Lindy McDowell argues that the question of whether the attempted assassination of Mark Haddock was or was not sanctioned by the leadership, is simply a cute evasion of responsibility.
Haggling over irrelevances about whether or not it was sanctioned does not obscure that truth. The terror gangs which should by now have been history still hold this community by the throat. The people of this place never sanctioned their violence in the first place.
They certainly didn’t sanction the post-ceasefire extension of their drug-dealing and murder campaign. Instead of cosying up to them, our political leaders should be wising up to killers. A small first step would be to treat with the contempt they deserve, paramilitary gangs using cute language to try to distance themselves from their crimes.
Let’s stop sanctioning their “not sanctioned” excuses for murder.
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
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