There is no doubt that NI is more sectarian than ever.
That is subjective. I think perhaps, in times of relative peace the extent and breadth of the prevailing sectarianism is now open for everyone to see.
During 'the Troubles' I was brought up to believe it was only the hardened crackpots on either side that were involved.
Its clear this was false.
The example of Simon Varadkar rising to the SF bait and making Brexit a sectarian red liner hasn’t helped but that is covered in another forum.
I couldn't agree with that sentiment. I think any Taoiseach will duly raise the concern of a prospective return to a border in Ireland.
The political void at Stormont was in no way responsible for this killing
Not directly, but the political void feeds into the dissident narrative that power sharing and political accommodation is only a sticking plaster and that ultimately it wont work.
Dissidents hate political accommodation.
Exactly. Because the longer it prevails the more embedded it becomes, isolating and diminishing their narrative. Meaning, the political void at Stormont is, indirectly, responsible for this killing.
We should also note that the rate of innocent victims of criminal gangs is at least as high in the normal civilized South as it is in the North.
Very good point, and feeds into the outlook of Lyra McKee wanting a better life. By that, she meant a society with access to education, healthcare, employment prospects, non-discrimination.
When individuals (or even entire communities) feel disgruntled it is not unsurprising that over time, young people will fall into the circles of criminal activity.
it really sticks in my craw the (SF) narrative that there were three of them in it, the IRA, the Loyalists and the Brits.
I think there are more than three actors. I think the entire political class across both islands, to lesser and greater degrees, need to step up.
I don't buy into fake outrage over SF not taking seats in Westminster from political parties who actively abstain from Westminster elections in Northern Ireland.
I was heartened to see Teresa May attending Lyra McKees funeral, I think that showed real leadership. It was completely at odds with the next potential PM, Boris Johnson, who was lauding over the arrest of journalist Julian Assange in London but was mute with regard to the murder of a journalist on streets of UK in Derry.
The socio-economic issues and sectarian divisions in Northern Ireland are not matters for SF/DUP, or republican/loyalist alone. They are broader and deeper than that. They are for all of Britain and Ireland.
Personally I think NI is a failed state (in societal terms).
It hasnt worked in one hundred years and I dont think it has any prospect of working long-term.
I come from a background of supporting a 32 county socialist Irish republic, but I also have to accept now that such a prospect is no longer attainable without further violent conflict - to which I am vehemently opposed.
A new political arrangement, encompassing compromise across Britain and Ireland is required;
- a return to British commonwealth under an All-Ireland parliament?
- An All-Ireland Senate encompassing the affairs and participation of Stormont and Leinster Hse under the British Crown?
- Grassroots, non-sectarian All-Ireland and British political activism?
- Political party re-alignment, between North and South, East and West?
The discussions have to start, somewhere. Keeping the status quo of a Nationalist/Unionist divide in NI, and hoping they will all get along, is futile, is political abandonment, is political cowardice and political failure.