Really? Well, I'm more worried about the groups of kids to be honest that have no respect at all for anyone. Why do they have no respect? Well, probably because their parents dont teach them that important aspect of life .... and also no one anywhere points it out to them. They dont point it out because, like the poor bloke who went out of his house to remonstrate with misbehaving kids outside his house and was promptly kicked to death, they are scared to.

Back in the day kids would have listened to a ticket inspector, and having broken the rules would have got off the train. But these days they prefer to sit there and disresepct everyone, including the police, because they feel they can get away with it

So yes, the little gobshite got what he deserved imho and I hope the "big guy" elects for crown court, where he will very probably be found not guilty by a jury

If public opinion was listened to a little more in this day and age then perhaps the streets would be a little safer

Not forgetting that the gobshite kids are likely to grow up into the aggressive thug... tackle the case, solve the problem.

Because it is a local bar, frequented by locals, where women and children can go in and feel OK. A bar where the mums meet, and once the "sellers and customers" start to frequent a place, then everyone has to watch their possesions more closely, and there have been cases of people being followed and mugged when leaving other bars where this type of scumbags go.

They keep a look out and if they see someone pays with 20 note they will know that they have a few euros on them for their next fix.

So it is all our interests to protect our turf, so to speak and if some scumbag small time dealer gets a bit roughed up in the process, so what?

I agree with you that anti-social behaviour is a blight on decent people's lives these days. I just happen to think that violence (especially where it results in injury) is far worse. One is not the answer to the other. Unless you believe that treating people heavy-handedly is the basis for "respect". I don't.

Well it certainly worked with that little asshole we threw out of the bar, he has not been back, he goes to another round the corner now, and since his mates started going in there (owner was glad of the business at first) the owners till is really taking a nose dive.

But look at the circumstaces. If the guy had stood up and punches him in the face then I would agree with you fully. What he did imho is use the necessary force to remove the struggling gobshite from the train, after he had been asked to get off by an inspector. Not with malice or hate or the need to do him injury. Just to get him off the train so that all the other passengers could continue with their journey and not be held up by a law breaker.

I strongly suspect that the people who sit back and do nothing when they observe yobbish behaviour are the same people who look the other way when an old lady is mugged in front of them.

I suspect it has nothing to do with righteousness, but more with cowardice.

So what are you bleating about?

Nice post, H.

Yes thats true .... because whereas in the long distant past you might end up with a bloody nose for your troubles, these days you could end up dead.

Is there a fund to pay for the Big Man's defence? I will send a donation if there is.

Speaking as someone who has twice given a little yob a smack (not the same one), with no remorse whatsoever. If the OH or I see anti-social behaviour going on, we challenge it. A couple of years ago I confronted a group of lads who were throwing stones at a streetlight in my street (here in Spain) and broke it, as a result we got a few months of low level harassment from them and their mates but a couple of calls on the parents of the ringleaders got it sorted out. We've also confronted a couple of lads trying to vandalise a phone box.

In the UK, OH once drove the car at a group of lads who were giving a lad lying on the ground a good kicking, whilst I dashed into a shop to get them to call the police.

I have no time for people who say it's not my place to intervene, I agree that smacks of cowardice. The fact that too many people feel that way is leading to them getting the society they deserve.

And I have even less time for the people who also condemn the people that do wade in.

Great post Lynn, a bit of a She-ra aintcha??????

Where was I bleating?

What I've said, and said consistently, is that the rule of law is paramount and it's entirely proper that "Mr big" should account for himself. Under the law. As for that matter should the fare dodger.

I'm sure you and the other posters here consider yourselves decent, law abiding people. So why the fuss when the law is applied? You can't pick and choose which laws you feel like obeying according to your own internal morality. Being part of a wider society means that certain things become a collective rather than individual responsibility.

And I'll repeat what I said earlier. If the hard man character has done nothing wrong he will have nothing to worry about. The law will see to it.

Why thank you. I'm not one to initiate violence, but if somebody is threatening me or someone else weaker than me, I'm not standing there and taking it. The exception would be if somebody was obviously off their head, either through drugs or mental illness, or brandishing a knife. I'm not so stupid as to tackle anyone in those circumstances, but I would at least call the police and try to get a photo if I could.

I must say the police in Spain seem to take a more common sense attitude. There is a guy (obviously an alkie and possibly with mental problems too) who hangs about our town shouting at the top of his voice and generally making a nuisance of himself. A few weeks ago he was sitting on the pavement outside the town hall carrying on as usual, when a town hall employee came out and he and the policeman on duty outside took hold of the afflicted one under his arms, hauled him to his feet and off around the corner. As we walked past there was a bit of shoving going on and then the policeman sent him on his way with a kick up the backside. Good man!