Twitter (Part 1)

Nope it started with a few lads saying corrupt, self-serving, power mad slimeball Michael Martin was a great man because he had a few personal tragedies

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Iā€™ll never accept that bombing your own cities is the way to go but Iā€™ll leave it there

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When it comes to imperialism history has repeated itself many many many time over. The only way impoverished people can really force the hands of their colonial masters is through bloodshed and drawing the powers that be into long drawn out conflict with many casualties- both justifiable casualties in the eyes of the rebellious forces like occupying forces and innocent civilian casualties as collateral damage through guerrilla warfare tactics which look to weaken the imperialists economies and draw them into long running conflicts which take a toll both financially and politically for the imperialists

The occupied six
Appartide South Africa
The Mujahadin in Afghanistan against the Soviets
The Vietnam War
Philippines revolts against both Spain and the US
Cuban revolution
and so on and so forth.

That doesnā€™t make the killing of innocent people justified but this is not a black and white topic by any means. Some will be appalled by it, others will argue that it was a price that had to be paid for a greater good. Personally I would find it odd that someone would come down on the side of imperialists when it comes to these types of debates or would say that the ends justify the means in South Africa but not in the Occupied Six or Puerto Rico or Vietnam or that the rebels overstepped the mark in the measures taken to free their homelands

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You donā€™t understand war.

Thereā€™s no chartered agreement of terms you sign up to. Itā€™s just regrettable that northern nationalists were left to fend for themselves against this loyalist pogrom and I think the Provos can be very proud of how they conducted themselves when you look at similar civil conflicts throughout the globe.

I donā€™t understand bombing innocent people in your own cities, agreed

Iā€™m going to sound like an idiot but i donā€™t know much this stuff. Why were brits happy to sign off on the 26 in the 20s and then go to war to keep the last 6 for the bones of fifty years? Was it the Ira killing their soldiers or something else?

But you understand shooting innocent civilians in your own cities?

Bizarre

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I donā€™t. Where did I say that? FFS

Oh right?

You just mentioned bombings.

You must have been dead set against the 1916 rising happening on this island. We really should have held it in Leeds or Sheffield in hingsight.

How can you compare the bottom three, occupation by foreign armies, with the top two, a struggle for rights by a community?

Unless you think afrikaners or ulster protestants who have lived in those countries for hundreds of years are ā€˜occupiersā€™ or imperialists

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The O6 was occupied by a foreign army also.

No it wasnā€™t. Tread carefully here now, were the ra protecting their community, somewhat justifiable, or driving occupiers into the sea? In a statelet where the majority have always desired to remain part of the UK

Anybody going to take this ?

The majority of the people in northern Ireland were british subjects and happy to remain that way

Thatā€™s a fair point in fairness. It was a one-off on that scale though

Not really, look at the civilian loss in life in the ensuing War of Independence and Civil Wars which were all carried out on this island. They lasted about what 6 years? The Troubles went on for a good 30.

Not really. No different to despots/dictatorships being overthrown in their own land to imperialism to foreign occupying forces in a disputed zone - they are different shades of gray when it comes to rebellions. People will only put up with being downthrodden for so long before pushing back and history has shown that when they do they will do whatever is deemed necessary to to force establishments hand. History has shown that for the most part it is almost impossible to break that type of will in rebellious forces barring the powers that be coming back at them with even more aggression and callousness.

for the love of God start the hurling!

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There is no comparison of russians rolling into Afghanistan and ulster protestants in a majority of the population forming a government there. The latter isnt despotism.

If you believe thats what the ira were doing, fighting an occupier, then they surrendered entirely without achieving their goal.

Would there be as much conflict in the Gaza Strip if Palestinians had the same civil rights as Israelis and their land wasnā€™t be encroached on? Would we have had the same troubles in the north if they hadnā€™t brought in measures to remove civil rights from the catholic/nationalist community? This is a theme the world over.

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