Monday, February 27, 2006

More on the riots

I have to agree with Planet Potato, the march should be re-run. We can not let the scumbags who rioted and looted win. The march must go on.

There has been some people saying that this march was not about republicanism but because people have been marginalised. So other then the fact that these people are middle class socialist that can’t understand why the working class vote Fianna Fail and don’t rise up and over throw the bourgeoisie. Do they have a point.?

Surely the only people who would riot are the marginalised and downtrodden in Celtic Tiger Ireland. Yet some of the people arrested and in court were seemingly from upper class areas. This shows I think that the idea that this was the repressed rising up is ridicules. This was a rising of scumbags fuelled by republican rhetoric and a desire just to cause mayhem. While many of the scum did come from areas that have social deprivation and this was a factor in the riots. It is a minuscule part of it. There is an underbelly of anti-orangeism in the South while most people don’t vent it in public and only in private. The fact that it remains in society says something about us. I mean many people have put "We are all danes now" buttons on their blogs to support Danish Free Speech. Will anyone put a "We are all orange now" to support their freedom of speech.

I think not. We are still not that accepting of people who subscribe to the latter third of the Irish flag. Remember the Danes invade us and occupied this Island as well.

But much of the rioting though fuelled by Republicanism was merely perpetrated by people who thought it would be a bit of craic.

8 comments:

Eamonn said...

Restaging the march is a noble idea, but I must ask what it would accomplish, especially if restaged in the not too distant future.

Would it show that the rioters didn't win or would it just be a quick fix, an attempt to convince the world and ourselves that 'Sur, we're not all that bad!'?

And more to the point, would the Love Ulster Parade even contemplate coming back to our fair capital?

Simon said...

Well it should be to show the rioters that they did not win.

But a "sur we're not all that bad" sentiment would be picked up by some people which would not be the point. But we can't be dictated to by violence.

I would say the Love ulster would love to come down again. But next time they will get more para members. So it would have to have massive garda presence. But right i s right.

Cian said...

This shows I think that the idea that this was the repressed rising up is ridicules. This was a rising of scumbags fuelled by republican rhetoric and a desire just to cause mayhem.

Id have to agree with that sentiment, who though has been presenting this as a proletarian uprising?

If the thing were restage it would indeed be a noble idea. Could it be done in practice though? Im pretty sure politicians will be as worried about more violence as about not being dictated to by violence. Not sure the gardai fancy another run at it either.

Does this hold any signal for the 1916 parade to come i wonder?

United Irelander said...

You're not serious?

A banner showing solidarity with a group that bans Catholics and who engaged in rioting themselves with the PSNI last year?

I don't think so.

Let's keep things in perspective please.

Simon said...

who engaged in rioting themselves with the PSNI last year?

It wasn't all the orange order. the same way that it was not all the republicans on tuesday.

I was making a point. would the people of Ireland say we are all orange now as fast as they say we are all danes.

Take orange to mean unionist. the orange order flags was the best unioonist flag I could think of

Simon said...

I have no idea why i said tuesday above

CK said...

The riot struck me initially as very organised and then certainly spilled over into looting and vandalism by some seemingly not even linked to the riot. That the riot was not forseen by the Gardai shows it was not linked to an ongoing feud (I realsie there is a 700 year old feud but I mean a particularly crucial political topic that at the moment could have indicated this would happen)or a particularly tense period, nor did the riot rebegin later that night in Dublin or elsewhere to show the rioters were a reflection of an underbelly of conflict developing undetected. It was a planned violent outburst, staged to garner the maximum publicity, undermining rights of association, speech and protest- I say restage to show these people they will not be tolerated.

Paul O'Mahony (Cork) said...

For goodness sake, why would any sensible northerner return to march in Dublin? Look at what happened to them. It's a pretty idea, restaging the march, but you can't put your foot in the same stream twice.
They won't come down again, if they have any sense. The state has blown it. A complete failure at the most basic level, providing a framework within which people can go about their lawful business.
Maybe this will blow over, and another group will come down after a suitable lapse. But I doubt it. Would you bring your children down to Dublin to walk in memory of their dead uncle.
I'm glad to see people starting to ask whether this has any implications for Easter 2006. If that goes ahead, it will be a Green celebration. Nothing more. After all the rebels of 1916 were every bit as unpopular as the "thugs" of Saturday.
But those who hoped to keep the streets clean of loyalist shoes have won, even if they had to go into the pubs for fodder to do their work. Every movement needs its cannon fodder.
It is time to be honest and face up the need to abandon the aspiration of a United Ireland. That way there might be some chance people up North would risk wearing their insignia down here.