Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Oh, No.

In Belfast last night:



Yes, it's as bad as it looks.

When we were there a year ago, the occasional "RIRA" graffiti in Ulster cities and reports of UVF thuggery could be dismissed hopefully as the work of low-level hooligans using centuries of conflict as an excuse for what they would do anyway. After all, street crime is endemic to modern urban societies, isn't it?

Hope remains that this does not escalate, but the anxiety is ramping up.

UPDATE: Good background piece on the current state of affairs in Short Strand. The comments are illuminating, too.

6 comments:

Xtreme English said...

I can remember when I felt very proud of my Irish heritage. No more. I'm fed up with the violence. They seem like a bunch of fookin' savages1

Sherwood Harrington said...

I'm inclined to spread the blame around, M.E., beyond the island's perimeter.

Sherwood Harrington said...

... not to the exclusion of many people inside the perimeter, though, certainly.

Sherwood Harrington said...

The BBC website appears to be covering events pretty quickly: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13869210

Mike said...

So, how's the economy doing over there these days? Still got lots of jobs for young people? Celtic Tiger still keeping everyone busy and well-motivated?

Yeah. It wasn't a serious question.

ronnie said...

Have been watching this unfold on the news with distress.

Those same conflicts and hatreds came across the pond to Newfoundland, sadly, albeit not in overtly violent ways (Usually. There were gang fights). We were brought up to believe that Catholics were at least to be suspect, and fraternization with them to be avoided if possible. (My cousin once confessed to me that the adults around her demonized Catholics so much that she got the notion that "a Catholic" was some kind of a monster which might leap out from behind a fence to ambush you. She was terrified of them as a child until she realized they were just *other people*.) Dismantling the religious school system, which segregated us, in the early 90s has helped a lot.