offensive to many republicans, including those who are still at arms concerning the 1916 Easter Rising/Rebellion. He saw a person who in his _very highly qualified opinion_ was a threat… He was wrong, as it turned out. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-kevin-vickers/755744/29 "2016-06-06T14:26:30Z")
Yeah, over here not everyone is as overawed by his sheer awesomeness. He took it upon himself to decide what needed doing, rather than letting our country’s authorities make that decision. He manhandled a peaceful protester. We don’t (mostly) do things that way around here, and when we do, it’s not considered badassery, it’s considered assholery. As **An Gadaí** said, how impressed would everyone be if the Irish ambassador to Canada or the US had decided to take over a situation like that, rather than letting the country’s own authorities decide on the appropriate action? He still rocks for how he dealt with the attack on Canada’s parliament, but this isn’t the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-kevin-vickers/755744/30 "2016-06-06T15:15:49Z")
> [@eclectic\_wench](#): > > As **An Gadaí** said, how impressed would everyone be if the Irish ambassador to Canada or the US had decided to take over a situation like that, rather than letting the country’s own authorities decide on the appropriate action? We’d be furious. Vickers, however, seems to be protected by a halo effect causing people to not say “hey, attacking a protestor is not really something our ambassador should be doing.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-kevin-vickers/755744.md?page=1)