The Glorious 12th - the kid glove treatment

[LiamORaiste]

I heard a few reports and read the Irish Times this morning but no mention there was of the disgraceful aspects of this strange festival, Orangefest.

For instance, in Coleraine, as reported in Lá Nua and the Irish News this morning, we read of Peter Neill, a bereaved father, under threat from loyalist paramilitaries, because he dared to remove a flag bearing the name of his son, Aaron, who died two weeks ago of heart disease. A boy who was too young, 16, to have done anything to merit such posthumous disrespect.

Or the loyalists who routed their bus deliberately through a nationalist area, when a number of their Orange colleagues took another route home, to provoke an angry reaction from residents. Or the loyalists bussed through Ardoyne waving terror flags - I wonder who paid for the busses!

Anyhow, the southern media appear to be viewing the Orangefest through peach tinted glasses and not seeing the sinister aspects. The closed shops, the ghost town in areas where parades are not parading through, the wanton drunkenness, the damage caused to health and environment by the bonfires and the subsequent urine fest.

[Aindriu]

Not just the southern media. Both UTV & BBC1 had programs on about it last night. Methinks they wouldn't have done the same for a celebration of the Easter Rising

[bobbysands81]

Loyalists and KKKulture.

[PatMcL]

I heard a few reports and read the Irish Times this morning but no mention there was of the disgraceful aspects of this strange festival, Orangefest.

For instance, in Coleraine, as reported in Lá Nua and the Irish News this morning, we read of Peter Neill, a bereaved father, under threat from loyalist paramilitaries, because he dared to remove a flag bearing the name of his son, Aaron, who died two weeks ago of heart disease. A boy who was too young, 16, to have done anything to merit such posthumous disrespect.

Or the loyalists who routed their bus deliberately through a nationalist area, when a number of their Orange colleagues took another route home, to provoke an angry reaction from residents. Or the loyalists bussed through Ardoyne waving terror flags - I wonder who paid for the busses!

Anyhow, the southern media appear to be viewing the Orangefest through peach tinted glasses and not seeing the sinister aspects. The closed shops, the ghost town in areas where parades are not parading through, the wanton drunkenness, the damage caused to health and environment by the bonfires and the subsequent urine fest.

It should be remembered that a lot of these bonfires are paid for out of public funds as a recognition of unionist culture.

Unionists in the 21st century hang banners with the names of Catholic children who have died recently from bonfires as an expression of their culture.

I hope people who give lectures on the need to recognise the unionist marching seasons etc as part of some innocent tradition take on board what has just happened in Coleraine.

It is vile rotten sectarianism that infects a surprisingly high percentage of the unionist community.

[johnfás]

It's all rotten lets be honest. But lets cast the stone at all rather than just one side. Lets not just cast the stone at the OO but remember those who were throwing missiles at their bus on the way home last night. If you're going to be balanced you have to come out against both acts of bigotted stupidity.

[PatMcL]

It's all rotten lets be honest. But lets cast the stone at all rather than just one side. Lets not just cast the stone at the OO but remember those who were throwing missiles at their bus on the way home last night. If you're going to be balance you have to come out against both acts of bigotted stupidity.

Don't come off with some pithy meaningless gesture about balance.

Unioists lecture us about bonfires being part of thier culture and tradition. That tradition manifested itself with unionists putting the names of recently deceased Catholic children on top of a bonfire so that the banners containing their names could be incinerated.

If you feel the need to somehow invent a comparision in order to appear balanced you are a pretty pathetic individual. Condemn it simply for what it is.

[johnfás]

I do condemn it. I also condemn people throwing missiles at buses. Do you not?

[PatMcL]

Then start a thread on stone throwing at buses and I will comment.

[lenster hauser]

Why is it people who enjoy slagging off the Jaffas insist on describing the Twelfth of July as "Glorious"?

The Glorious Twelfth is a month later, and has nothing whatsoever to do with Orangeism.

[Ronanr]

I do condemn it. I also condemn people throwing missiles at buses.

Are the people throwing stones at buses getting public money, as the OO are?