Facing The Truth: Michael Stone & The Hackett Family
I understand the Healing Through Remebering group had some concerns over the televised format of Facing The Truth, and having seen the overblow starting sequence, it’s easy to see why.
Whoever thought that it was a good idea to have Archbishop Tutu’s entrance by helicopter, that ridiculous ‘tension’ music and the over-the-top introduction by Fergal Keane needs their head examined. Hardly a sensitive treatment of a situation where breaved relatives meet a convicted killer.
Food For Thought
I’ve managed to catch a couple of episodes of Facing The Truth. The first thing that struck me was the incredible bravery of everyone involved. Yes, that includes the perpetrators.
Watching victims of violence come face to face with murderers was a tremendously difficult thing to watch, let alone be a part of. I can only imagine the kind of courage it takes to participate in a meeting like this.
Likewise for the perpetrator. Whatever you think of Michael Stone, he is a child of the ‘Troubles’ too. And whether you are cynical as to his motives (as Mrs Levee is), he at least showed up and told of his part in the Dermot Hackett murder. And as reprehensible as that sounds, I think the cold, hard facts were welcome also.
How intelligence was gathered by Loyalists and passed to him. How he tested the weapon that was used in the murder. How he had to dehumanize his targets in order to carry out the commands he was given. How he led a double life at the expense of his marriages and family.
However, I feel that Michael Stone was affected by his meeting with the Hackett family. For one thing, he couldn’t really look Sylvia Hackett in the eye. For another, he clung to the Loyalist intelligence that said Dermot Hackett was an IRA member, despite the obvious counter-claim that if he was an IRA member, then the IRA would have taken over the funeral and given him a military burial. As it was, the IRA publicly denied he was a member.
Can We Handle The Truth?
I have to disagree with the Healing Through Remembering group on this occassion. I think the people of Northern Ireland need to see this ’storytelling process’. We need to see both sides. That Stone’s crusade gained him notoriety and respect in Loyalist circles, did not protect him from facing the reality of a woman who he made a widow of.
As a group, the people of Northern Ireland need to see the consequence of bitter sectarianism and political division. Ian Paisley needs to see it. Gerry Adams needs to see it. Our ‘leaders’ need to see it because they’ve got it wrong over 40 years. While they’ve been busy exploiting the divisions in our society, they could have been busy uniting our society.
As I see it, those narrow political interests are as responsible for these deaths as the gunmen themselves. Anyway, I’ll tackle that later.
Thank You And Best Wishes
I feel it’s important to thank the Hackett family and Michael Stone for allowing their meeting to be televised. This wasn’t about confrontation - it was about resolution.
We got to hear both sides of the story, and though parts of it were hard to swallow, it seemed to be the truth. The most important thing is that this is about moving on from the past, and hopefully these meetings help people gain closure. No, they won’t change events of the past, and moving on will be difficult.
And also, where Stone claimed to dehumanize his victims, I think we need to be aware that we dehumanize (or demonize) the perpetrators of violence in Northern Ireland. Perhaps the people who once terrorised this province 20 years ago can become the same people who help us achieve peace in the end? Just a thought…
Anyway, I do hope this process has helped those involved to come to terms with the past and to move on in a positive way, both the victims and the perpetrators.
In the end, Stone did not accept the testimony of those who loved his victim.
His argument was that he himself had deceived his nearest, and he implied that his victim had done the same. That was pretty damn hurtful. I dont think he killed him, though.
I was particularly struck by his admitting that had he known that Hackett’s wife was pregnant, as was his own wife at the time, he might have advised the killers to select someone else.
By such threads hang our lives - at the whim of a stranger with a gun.
Mr Levee: Questions must be asked of Michael Stone’s sincerity - I find it difficult to accept that he did not use the programme to futher his own narrow minded interests. His media manipulation and whayaboutaries was in profound contrast with Mrs.Hacketts genuine heartbreak.
Perhaps I’m being naive about Stone, but the sense I got was that behind the media hype and all that, lies a misguided individual. Perhaps it was a media stunt, but Parnell, isn’t the process of telling stories also about giving the perpetrators to voice their side? How do you feel about that?
Like Parnell I am cynical about Michael Stones motives. However at various points in the meeting he did seem to be genuinely ashamed. I even almost let myself feel a degree of pity for him at times.
I am still unsure of how sincere he was, and how much he was playing to the cameras. I suspect we’ll never know.
I have to say I was really impressed with the Police officer who was shot by the provisional IRA man. I don’t think I would have been so forgiving and understanding of a man who, even now refuses to show regret or guilt for his actions.
I saw a few minutes on the first night the programme was aired and would love to have been able to see more. I agree that we all need to see this type of thing either on TV, or if it was at all possible, in real life somewhere - maybe I’m just dreaming.The peace process will take a long long time.
Nice one, levee. BU.
Yeah, I can see the reason why there’s so much cynicism surrounding Stone’s motives. However, the human element was evident, particularly his reasons for joining the UDA. Doubtless many folk, Republican and Loyalist alike could understand those motives.
I personally felt strengthened in my resolve that that period of history should never be repeated.