Thread by @Tressish, It is difficult for me to process what is happening in America [...]

It is difficult for me to process what is happening in America right now.
The shooting that took place in Wisconsin last night, 2 people dead at the hands of a 17 year old & whatever reasons are being listed on any side
The best way I can describe this from my experience is this

Living through the troubles in Ireland, raising my wane through it I struggle with all sorts of conflicts when looking at an absolutely needed revolutionary change and often how it is brought about. So let me break it down a little:

When people talk about the IRA or even just the Irish who stood up & defended themselves from an army which killed its people it can be complicated.
Because context is everything.
When you live under the boot of an oppressive people who take your lands refuse to let you work,

Spit on your children, pursue you relentlessly because of your religion, racism, sectarianism, never ending violence, eventually people fight back
The thing is it tends to be those who fight back that are vilified.
I remember how it felt. I felt filthy. Hated. Less than nothing

I have a farm on the Foyle so smuggling, war efforts, crime, attacks were often on my front door step. Because the Foyle was the separation line there.
We were frequently shot at, violently check stopped repeatedly anytime we left our property. Our home raided over and over

Never an end in sight. In my head I could never understand what we had done to be so hated. So targeted. Or be such a threat against a well armed massive army that they needed to pick us off one by one. Makes laws that left us so disenfranchised we couldn’t survive

When civilians rose up, defied those laws, those disenfranchisements, started fighting against those that spent decades breaking our backs ... they called us terrorists. Violent aggressors that only wished harm on others and needed to be snuffed out. . . Wtf?

What were people supposed to do? Decades of talking and bargaining and begging and dying hadn’t achieved a damn thing. Globally we felt alone, isolated, unrepresented and fearful of a slow genocide.
Fighting back became the last resort. Not the first. And it spiralled.

The fighting empowered many people to die of their own choice basically. You’re killing me anyway so I might as well fight while I can before you do.
This mentality grew with rage and formalised into militias of sorts. People who took it to every extreme whatever the cost

Because we had nothing left. We tried everything else.

So here I am today standing in a pile of new media watching America turn into what literally is the Troubles here.

We’re talking about a revolution. And I don’t know of any revolutions where life isn’t lost.

Im really struggling writing this. I have to keep stopping to sob & remind myself that I possess a knowledge, an experience that needs to be put into words.

Let’s address the human factor in this all from my experience to this new one transpiring.

There were more Irish and British people who just wanted everything to stop. Likely both sides just wanted some sort of peace
Some probably wanted things to go back to the way they were. Not likely the Irish folk. But fairly some would have settled on that vs the constant warring

But just stopping it and letting it all go meant that the Irish would remain tormented, punished and unrepresented. Marginalised, murdered, it wasn’t an option anymore.

The days of being told that change was coming had passed. Being told violence wasn’t the answer became moot

Because there were no answers. They didn’t want us to have any rights, representations, education or survivability, generally you become what we want and accept you will always be less than us, you can’t have what we have, only what we tell you you can have... that was untenable

The day would never come that we could peacefully achieve any right to live as equal human beings.
This went on for so long that it truly became a both sides issue. Retaliations right and wrong blurred lines ... extreme polarisation no way back to any common ground. Violence

Violence & outright warring brought it to a close. Mounting bodies & such egregious heinous crimes against each other brought the worlds ire.
I can’na even make sense of it.
Please for the love of Christ tell me what a proportional response is to having your family murdered

Escalation was an understatement. No one trusted anyone. Not even their own side. It became an inquisition of violently enforced morality. “If you’re not with us... you are with them”. All or nothing.

We couldn’t even police our own radicals because the fear of death was real

Let alone deal with their radicals who were militarily armed and charged with a righteousness and a world stage that didn’t punish their tactics or intervene.
All we had was violence left.

And it cost us. And them. We paid in blood and so did they.

So what am I writing?

I guess I’m telling you... you are in trouble. You are in The Troubles. You are in a civil war, a revolution ... call it what you will but it’s here. It’s now and the bodies are mounting.

Desperation has seeped deep within the roots and generations of your kin.

Those that refuse change or will not let change happen NOW have set the battle lines.

Logic no longer applies. It’s emotional fury in most hearts... some armed with peaceful protests, some rioting, some out right murdering, militias formed... sides taken... blood price demanded

If you all wake up tomorrow (my 1998) & agree everyone is equal & start actually making real changes it’s still a long road ahead.
Look at us. Look at Ireland & Northern Ireland.
You still have to outlive every radical who undermines every chance at peace lasting.

You have to deconstruct the narratives, allow some pains to smoulder, then fade...& pray no spark comes to start the flames again
It’s been 20+ years...we are still tiptoeing around our revolution in Ireland. It’s still mostly unresolved. It’s small tiny steps that take lifetimes

The hurt is still visceral, tangible. We’ve not made huge strides. Although we have made some exceptional strides they have been hard fought, hard won & not enough. But I suppose enough to not demand a blood price again. Yet.
Never again I hope.

You are in a path America.

It’s happening. You’re not almost there ... you are all the way arrived and running head on into civil war.
It’s violent, bloody, and will not achieve an end. Just like ours.
Except America... you are armed with a caliber of force the Irish didn’t have. An arsenal of radicals

That have access to a fury of damage the likes have never been experienced.
A change better be coming or covid won’t be what keeps you in your homes and shutters your businesses. War will. Your war ... against yourselves.

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