Let’s take the ‘but’ out of politics on both sides of the Border
Sometimes I think he’s really been listening to the Northern Ireland news - albeit from the vantage point of 17th century Verona. And pretty sickening news it very often is.
I refer this time to a bunch of fascist thugs, who call themselves loyalists, barging their way into a college in east Belfast and threatening students to leave the area.
In my line of work I’m in the odd position of living in a loyalist area of north Belfast, working in a mixed area of south Belfast and spending a lot of time in both the Irish Republic and mainland Britain.
It makes for an interesting perspective.
One thing that really gets my goat, when I’m south of the Border, is what I call “the Fenian ‘but’”. This is a process of denial whereby many people in the Republic who don’t condone IRA terrorism or thuggery like nonetheless to transfer blame to unionism or the Brits.
It usually goes along the lines of “yes, that was terrible, but...”
The ‘but’ being usually that it’s all really Britain’s fault.
The Fenian ‘but’ makes me sick. It makes me wholly unsympathetic towards any nationalist or republican perspective on Irish history or politics. These days, whenever I hear the slightest criticism from anybody south of the Border aimed against Britain, I switch off.
The fact remains that the IRA alone are responsible for the nine out of every 10 people killed during the Troubles and that no blame whatsoever for IRA crimes can be laid at Britain’s or unionism’s door.
End of story. Don’t care about the Famine, etc.
However, this cuts both ways as there is also, it seems, a loyalist ‘but’. A lot of people will say loyalist paramilitary thuggery is wrong and then qualify it with a ‘but’. This is a bit like saying “I’m not a racist, but you have to admit.....” Something else you hear far too much of in Ireland, both sides of the Border.
However much the British and Irish governments have appeased IRA terrorism under the Good Friday Agreement, and however sickening this is, nothing justifies sectarian thuggery.
At bottom line, the Fenian ‘buts’ are IRA apologists, the loyalist ‘buts’ are apologists for sectarian thuggery on their own side and anyone who says “I’m not a racist but” is a racist.
Of course, there shouldn’t be segregated schools and colleges in Northern Ireland. All should be secular, integrated, and religion should banned from them.
Not that the loyalist thugs who attacked a school recently would agree with that. They want segregation. This is why Blair’s ideas about freedom of choice in education, which are unacceptable anywhere in Britain, have particular repercussions in the North that should be knocked on the head.
This is why Tory leader David Cameron’s idea that schools should be allowed to select their own pupils is even worse... with the same rules applying.
And as ever with any form of progressive legislation in Northern Ireland, this has to backed up by a big stick - in this case, the tearing up of the Good Friday Agreement and dragooning all this sectarian rabble back into prison.
On the devolved parliament, stuff your Sinn Féin-DUP coalition. Keep direct rule from Westminster until there’s a Labour party in Northern Ireland and the electorate are mature enough to vote for it.
Roger Cottrell
Queens University
Belfast
