Re: LOVE march
ubiquitous said:
The above statements are ludicrous. The people who will be participating in this march (or at least their spokesmen) have emphasised clearly that they are taking their case to a neighbouring country. They would be the last people to claim that they are somehow affiliated to this State.
My statement is not ludicrous. In fact, my comment is along the lines of what you're saying. Please reread the statement, and you'll see that I made no comment regarding what these protesters are saying, or not saying. I was merely responding to someone elses comment, who claimed that we were all one country.
ubiquitous said:
The argument about "people from a foreign country" coming here to protest is particularly risible. There is a long tradition of "foreigners" coming here to hold public protests on various issues, human rights in Nigeria, and the anti-apartheid cause in South Africa being two notable examples.
Again, you're off track, ubiquitous. Were these Nigerians and South Africans that you speak of demonstrating in Dublin being bussed or trained in for a few hours from Lagos and Cape Town in order to walk up O'Connell Street holding a few placquards, and then going back home for tea and crumpets?
Or, as I suspect, were they refugees from the country in question, living in Ireland because of the poor state of their own country?
ubiquitous said:
If anyone wants to come here from abroad to protest against the Danish cartoons or indeed the war in Iraq, I don't see any problem in them doing so, once they have the required clearance from the local authorities/Garda etc to do so.
I disagree. If they live in a state where protest and free expression is banned or restricted, then possibly there's a justification for opening up our thoroughfares for such protests, such as your Nigerians and South Africans above.
But if they live in a country where free speech and the right to protest is unqualified, as these protesters at the weekend do, then why would we want them or allow them to protest on our streets. They're perfectly free to do it on their own streets.
Particularly when they're protesting about something that's happening in their own country and nothing to do with what's happening in our country. As can be seen from the comments above, this protest is a pure and unadulterated attempt at provocation. Nothing more.
ubiquitous said:
Would you prefer if we shut our doors, our eyes and our ears to the Unionist population north of the border?
Nope. If they protest on the streets of Belfast about whatever they're protesting about, I'll read and consider whatever it is they have to say. They don't have to be "in my face" by protesting in my own city.
ubiquitous said:
What hope then will we ever have of reconciliation and peace on this island? God knows, we were a blinkered, insular Catholic state for long enough...
Reconciliation does not equal pandering, which is something that Bertie should take note of.
