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About LinkBacksI am glad for you.Originally Posted by Cromlyn
If your Friends think its not an issue to assume things about people based on their religion, then I fully understand why you would get along with them.
I am glad for you.
If your Friends think its not an issue to assume things about people based on their religion, then I fully understand why you would get along with them.
He does that most days sir when hammered in debate......secret is, he hates facts, they send him off for tea and buns in an English Country Garden.
Ah, so adopt a patronising tone rather than think perhaps you have been pedantic in the extreme pushing a point that everyone else seems to have tired of. Goodnight.
You must play in a band to have seen that many parades in that many different towns.
Playing the Sash outside a Chapel is a bit sad,but I've never really understood why nationalists have such a "hatred" of that tune.The lyrics are hardly bigotted but it's a perception thing I suppose.
Think of it as street entertainment and you will find it less intimidating.Also don't go out of your way to be offended.I have been "inconvenienced " myself by band parades,but if I were going somwhere I would plan to avoid it. Augher now has an annual flaigh,which virtually closes the village for a couple of nights in the summer ,now I could say that this "offends"me and that it is "bigoted"( if being from one side of the community is bigoted)however,as a bit of live and let live goes a long way ,I choose not to.
When there is a "big" GAA match in Clogher,the village becomes impassable ...............see earlier answer.
Now those are the two towns that I pass through most often ,however I could travel the length and breadth of Tyrone,to not be offended in many other towns and villages if I so chose.
It is easy to ignore things that you may find "offensive" and "inconvenient" if you choose to do so.If everyone decided to object to every irritation they perceive the "other side" has causes them ,then it will be a very bleak and bland future for us all.
** Note ,I haven't attended a band parade or the 12th for years as I prefer to play golf at any given opportunity,each to their own ,is my philosophy.
Frosty was on the crazy "When did you last see a nun thread" yesterday.I think he has migrated to main site to scunder folk as "regulars" here are not indulging him so much .Do not worry more replacements always ready to step up .
On topic - good article in the Guardian about 'What does being British mean?' What does being British mean to you? - interactive | UK news | The Guardian
Lots of Northern Ireland opinions, here's a sample:
Sean Fox, 47, mechanic. Living in Northern Ireland, you are part of the UK, but living in Ireland you also classify yourself as Irish. I feel Irish and British. I’m a Catholic, but I’m not classifying myself as Irish for that reason. It’s just because of where I am. I live in Ireland. I don’t know what the long-term solution will be for Northern Ireland. We’ve lived with what we’ve lived with for so long, you get tunnel vision. It’s hard to see an end to the divide. But at least the violence has stopped. It’s good to come into town and not be looking over your shoulder the whole time
Sajeen Rasalingam, 29, catering supervisor
I've been in Belfast for two and half years. I came from Sri Lanka to study in the UK and am married to a EU citizen. I have permanent residence at the moment, and should get citizenship in the next 18 months. I studied in London first, but prefer it here. There is no rush. They’ve been pretty welcoming. I lived in Cyprus before, and there was more racism there. I studied information technology and hope to do a PhD. For the moment, because I am a family man and have a young child, I have to work in KFC to earn some money.
Lilian Stewart, 24, unemployed
I'm originally from Belfast, but have just moved to Enniskillen. I’m a Protestant, but I don’t think it really matters any more and I don’t class myself as either. There are still a few places in Belfast which are bitter, but there’s no divide in Enniskillen. People have calmed down now, and it’s just on 12 July that you see a wee bit of rioting. There are still a few feuds going on, but it’s nothing like it was. I consider myself to be Northern Irish. I’ve never been out of Northern Ireland, not even to the south. Now I’m down in Enniskillen, I’ll have to go and have a look
Male chef, 34, name and photograph withheld
I wouldn’t see us as part of Britain; I see us as occupied by Britain. There was a referendum on the island of Ireland in 1921, and the majority of people voted for independence. I would see us as being occupied by Britain since then. I see myself as an Irish citizen. I carry an Irish passport rather than a British passport. I would never hold a British passport, and my children wouldn’t have one either. I would hope to see a united Ireland, but I can’t see it happening any time soon, especially as some politicians have accepted British rule here and are sitting in a partitionist assembly. I am pleased the violence stopped, but I’m not happy with the settlement up at Stormont. We’re still occupied by Britain; for us nothing’s changed as far as I can see. I’m a Catholic, but it’s not a Catholic-Protestant issue. It’s a British-Irish issue. I know Protestants who would like to see a united Ireland too. I accept that they’d be very few, but it’s not a religious issue, it’s a nationalist issue
Marylou Scott, 52, retired civil servant
BelfastI’m a royalist and a loyalist. I’m very pro-British. I even own Britain’s national dog, a bulldog. My father was in the army, he was at Dunkirk. A united Ireland will never happen. Down south they’re Europeans. We’re British. We still have the pound. In fact, we’re more British than most of the British. Enoch Powell used to be my MP. He was a gentleman. People are happy with the way of life up here, even in nationalist areas, because they’re getting lots of money from the UK. You make hay while the sun shines, and the sun is shining on Northern Ireland at the moment
Male retired sales rep, 63, name and photograph withheld
Belfastl live in a village about 20 miles away from Belfast. It’s a nice little quiet place. I was born a Catholic, but followed in the family tradition and joined the army, so I feel I’m British through and through. I joined as a boy soldier at 15 and served for nine years. I was reared in the country, so religion didn’t really affect us. We were all brought up together and thought that Orange parades were just things that happened every July. Being reared in the country is an asset to anybody. In the towns, you are forced to take sides. Belfast is built on ghettos, and people feel secure in their own ghettos. Those ghettos still exist. That’s why there are peace walls in Belfast. The troubles might be over, but the religious thing is still a problem with a lot of people and politicians don’t do us any favours. Everyone is still trying to score points off everyone else.
Quite a few more on the site...
I hate stuff like this. No matter who it's from.Down south they’re Europeans. We’re British.
Northern Ireland is a part of Ireland, which is a part of the British Isles which is a part of Europe. Anyone who can't grasp that needs a lobotomy.
What I find quite pathetic and insular about many of those answers to the Guardian journalists from people in NI is that few of them actually answered the question directly and in a way that stayed on-topic. Most felt the need to mention their religion (not asked), to mention fighting rather than their own identity, and discussed the non-issue of a fairyland separatist all-Ireland Republic (again, not asked).
Assuming that the Guardian Journalists didn't invent these answers and remembering that they could choose which answers to publish ....
"We hold that no power, not even the British Parliament, has the right to deprive us of our heritage of British citizenship".
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true - I usually find it wise to always take what any journalist says with a pinch of salt, even more so if from the Guardian.
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