My colleague Bob Hoge reported on the riots in Dublin, Ireland, overnight, with people smashing windows and setting things on fire. 

The riots were kicked off after a man attacked several people including three children with a knife outside of an Irish-language school. 

An adult woman and a 5-year-old girl suffered serious wounds in the knife attack, while a 5-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl sustained less serious wounds. Brave bystanders tackled the assailant and held him until police arrived. 

There were rumors that the man was an Algerian immigrant, although the police have not as yet confirmed the man's identity or the motivation behind the attack. Authorities said they don't suspect terrorism. 

However, "Far-right" was trending on X on Friday morning because of what the police commissioner said regarding the riots, and people were reacting to his words. 

Irish Garda commissioner Drew Harris condemned the violence and claimed a "hooligan faction driven by far-right ideology" was behind it. 

Then, the media picked it up and ran with Harris' characterization. Sky News framed it that way, and this was the most common response. 

“Far-right” is when you’re against the stabbing of children pic.twitter.com/HzxmPNpS9H

— Chaya Raichik (@ChayaRaichik10) November 23, 2023

So, it isn't people upset about children being stabbed in front of an Irish-language school? 

It's those "far right" evil people. 

So is being left pro child stabbing then? https://t.co/EVHxaaNKYz

— Professor Terguson (@WeaselArmy) November 24, 2023

So,you have to be far right to get pissed off with your kids being stabbed. What does that say about the left? https://t.co/YfyRgzLlPW

— CynicalBernie (@rogueparliament) November 23, 2023

If it's people concerned about the effect of immigration or illegal immigration, I'm not sure that's "far right." Let's ask NYC Mayor Eric Adams or the folks in Chicago about their concerns regarding that. 

I also saw laughing looters and those didn't look "right" to me. When you're looting, you're not exactly standing for justice, which is something I've said about leftist riots. And looting is not exactly something people on the right are known for. So, there may have been multiple groups participating here. I suppose that might be too much for Commissioner Harris to conceive. 

Funny, where there were real leftist riots — the BLM/Antifa riots — we generally didn't hear comments like his. Heck, Democrats refused even to admit Antifa existed. We were told it was just an "idea." We heard, "Rioting is the voice of the unheard." The media seemed loath to identify the people behind the rioting as far left, even though they were, and these were organized actions, in large part. The riots in Dublin overnight were an organic explosion. 

Rather than simply dropping a "far right" tag on it, authorities would do well to figure out some of the issues that people are upset about. There was already an underlying problem of illegal immigration, the same as there is here. 

There have been ongoing protests across Ireland against asylum centers amid a housing crisis. Many hotels and guest houses have been converted to asylum accommodation, leading to protests by people in towns affected by lower tourist income.

Again, that doesn't sound far right. But far be it from authorities to address such issues. 

"Far right" in the U.S. is often a designation made by people on the left to simply put down anything that goes against the narrative that the left is pushing. As I wrote the other day, somehow, even economist Milton Friedman was turned into "far right" when some in the media were trying to attack the win of Javier Milei in Argentina.  

But words have no meaning anymore to some on the left; only the narrative matters.