Republican Struggle: Now And Then
I’ll make this short.
I’m tired of hearing about Republican ’struggle’ and British oppression and occupation. I can honestly say that not once in my life have I felt oppressed or discriminated against on the grounds of my religious background. I have not been held back from getting gainful employment, nor buying a house, nor living to a relatively decent standard.
While I have little knowledge of the background to the Easter Rising, and subsequent events in Ireland, I am coming to the conclusion that certain parts of our history on this island were inevitable. This is courtesy of Mr Joe Cahill, whose biography I am reading at the moment. It really is food for thought as to how we might have reacted in the same circumstances.
However, we are not in the same circumstances. Northern Ireland has changed. Nobody here is an ‘oppressed people’, except for the daft prejudices that rattle around inside their heads.
This post is in response to Mr Gaskin’s Official Easter Address To The People. I have nothing against the celebrating of the Easter Rising, but don’t bang on about the injustice that is British rule
. Especially not when trying to espouse Liberty and Justice for all where all of the children of the Nation
, when Sinn Fein (Mr Gaskin is a proud member) have shown absolutely no interest in the welfare or rights of the Protestant/Unionist/Loyalist population here. That just stinks of hypocrisy.
All this talk of comrades and struggles reminds me of that Give My Head Peace episode where an old Republican who’s been hiding in an attic for years comes down thinking the Republicans are still fighting.
Ah, who cares? The only Easter Rising I was interested in last Sunday was the one I woke up with… 
This post is in response to Mr Gaskin’s Official Easter Address To The People
I don’t remember making any address to the people?
but don’t bang on about the injustice that is British rule
Why not?
I think you just have a problem with Republicans Mr Levee, you are entitled to you views but so are everyone else!
Very well said Mr Levee. I don’t think I’ve heard any kind of perceived injustice, in modern times, that isn’t a direct result of the guerilla war waged by the IRA.
I don’t know abou Mr L, but I certainly have a problem with republicans - that problem is their complete detachment from reality.
Beano: It’s like that old office saying - “You don’t have to be detatched from reality to live in Northern Ireland, but it helps!”
In fairness, this kind of tunnel vision isn’t just the domain of Republicans, God love ‘em.
I have always had a great difficulty with the concept of historical inevitability.
It can be traced back to Hegel, who theorised that the entirety of human history was the working out of a Spirit/God/Geist through the affairs of man.
It conveniently surrenders the element of choice on the part of those individuals who really DID have a choice whether it was to go out in Easter 1916, or decided to join the IRA because soldiers beat them up or wrecked their house in 1971.
What element of oppression “forced” those men in Lurgan to go about building a bomb to wreck their own town centre? No-one is forced to do anything - you choose.
Peace and the Agrement maximise the choices for all of us: Catholic Protestant, Dissenter.
“War” restricts those choices and no-one, save the certifiably insane, wants to go back to that. Not even Mr Gaskin.
Well said, levee. If more people took a moderate line like you do we’d be a lot better off. BU.
Thanks John - that means a lot! I’ve always hoped that this blog would encourage people to question their positions. Sometimes that even includes me!
You all keep forgetting that; ignoreing oppresion, beatings and such these men and women wanted thier country to be a nation and to sever all links with england.
There is nothing wrong with fighting for your country, we are the only people on the planet who ashamed of our freedom fighters.
By the by lets not forget that the European court of human rights found england guilty of toturing detainees not so long ago, so what do you want patriots to do in the face of such horror except unleash the horror within and drive them back to sea or atleast make it so the minority has an equal say in governance and I bet Mr. Levee if you look over this with todays news. 27/09/06 at the utv archives and look at the dup member being found guilty of election fraud, you will find that, and i’m sorry to be the one that tells you but you wore wrong mate..