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This is Unionism eating itself. A short thread.
I had long seen myself as a temporary Unionist Republican. I strongly dislike the term ‘sides’ & have never considered myself to be part of one or another. I have many friends of many persuasions. From staunch republicans .. 1/12
I had long seen myself as a temporary Unionist Republican. I strongly dislike the term ‘sides’ & have never considered myself to be part of one or another. I have many friends of many persuasions. From staunch republicans .. 1/12
of various religious backgrounds & none, dyed in the wool unionists (same thing about religion) with a whole mix in the middle including the politically agnostic. I can safely say that Emerson’s words do nothing to enhance any of their unionism. If anything, the opposite. 2/12
There will be many who read it and think ‘Yes, he’s saying what we think’ but those people never needed persuading on their position on the union. That’s just echo chamber soap boxing. The likes of Jim Allister will be pulling themselves around the bathroom reading it but ..3/12
it will only alienate others. I see no practical & inclusive promotion of the union so if the shift is only going one way then what state does that leave unionism other than in terminal decline. I must point out here that I didn’t read the article. The headline told me .. 4/12
everything I needed to know, i.e. ‘I have no wish to read that’. It’s Westboro Baptist’s on a grander scale. People are turning away in their droves & have been for decades. I’ve lived in east Belfast for about 20 years. The mini-twelfth used to take 2-3 hours to pass my .. 5/12
house and the streets would have been cleared of cars. The last few years it’s been about 45 minutes and it would be less if bands didn’t stop outside the catholic primary school -which coincidentally boasts the only flag on the street- to play the sash. A friend who .. 6/12
quit playing in a band 25 years ago explained that he wanted nothing to do with it any more because of the blatant bigotry. “It’s all just a bunch of knuckle dragging Pope kickers nowadays. There’s hardly any accordions or real Lambegs left. Just flutes flags and a piss up”. 7/12
Emerson’s words should embarrass unionism. I don’t care for SF but to liken them & republicans as a whole to a puppy needing it’s nose clipped with a newspaper for a stray pee is disingenuous when the largest unionist party is continuously shitting the bed then walking it .. 8/12
all over the carpet. Not only that. That ‘puppy’ weilds the same amount of power. The supremacist nature of that headline is the talk of 50 years ago. “This is our wee country. You can stay but you’re not allowed on the sofa”. There’s a blind eye turned to this kind of .. 9/12
rhetoric & in turn the decline of support for the union. The demographics are changing & instead of seeking common ground unionists like Emerson are determined to sew division. It’s not working. Some of those divided will stay that way. Many more will move with the times. 10/12
Crocodile comments from Foster bit her on the ass and this is no different. Unionism needs forward thinkers & needs to become inclusive or it’ll just fade away. It’s leaders & commentators are doing its people a disservice by not only ignoring its decline but actively .. 11/12
encouraging it by turning away the people that it needs on board to sustain it. It honestly seems to me that those most in support of the union are doing the most damage to it. We have equality. If one’s a puppy, so’s the other. Only one of them is biting its own tail though. End
Just one little thing to add to this.
Here’s Foster, the de facto ‘leader of unionism’ in NI putting forth her tuppence worth on how to shore up the union...
...Cricket and more flags...
Yip-fucking-pee.. Where do I sign.....? https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2019/08/05/news/dup-leader-arlene-foster-endorses-think-tank-report-which-calls-for-live-test-cricket-to-return-to-terrestial-tv-as-part-of--1677514/">https://www.irishnews.com/news/nort...
Here’s Foster, the de facto ‘leader of unionism’ in NI putting forth her tuppence worth on how to shore up the union...
...Cricket and more flags...
Yip-fucking-pee.. Where do I sign.....? https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2019/08/05/news/dup-leader-arlene-foster-endorses-think-tank-report-which-calls-for-live-test-cricket-to-return-to-terrestial-tv-as-part-of--1677514/">https://www.irishnews.com/news/nort...
