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Northern Ireland loves to run on hatred
Tuesday, 23 June 2009
Why the uproar at Esther Rantzen's remarks that we are addicted to violence?
Speaking on the BBC's Question Time about the recent mini-pogrom against Romanians in Belfast's Village area, the ex-That's Life presenter said about Northern Ireland: “They are addicted to hatred, they are addicted to violence as if it gives them some kind of exhilaration.”
Ok, these days she may be a poor man's Martin Bell and — yes — certainly her remarks could have been qualified in a way to make them more palatable and accurate. You know the lingo by now: “a mindless minority”, “bringing shame to Northern Ireland”, “the vast majority of right-thinking people” blah blah blah.
(Indeed, the last few days have been a hit of instant nostalgia. Change a few words and our leaders could have been condemning Bloody Friday, the Shankill Butchers, Loughinisland, La Mon ... All that was missing were kipper ties and the Bay City Rollers in the background.)
But who really can deny the kernel of her allegation? We are a society whose dynamic still — even after 15 years of ‘peace' — is about violence, or its threat, group identity and checkmating (if not downright annihilating) ‘the other'.
Martin and Peter can stand shoulder to shoulder in their condemnation and we can tut tut all we like, but ‘real peace' will only come when an Orangeman can go into a bar in the Falls in full regalia or a Celtic supporter in his top can go into a bar on the Shankill without either of them meeting a death like something out of a medieval torturer's handbook.
And, Belfast Agreement or no, we’re no nearer that situation than we were 30/40/50 years ago. Carefully co-ordinated PR stunts, yes — they're a dime-a-dozen and you can even get government dimes to fund them — genuine live-and-let-live tolerance, no.
Rantzen's other allegation that we — or some of us — remember the Troubles with affection and miss ‘the old days' is harder to establish but there's probably an element of truth. For some at the margins, the ‘war' gave meaning to lives, as well as instant status and importance attached to their every utterance.
Many of us here considered ourselves — surrounded by the media's microphones — the centre of the universe. Northern Ireland was ‘important'. So, it would be a wonder if some didn't miss it.
I'll hazard this, though. The murals, the songs in the shebeens, the little memorials of our peaceful future will not feature Gerry Fitt, Brian Faulkner or David Trimble. (Apart from the carefully staged, government funded ones, of course.)
Nope, it will be ‘the defenders of the community', ‘the volunteers who fought for their people', all shedding their blood against a heartless foe so that we may live.
And yet we — or rather some — have the nerve to sniff at Rantzen that unlike Britain, we didn't elect two Nazis at the recent Euro election.
That's true, but look what we've got. One MEP from a party which proclaims ‘Ourselves Alone' and has its roots —for all its shiny socialist whistles and bells — in a blood and soil uber-nationalist ideology. Another from a party which fuses religion, politics and group identity.
Even the UUP — on paper the most ‘secular' of the three successful parties — draws its votes more or less entirely from the Protestant community. And indeed for most of the last century was the main political expression of that community. All to varying extents rely on a visceral ‘us' and ‘them' mentality.
The fact that we barely recognise this demonstrates just how ingrained that dynamic is. Which parties came bottom of the poll? Greens and Alliance — the, er, two non-group parties.
So let's not kid ourselves (alone or otherwise) that we're disinterested ancient Greeks listening to all the arguments before casting our votes in seashells. For most of us ‘democracy' has boiled down to: MySideSuperHeavy or MySideRegular.
The irony is that ‘peace' and the lessening prospect of all out civil war has allowed us to vote for ‘MySideSuperHeavy' with insouciant impunity.
Maybe that's just the way it is, but let's not deny the obvious truth that we live by the politics of identity. We may not elect the BNP but we don't elect Lib Dems either ...
So, why act all shocked when some bored youths stone an open-top tourist bus or decide to score out ‘them 'uns' in the equation and write ‘Romanians' in their place?
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Comments
22 Comments
In regards to James and his insistence that we have orangemen parades here. Not in Toronto. Not in Canada's oldest city, Kingston. They were banned. The Hells Angels are the MOST respectable organization if you want to talk "gangs" considering the gangs now. Rock Machine, Malvern Boys, MS-13, Bloods/Crips crap. At least those MEN have a system of order and governance... they dont run forward, shooting backwards. If you want to speak for yourself, do so...leave the rest of the population out.
Posted by Ainsley | 08.07.09, 19:46 GMT
Good good article
Posted by Patrick Murphy | 01.07.09, 00:20 GMT
Wow. I agree with Gail Walker. Words I never thought I'd say. Good article. Again...
I'd take issue with your Orangeman analogy. I think we will have reached Utopia not when they can dander down the Falls without a police escort but when they lay down their sashes with their vitriol.
But otherwise, spot on. Damn shame. Maybe we're getting there very slowly. But what does a "normal" society look like ?
Posted by Yip | 29.06.09, 11:25 GMT
For Ulter to think it can rectify hatred in so few years is absurd. It takes time, imagination and most difficult, a clear winner of the battle... to end the war. Even so, the flag of the defeated Confederacy States of America stills waves in the Commonwealth of Virginia, home of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson over a hundred years later.
Posted by lanelle | 28.06.09, 04:22 GMT
Men are addicted to violence. Men: everywhere. That's the common thread: the maleness of violence -- it's much more the common thread than nationality or even religion. And since many men are capable of peace, it can't be just their physical make-up, it might be societal. Or maybe it's biological, and can be controlled some day by a medication. Or maybe it can be minimized by education. The more ignorant, the more violent.
Posted by MWT | 27.06.09, 23:03 GMT
There is no such party that proclaims "ourselves Alone". Sinn Féin simply mens "we ourselves" and the party has always included non-Catholic members. As for the UUP, in one sense that pary could be considered secular
because the vast majority of its supporters are found to be members of several churches collectvely known as Protestant, a term which doesn't apply exclusively to any particular denomination.
Posted by Seán Mac Curtáin | 26.06.09, 02:31 GMT
Isnt it great that no Catholics are racists?
This 'risen people' nonsense spouted on here - 'solidarity with downtrodden peoples everywhere, we know how you feel' - comes from fans of the only state-benefit-sponsored rebellion in the history of mankind. UB40 heroes.
Myth-peddlers - unionists are racists (because look what 'they' did to 'us'); nationalists/catholics are freethinking liberals who've never beaten up immigrant nurses outside the Royal.
Yeah sure.
Posted by ireland abu | 25.06.09, 21:32 GMT
erasmus,
'the North does not run on hatred, but it is bred into the new minority community'
I assume, by that, you mean the Poles.
Do you actually know anybody outside your own community? Has every one you ever met really had hatred bred into them?
Seriuosly, if anyone from outside NI wants an insight to where the place has gone wrong they need look no further than your generalising and prejudicial post.
Posted by SteveW | 25.06.09, 17:36 GMT
I suspect Mickey is impotent. His thickness and rage indicates thus.
Posted by Michael | 25.06.09, 09:05 GMT
It's ingrained into them. They know no other way of life.
And Toronto / Canada has it's own fair share of problems with Hells Angels, Asian gangs and also don't forget how Canada has always treated the Inuit people who live there.
But, did you know the 12th of July is a holiday in some Provinces in Canada and they have parades on the 12th July in Toronto with bands from all over the world.
Also there are Orange Lodges in almost every province in Canada, even up in Nunavut.
Posted by James | 24.06.09, 22:57 GMT
Only that fool Mickey can turn a story about the disgraceful racist treatment of Romanians into a personal rant about Nationalists and Republicans. The man is a joke. Keep ranting Mickey, keep ranting.
Posted by Why Am I Not Surprised? | 24.06.09, 16:58 GMT
mickey, do you mean the belfast agreement? no such thing as gfa. triblalism is a human trait, natural and inherently instinctive. Tolerance and education of other beliefs is the way forward, but almost impossible in ni, due to the brainwashing from church, parents and peers.
Posted by stephen 1 | 24.06.09, 11:23 GMT
Until nationalists and republicans in NI can accept that many of their fellow countrymen consider themselves both Irish AND British (as per GFA), they'll never move on. Hatred, loathing and mistrust will always be their mantra.
Posted by m!ckey | 24.06.09, 09:25 GMT
It's a sad fact of life that people will instinctively fall into tribalism, unless taught otherwise through education and example. We must teach our children that there is so much more in life to unite rather than divide us. The abolition of separate faith schools would be a huge step in the right direction.
Too radical a step for Northern Ireland?
Posted by Abrach | 24.06.09, 03:08 GMT
I second Watcher's eminently sensible comment. Seems Gail occasionally gets it right.
Posted by Michael | 23.06.09, 18:17 GMT
Spot on, Gail. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day, and every once in a while Gail gets it right!
Posted by Watcher | 23.06.09, 17:23 GMT
Gail, the headline promises so much but, alas, my hopes of us treading common ground are dashed so quickly.
Get to the heart of the issue - the North does not run on hatred, but it is bred into the new minority community. Unionism and its loyalist stormtroopers have been fed this supremacy line for hundreds of years - these days there is just a new target for the vitriol
Posted by erasmus | 23.06.09, 15:22 GMT
Good article. I have just come back from Toronto which is full of everyone from every nationality and background. They are all love their own backgrounds but, at the same time, they all love being Canadians. They enjoy their identities but at the same time celebrate the culture of others. They don't burn people out of their homes and throw stones at people for being different.
One day NI may be like this......
Posted by Andrew Davies | 23.06.09, 15:04 GMT
Gail
There is no analogy between an Orangeman and a Celtic supporter as you imply. The Orange Order is a self-confessed Catholic hating organisation whose membership is exclusively Protestant. Celtic is a football team which is open to all in terms of employment and playing staff and whose support, while mainly Catholic, contains substantial numbers of Protestants also.
Posted by Terry | 23.06.09, 14:56 GMT
This is a hard-hitting piece and probably true, the reality is that despite all the political stunts and photo-ops NI is still a divided society to its core.
That said no one could really have expected the province to transform itself over night after the GFA. Dealing with real day-to-day politics is messy and boring but better that than watching news reports of sectarian killings every night. The peace will give the space for NI to change but that change will take a very long time.
Posted by Martin | 23.06.09, 14:30 GMT
22 Comments