I listened aghast to this 5 minute paean to the ritual humiliation of Her Majesty the Queen otherwise known as the Irish State Visit. Royal Correspondent Peter Hunt demonstrated a lamentable lack of objectivity, parroting the government propaganda line that this four day event has been transformational.
Included in the interviews was one with a certain Jackie McDonald, a self styled “Brigadier” in the loathsome terrorist group, the UDA. That organisation slaughtered hundreds of innocents and has been (and remains) up to its scrawny neck in every form of criminality. Mr McDonald was invited into the Queen’s presence as proof of how we have all “moved on” (except the victims and their families) Sanitising terrorism is at the heart of what was being celebrated in Dublin and yet no voice is allowed on the BBC to explain this perspective.
Hunt talked of the Queen’s magnaminity – written for her, of course, by Hague’s F.O. wordsmiths. He seemed to overlook the total lack of contriteness on behalf of the Irish President who managed to neatly avoid saying anything that was even remotely like an apology despite the fact her Government funded the IRA, gave sanctuary to the IRA, Lord Mountbatten was killed in the Republic, and even most recently, the Irish Government was partly bailed out by the UK. No apologies, No word of thanks or appreciation for Osborne’s largesse – and he BBC’s hordes of “analysts” all flown over to Dublin at our expense simply missed these dimensions to the story since they do not synch with the narrative THEY want to put across. This past few days has been the coronation of the corrupting Belfast Agreement – a process which inverted common decency, saw convicted murderers set free, and saw the IRA installed in the government of Northern Ireland. This is tres chic in political circles and the BBC has been to the fore in evangelising for the process. Yet not ONE country around the world has chosen to follow such a loathsome process – I’m sure the BBC are puzzled at this. I’m not but then again I’m not a BBC stool pigeon.
Of course, such is the ideology of BBC-NUJ that it is politically natural to support Hamas, Hezbollah and the IRA.
David,
I have always been puzzled as to why so many people in the World make special allowances for the ( catholic ) Irish. If I were Irish, I would feel humiliated by that.
It’s just that as a small country on the edge of Europe the irish have never been in a position to create enemies. They are generally a warm and friendly people with a love of language, religion, tea and strong drink. For centuries they suffered under British rule which was cruel and oppressive and most people who learn about it are sympathetic. They are quite handy at music, rugby and cricket but never get too full of themselves. What’s not to like about them? 😉
Maybe you should ask why people do not make allowances for the english?
Fred,
I didn’t say I didn’t like them !
It’s not the actual Irish that special allowances are made for since, after all, most people in the world will never encounter one. It is, rather that construction of the USA generally, and Hollywood specifically, the “Oirish”.
“Top o’ the morning to ye !”
“To be sure, to be sure.”
“Ah, ’tis yourself that would be kissing the Blarney stone.”
“Well, I wouldn’t start from here.”
Leprechauns, shillelaghs, poitin, colleens, the craic, Guinness , combative drunks etc etc as a nation is reduced to a theme park of jolly cliches.
Crucially in this rosy view, everybody Oirish is indeed (per Frederick here) “warm and friendly”, which means that (since we’re not talking about an actual race of people here) it’s a sort of global ‘second identity’ that anybody can adopt to show that they, too, are warm, pleasant, friendly and fond of a good time (“a good craic”) as exemplified by the worldwide green horror of “St Paddy’s Day”, which apparently didn’t use to be much of an occasion in Ireland ’til they quite recently imported the American version of their own day in all its grisly splendour.
This sums it up (or down): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX-J6lcZZw4.
As for your question re:the English , Frederick, that’s perfectly simple. As a people we’ve tended historically to be quite successful. Success breeds resentment. Lots of success breeds resentment squared. Perfectly simple.
Buggy,
Well said and spot on !
True enough, Buggy. Even Irish lawfirms here advertise with a fighting Leprechaun logo. And don’t forget that other US staple, the Oirish policeman. Although that part is at least based on reality.
Good gawd ! Is it just me, or does that look startlingly like Gerry Adams ?
It would have been nicer if the peace process had left John Hume and David Trimble in power. However, as one side went extreme so did the other and we are where we are. That’s democracy! ;-(
To say no-one else did this “loathsome process” is not entirely accurate. After all, didn’t Nelson Mandela (ex-“terrorist” to some) become president of South Africa. It would have been perhaps a good idea to have a truth and reconciliation procedure in NI but then again that might have just raised everyone’s blood level.
Also, look at Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia, I am no expert but I suspect that some of their current leaders or their colleagues had involvement in the wars of separation and possible war crimes.
Unfortunately NI needs to wait for a generation for these ex-killers to get old and retire and to “normalise” its politics. Until then we have to hold our noses.
Much as you dislike the queen’s visit, I think it was a PR coup and will do much to soften the views of people in the republic towards england and will hasten the normalisation process I mentioned above.
I am beginning to think that I am the only person in the UK who noticed that on the first day of Her Majesty’s visit our National Anthem was played in the wrong key at least twice. Nice subtle insult.
Anders,
Strange indeed, especially as the Irish are so famous for their music.
Be fair, DV, Mark Simpson snuck through a vox pops bit on the day where a woman mentioned the bailout. But I think she got away with it.
nice to see the unionionst point of view again.
i thought this was a site that was against bias.
because my reading is that this site is pretty strongly pro ulter unionists and displays a rather unpleasantly discrimination and bias against cathloics and the south of ireland.
that why i only pop onto this site now and then. i also despise the left wing bias at the BBC. but as a right wing libertarian neither do i find it the constant nastiness directed towards the irish independence movement very edifying either. all irish independency advocates appear to be lumped in with the IRA. who i have no time for but to my mind the UDA and its cohorts were no better. but they dont seem to get the flack that the IRA gets.
this site seems more about promoting a particular ideological point of view rather that addressing BBC bias.
shame – a lost opportunity.
Kevin, you are obviously misreading David Vance’s blog. He’s attacking the Unionist terrorist “Brigadier” even more than the Nationalist ones. I would say that shows objectivity and not bias.
I think you’ll find that any nastiness is generally not directed at the Irish Republic or the Irish themselves but at the pro-unification movement and its support from the biased BBC.
Kevin,
If you only pop into this site “now and again” how would you know ?
The “Irish question” doesn’t come up that often. When it does, some posters point out that the BBC is biased towards unification and the IRA, as it always has been, and portrays the Ulster Unionists as backward bigots. It is a classic piece of bias which is what this site is all about.
To be fair, DV is unionist and he lives in Ulster, unlike probably most contributors here; he is honest and he makes no secret of his position. However, he does condemn UDA and UVF etc as well as IRA. Sometimes there are comments by others that do appear as you say anti-Irish rather than about Beeboid bias. People post what they want to here and you cannot expect to agree with everything. I certainly don’t and I am certain that not everyone agrees with me either.
Well said, Millie.
It is the lack of censorship, differences of opinion, quality of many of the contributions, depth of knowledge of many contributors and the sense of humour which draws me to this excellent website time and again.
Keep up the good work BBBC bloggers !
As a typical child of Irish immigrants, I was brought up on too much guff and sentiment from the plastic paddies that let other kids die for their liberal pretensions. Typical Guardian phonies-so as a reformed one, I hate the mindset of these fakes!
They infest the airwaves-and their view of the Irish is deeply insulting and wrong headed…Thatcher and Fitzgerald proved to be right in comparison to the grandstanding expedient fakes like Mowlem and Blair!
That the Beeb continues to fawn around the Mary Robinsons and Bertie Ahearns is typical liberal elite patronage.
A slew of odious Witchells and Edwards follow in train to read lazy liberal scripts written by Mills and O` Boon, and what they describe as “significant” and transforming” is nothing of the sort. Adams and McGuinness still ooze their smarm and,like Salmond: won`t settle for this little taste of power. Being wrong and violent got them their results and there is plenty more to come-Islam can only learn from how to ensure their “hand of history” is on our throats for a while yet. The BBC will play their soothing music in the meantime…but we know the game,and won`t let them get away with it so easily!
cj,
If I may say so that is one of your finest posts here. I doff my hat to you, sir !
It’s not just the terrorism. Jailing single mothers? Sweetheart deals from the Bank of Backhanders? Condolences on the Fuhrer’s death? The Republic has been on the wrong side of just about every issue in the world, but the same BBC which is on a constant state of Blue Alert for any sign of right-wing extremism or creeping theocracy in the UK can’t muster a single critical word about Oirland.
The same BBC that witters endlessly about human rights, civilised behaviour and international law will throw it all under the bus when its time to carry water for a Certified Brit Hater.
Compare and contrast the constant references to child abuse when the Pope visited the UK, to the BBC’s silence on the Irish government’s less than stelllar record here. Ditto, unlike certain countries beginning with ‘I’, the BBC will never raise the issue of a ‘right of return’ for the Protestant 15% of the Republic’s population who were ethnically cleansed post-independence. Equally, for the BBC, Dresden was morally dubious, but burning out the Prods just proves the Irish were heroic (and loveable!) freedom fighters.
The BBC’s moral grandstanding is purely tactical. Hatred of Britain is the only consistent theme.
DJ and cj,
Two brilliant posts in succession. This is BBBC at its best.
Where are Dezzie and Scottie when we need them ? Keeping their heads down ?