Comments on: Belfast flag protests: cause and effect

By: Erch

Erch — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 20:23:02 +0000

Separate schooling is greatest obstacle to improving relations between Protestants and Catholics. The Catholic Church is adamant,they are totally against integrating Catholic children with Protestant children and will not allow it.
Why is it that they not challenged on their stance by politicians journalists etc?

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By: Patrick

Patrick — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 21:05:07 +0000

As an outside observer one can only sympathise with the Irish people who have had to live beside these people for generations.

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By: Madalyn

Madalyn — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 15:15:19 +0000

Alex,
As with most issues existing around religion in NI and to a much lesser extent Scotland there are elements of society which are so entrenched in their generally accepted norms of life that to attempt to introduce a more just and equitable set of circumstances for all citizens will always be met with protest.
As regards the Catholic school issue this is the red herring of all red herrings. These schools as part of their mandate preach and thus promote…a level of tolerance which is admirable and in my opinion can only be a positive influence in any society going forward. The Writer is a product of such a system although now an infrequent churchgoer.
The North will be a long time in settling but with good will from all sides it will get there. eventually

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By: Claire

Claire — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:23:01 +0000

I’m sorry, but to all of you who think that this protesting in the streets is the way to go, then think again. These are reactionary tactics which demean our economy and our public image. Surely the most common sense option would be to first contact your local political party offices or sign a petition. Northern Ireland is suffering badly already, I have family who will not visit because of the way Northern Ireland is portrayed in the media and this situation is not helping. The people responsible need to consider what the aftermath of this will be. My husband was made redundant, and now there is no work. I wonder how many people will join us in the ranks of long-term unemployed (against our wishes, no matter what the media says about us lazy benefit scroungers!).

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By: Liam

Liam — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 12:19:52 +0000

I watched your piece on Belfast last night, why don’t you speak to the tax payers returning from work who are having their property and cars damaged, Intimidated and threatened by these so call peaceful protests. The limelight is on the thugs with their faces hidden as if they are the injured parties. There was a story on the BBC of a pensioner who tried to visit his dying wife but was denied and the mob laughed and geared at him. This is whats happening everyday. The police are standing by and call it peaceful as long as no one is throwing petrol bombs at them. But its not peaceful, no freedom of movement for the rest of us who just want to live together, go to work and bring up our children. Show the story from the point of the everyday working people(or trying to get work) not the thug paramilitary criminals. These people don’t want a shared future or equality. To say the flags issue and peace process is connected to underachievement in education is a farce. Put a camera in an unmarked car and try to drive past a peaceful protest, make the driver female or a pensioner it won’t make any difference. Totally shameful.

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By: Peter

Peter — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 02:36:14 +0000

Alex is spot on!
In my opinion this flag nonsense has got to stop. Yes, the working class loyalists feel disenfranchised. The solution is to not vote DUP at the next election. Standing on the streets gets you nowhere. The democratically elected Belfast City Councillors voted for this. Change the make up of the council at the next election.

Additionally, it’s only really the newtownards road that is affected. The rest of the city citizens need to continue to live normal lives, shopping & eating in the city centre, rather than sitting at home “because of the protests”.

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By: S.B. BELFAST

S.B. BELFAST — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 00:12:24 +0000

I don’t know whether to laugh at David’s assessment or just shake my head and pity that sort of extreme paranoia. ‘The Education sector is controlled By Sinn Fein’?? That’s a good one given that the DUP and UUP have had the chance time and time again to take the Education Department as their first choice when the parties were given their pick of Stormont ministries so that is a non starter arguement there. ‘Catholic schools promote division and conflict’?? Tell that to the ever growing number of Protestant/Unionist families who are sending their children to ‘Catholic’ schools because of the better academic results there as result tables annually show. Fair Employment? The breakdown of inequality cases show that more Catholics than Protestants STILL have to use Fair Employment Legislation to get equality in the workplace in the North of Ireland and there are STILL more discrimination cases brought by Catholics than Protestants outstanding with the Equality Commission. Likewise 8 of the top 10 most socially deprived areas in the North of Ireland are STILL Nationalist/Catholic while the suicide rate within the Catholic community is STILL higher than the Protestant community. I could pick holes in the rest of your ‘points’ David but they are merely symptomatic of the wallowing self pity mindset and total denial mode that Unionism carries around like a comfort blanket.
Unionism/Loyalism is so lost, leaderless and blinded that it is striking out in every direction attempting to blame everyone and anything for it’s own largely self inflicted situation. For 50 years they ran a horrible, corrupt, bigoted, apartheid, gerrymandered statelet that used institutionalised sectarianism, violence and draconian laws to keep the Catholic population ‘in their place’. ‘Fenians’ kept their heads down as they were afraid to look out of their eyes in case they were battered senseless by Unionist state militias. ALL that Catholics wanted was the vote, decent housing and some respect. Unionists denied Catholics these basic Civil Rights from 1921, kept them as second class citizens and salivated in the control and power they wielded. Now they just cannot handle or accept the fact that they are no longer the ‘master with the whip’ in the big white house on the hill. Catholics will no longer roll over for these bigots and this is what is driving Unionism crazy.
The arguements that Unionists and Loyalists are using for their current anarchy are complete and utter nonsense. This is not about the Union Flag over Belfast City Hall which was a democratic vote by constitutional politicans The Good Friday Agreement guaranteed everyone in the North of Ireland parity of esteem and the freedom of identity whether that be British/Unionist or Irish/Nationalist; the current constitutional place of the North of Ireland within the UK while the majority want it is also guaranteed so what is Unionism’s grief?
They talk about denial of culture and parading? In 2012, for virtually every week of the entire year, Unionists held 1000′s of parades and street parties in EVERY city, town, village and hamlet they lived in for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee; the Ulster Covenant; the 12th July Orangefest; Scarva; Apprentice Boys/ Lundy Day in Derry; Remembance Sunday and the Cenotaph etc etc. There were Union Flags, Ulster Flags, UDA/UVF flags, Orange Order flags, British military flags, Poppies ALL over the place for365 days and the Catholic community literally said NOTHING and let Unionists get on with it. Apart from St. Patrick’s Day how many Irish/Nationalist celebrations were there in the North of Ireland in 2012? You could count them on one hand!
Simple facts and statistics show that Unionists/Loyalists are talking a load of guff about flags, denial of culture and inequality. Many of them simply refuse point blank to even contemplate equality and parity of esteem for ‘Taigs’ and as Nationalists get closer to Unionists demographically and numerically panic mode has set in within the wider Protestant community which cannot divest itself of their ‘supremacist mentality’ and ‘majority mindset’ over Catholics. If they lose that, in their minds, they have lost everything and that’s why we are in this situation; Unionists just don’t like it and can’t handle the situation; instead of embracing change and working with others they act like spoilt brats who have had it too good for far too long. However like South Africa and the American Deep South ‘Change is gonna come’ and Unionists better get used to it; they can riot, burn and wreck all they want but they are going to achieve NOTHING but the contempt of decent people, alienation from normal society, the scorn of REAL British people and negative international opinion.

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By: Thug

Thug — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 21:45:45 +0000

Again, there should be no catholic schools or protestant schools or any other schools based on such ‘should be’ private matters as faith. There should be just schools, all in one, together. Then maybe one day there would be no Catholic or Protestant communites, just people, where monty-python-esque arguments about which way one should interpret an old book with dubious claims to any moral or factual truth become completely irrelevant in daily life.

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By: Thug

Thug — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 21:39:50 +0000

Actually there is something that could be done about it. Stop having segregated schools. Kids are trained by this idiotic situation that they are different from the other side. There should be no ‘other side’, based on what kind of christian you are or what flag you wave.

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By: paul

paul — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 21:33:15 +0000

Alex
What these protesters can’t accept is equality pure and simple. They would like to turn the clock back to a time of unionist domination and discrimibation. Wake up and smell the coffee it ain’t happening.

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