250,000 loyalists maybe to have a party
Again, differing views. They donât have to disown the past, but if they want to tell us the past is the past we are broken from it, we are a 32 county legitimate political party, then go and do it. The party is and should be bigger than some old republican heads feeling miffed that SF party leadership didnât turn up at an IRA funeral. Mary Lou should be able to say to auld ra heads, thanks for your service lads, we donât disown you, but your time is in the past, we are not connected to you, and the party is a lot bigger than those connections now.
The cult of the dead never sat easy with me when it came to Sinn Fein ⌠I like what the party are at going forward but as much as I could understand some of the triggers (no pun intended) of the past, I dont see much point in glorifying it now ⌠In Storeyâs case, he only just died and was a major figure in the campaign and peace process so I have no issue with them going to his funeral - would have been a bit hypocritical to just distance themselves from the man ---- the problem is how they remember the past. We all need to own our truth, good and bad, but glorifying it in cult status serves no purpose in the long run.
I think thatâs where the party will and is running into big issues when it comes to North/ South supporters âŚparticularly newer supporters in the South.
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Thatâs fine but you didnât grow up in the O6.
There were many republicans who made selfless sacrifices to try and build a better life for their people, there are legacy issues there from the past, some terrible acts were committed but the situation and environment at the time was toxic and these men and women put their people and the future of their people ahead of themselves.
These guys spent their lives on the run, looking over the shoulders, had attempts on their lives, time in prison, not able to spend time with their wives and loved ones, not able to build a career for themselves - a normal life was going to be difficult with the political situation at the time for Catholic in the north but some sort of normality or fulfillment could have been achieved if they took the status quo. Their sacrifices have led to a better north for nationalists and a society that is more progressive than they grew up, itâs not perfect but the cause still exists just in different methods more suited to the current situation.
Guys like @glasagusban wouldnât appreciate that. The past is important.
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Spot on. Although i still disagree on storey. Yes arguably he had an influence for good to some degree but he wasnât a politician and so shouldnât be honoured as such.
Thatâs all grand. Thanks for your service lads, we respect it, your time is past, the party is now much bigger than you, move aside.
The past is important but in the 06 you have two versions of the past so celebrating one over the other will never lead to anything meaningful - thatâs the problem in the long run.
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It seems like a very superficial thing to be holding back a vote for
I donât think itâs superficial at all.
Youâre only giving out about the optics of it from what I can see.
I agree with what youâre doing lads but it might make me look bad if I vote for ye.
Superficial
Why?
The past and the dedication and sacrifices these people made is more important than the views of an impressionable 20 something liberal who never had to grow up in a society that openly resented them.
So should the orange order be banned from their marches?
Itâs not about optics. Is the ira stuff in the past and SF is a legitimate independent political party with all links to crime and paramilitarism broken, or not? These things do matter.
Going to a funeral isnât a crime
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Thatâs a view. For me if they want to be the biggest party in Ireland and lead a government they should be strong enough to not be linked to the ira any more. Good luck and thanks lads, weâre much bigger than you and weâre moving on.
The Orange Order itself needs a complete overhaul â There a re marches in the south and on the border that go off with out any trouble or sectarianism and for many Orangemen they are marching out of tradition and shared culture rather than bigotry and hatred that we often see in working class areas of Belfast.
I never said it was. If thatâs the level you want to dumb it down to thereâs little point discussing it with you really.
So what exactly is your problem with them attending funerals then?
This is just a silly post.
The funny thing is in this case Mary lou could have had a win win by not attending the funeral because of social distancing âstanding with those who have also had to miss loved ones funerals, bla blaâ. As a few people have said thereâs not many of these big name republican lads left whose funeral sheâd have to go to. It would have been the proverbial âgood excuseâ to avoid the inevitable bad press. It was a definite political mistake by them but not the end of the world either.
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