Another attack has left Craig Memorial Hall badly damage in Strabane. And just up the road in Derry, a Methodist Church has damaged. There’s very little detail on either story, but it would sit in a pattern of the targetting Protestant institutions in large majority Catholic areas…
With perhaps the longest title of any book I’ve read this year, The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday: Unexpected Encounters in the Changing Middle East gives an insight into the lives of people living in Middle East through the eyes of journalist Neil MacFarquhar. MacFarquhar’s father was a chemical engineer [...] read our review »
It’s not often we get free things to give away to our readers, but courtesy of Palgrave Macmillan we have a nice paperback copy of Brian M Walker’s excellent history of partition of the island and how identities shifted in both the north east and the south and west: as most of the territory that [...] read our review »
Interesting BBC article on an upcoming presentation and talk [Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre, 17 August] by lecturer and broadcaster Stephen Price on the subject of his new book – The Earl Bishop. The 18th Century ”Earl Bishop” was Frederick Augustus Hervey, fourth Earl of Bristol and Church of Ireland Bishop of Derry. Hervey was also elected [...] read our review »
Perhaps Billy would like to comment on the issue at hand i.e. targetting Protestant institutions in areas where there are Roman Catholic majorities. I condemn all attacks on Roman Catholic churches etc. But as usual Billy doesn’t want to address the issue when it affects Protestants i.e. a pattern of attacks on the Protestant community and the involvement of SF IRA members along with their ‘double speak’.
P&J – do you want a society where everything ain’t based on religion / tribe whatever ? – How about making a positive suggestion to facilitate that ?
Just getting round to reading points made since last night. Find myself in total agreeement with your sentiments.
Well put.
Thanks Chris.
Where next, though? With locally accountable policing in place, surely we can make these issues police priorities?
I’ll drop you a mail off list over the next day or so.
“Peace and Justice”
I was one of the first to comment on this peace:
These are both quotes from my post.
“ALL sectarian attacks are disgusting and should be condemned by all decent people”
“The scumbags that perpetrate such attacks are not exclusive to either the nationalist or “loyalist†community”
Unless you have difficulty understanding plain English, that seems to me to be a CLEAR UNRESERVED CONDEMNATION OF ALL SUCH ATTACKS.
In all my posts, my clear condemnation of violence, bigotry, vandalism from ANY + ALL SIDES IS CLEAR.
In your case, 99% of your postings are a mixture of blaming Catholics for everything and blatent whataboutery and making excuses for “loyalist” terrorists.
Your rare comments condemning “loyalist” terrorism are a joke. They are only ever made when someone points out your blatent prejudice and hypocrisy. They are also always accompanied by whataboutery and putting the blame on Nationalists.
Despite your pathetic attempts to cover your prejudice, it is quite obvious that you don’t view “Loyalist” violence/thuggery as being quite as bad as that of Nationalists.
That, I’m VERY GLAD to say, is where we differ. I’m not a hypocrite – I have no time for any of this behaviour whether it be from “Loyalists” or Nationalists.
My attitudes don’t change dependent on “which side” is responsible.
Your attitude to “loyalist” violence is all too obvious.
the only way to stop this behaviour is by not nurturing the hatred of authority that causes it
Been there, done that, and it’s a load of balls. No harm, but while any peelers who touched you should have been drummed out of the force, what you needed was four years in Millisle for a hate crime.
And don’t give me the dysfunctional family crap. My childhood wasn’t a barrel of laughs either and that was fairly typical in the part of Belfast I grew up in, but the majority of us didn’t actually feel the need to go and burn people’s cars, Protestant or otherwise. It’s actually really insulting to the poor in our society to suggest they all have latent pyromaniac tendencies, and this ‘society made me do it’ nonsense only undermines parents who are trying in the most difficult of circumstances to prevent their children from making many of the same mistakes they made themselves.
If it was society’s fault, then it was because you got away with it time after time.
Been there, done that, and it’s a load of balls. No harm, but while any peelers who touched you should have been drummed out of the force, what you needed was four years in Millisle for a hate crime.
Only drummed out of the force Sammy? Don’t they deserve the same sentence for the same crime?
And I didnt read it as him blaming society he admitted his own part and his culpability he did not claim he wasnt guilty he only explained why he chose the targets he chose. I dont believe he ever climed it was right
Only drummed out of the force Sammy? Don’t they deserve the same sentence for the same crime?
Yes. Good point.
Been there, done that, and it’s a load of balls. No harm, but while any peelers who touched you should have been drummed out of the force, what you needed was four years in Millisle for a hate crime.
Posted by Sammy Morse on Sep 27, 2007 @ 12:47 AM
been in millisle, wore the t shirt and just received as much brutality there from members of the orange order/prison service. it did nothing to extinguish the flames of the fires i was lighting. it only served me to get bigger petrol bombs and to burn more premises belonging to orangemen. i never once thought of them as protestants, just orangemen. it wasnt my fault that the orange order were sectarian, if they had catholic members i would have burned them too. i know that my actions werent spurred by sectarianism, they were just my answer to the brutality i received from members of the orange institutions
i wasnt using the fact that i was from a dysfucntional family as an excuse, but it was part of the reason. i was a young catholic boy out drinking and carrying on on the streets of derry…i was an easy target for those scumbag orange order/ruc personnel who brutalised me. i didnt run to sinn fein or the sdlp, i took it on the chin and got my own back in ways that i saw fit. Im not looking for absolution. in fact i can hold my head high in the knowledge i did indeed hit the bullseye. they hurt me, i hurt them back..c’est la vie.
only thing i can add is that if you keep dealing with symptoms of the problem, whilst ignoring the actual problem then the problem will never go away. in this case the link between the orange order/psni/prison service needs to be completly eradicated. while it remains, order more fire fighters cos youre gonna need them
“Im not looking for absolution. in fact i can hold my head high in the knowledge i did indeed hit the bullseye. they hurt me, i hurt them back..c’est la vie.” – heelio
I’d actually agree with you if you got the guy who kicked the shit out of you on his own and then kicked the shit out of him as payback. That might be just as illegal as what he did to you, but it would be an eye for an eye and the private justice that the state would deny to you. However, you didn’t retaliate against the person who wronged you, you retaliated against others who were from the same community. Big difference there.
The Dubliner: However, you didn’t retaliate against the person who wronged you, you retaliated against others who were from the same community. Big difference there.
Indeed, that’s what makes him just the same as the people who apparently beat him in the first place. And just the same as the people who probably retaliated against some other poor sod for the things that he did.
Billy, I repeat again, I condemn all attacks on Roman Catholic churches etc. People should be able to worship in peace regardless of their religion.
You choose not to read my posts – or try to misrepresent them.
Take the plank out of your own eye …