The Price of Culture

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 '‘you cannot put a price on culture.’' - Jamie Bryson, interview on Slugger O'Toole http://sluggerotoole.com/2014/03/24/jamie-bryson-a-rebel-without-a-hope/#comments
I'd agree (to a certain extent).

Although, I imagine what passes for Irish Protestant culture in Jamie's eyes differs from mine a tad.

His appears to be wrapped in a Union Flag.

So, what passed for Irish/Ulster Protestant culture before there were such things as the Union Flag/Union, before the paramilitaries, before KTP bands, before the ‘Loyal’ orders or the 12th?
Did we live in some sort of cultural cocoon awaiting the day when we would have something to celebrate or did we have other things to be getting on with?
So I had a dig:


Dancing and fiddling

Of course I had a rough idea about this topic before my half-assed search, my grandparents often spoke of dances down at the Orange hall and they didn’t mean the modern version that sometimes includes some god-awful combo of loyalist anthems, country music and dance (would make yer ears bleed, jeez!).
They were referring to the days of when people would attend social dances at orange halls and dance till daybreak to the music of a melodeon or a fiddle or such like.

My other Granda (a B Special) and his brothers (also B specials) played a full range of folk instruments in their village hall, including some instruments that would now be considered ‘suspect’ or a bit ‘taigy’ e.g. the penny whistle (don’t laugh, you know some of the nutty wans would be offended at a display of something so ‘oirish’).


Fast forward a few decades and there’s hardly any evidence of this.
It’s like there’s been some massive cultural brainwashing.                                                              

Many loyalists would be as blindly ignorant to such goings-on in local Orange halls as Germans neighbouring the various concentration camps of WWII: “what? We heard nahin’”.

For anyone who wants a more qualified and in-depth look at this story I recommend simply looking at some easy to obtain books on Ulster folk culture.

I would like to name a book in particular but as this is a blog for LAD then the more paranoid types would unfairly and uncritically assume that the book is part of the great republican-nationalist-middleclass-Protestant-papist-commie-Chinese-conspiracy and ignore the contents of this book much to their cultural peril.

So, sorry to be vague, but it’s the way of NI’s world: “you have provided proof that we are wrong therefore you are the enemy…”
The author has been looking into this topic for decades and has come up with examples of Orange folk music preservation that have gobsmacked even myself e.g. post-partition Orange halls in County Down were some of the best places to find examples of ‘unadulterated’ Irish folk music on account of their immunity to the influences of the Gaelic League and the Catholic Church (e.g. in the Republic there was a massive overhaul on folk music & dancing and as such house dances were banned, instead dances had to be held in parochial halls with ‘approved’ ceili music).
Orange Halls of Co Down - Home of the craic/crack?
(Image kindly lent by 'How to Start a Fight in an Irish Bar' -
http://howtostartafightinanirishbar.blogspot.com.au/2014_01_01_archive.html )

So, we have the scenario where pro-British Orangemen were dancing to traditional Irish reels and jigs whilst Irish nationalists in neighbouring villages were dancing very much to the tune of something recently contrived, in essence their ‘traditional’ Irish folk dance and music was in fact something very new.
Mental.
Being Northern Ireland I doubt if it was quite so clear cut but it’s certainly something to think about.
So there you have it, Protestants used to sing, dance and make merry in a very traditional Irish manner and latterly the ‘most’ Irish manner (some still do, but it’s almost an ‘underground’ thing).


NOT the 12th
So, what about the 12th of July? Surely that’s been a part of culture for a long time?
Well, yes, but not from the word go as some would suggest.

As most of ye’s know, the Orange Order was formed in 1795 but the celebrations of the British acquisition of the Dutch stock exchange Williamite victory at the Boyne weren’t celebrated for a good while after that. And even then it was mainly an Anglican affair. 

Presbyterians took quite a while to get involved (mid 1800’s roughly speaking), most modern day Presbyterians tend to be quite forgetful regarding the topic of Britain’s attitude and behaviour towards them (Cromwell, the Penal Laws etc…).

Indeed, it’s not a stretch to say that many if not most Presbyterians in the 1790’s were much more concerned with rebelling against the crown than supporting it.


Apprentices: More 'FTP' than YTP?

Apprentice Boys and the Siege of Derry celebrations
Unbelievably (or believably if you have suffered enough of my blogs) this event wasn’t much remembered for a long time and when it did finally make an appearance the first celebrations involved members of the Catholic Church.
Again, a large time gap between the actual event and the celebrations becoming part of a tradition.
Not only that, but a number (if not all) of the original Apprentice Boys spoke some form of Gaelic. Yet more vanished culture.
A respected flag.

So, what about flags?
Well:

Union Flag – Didn’t incorporate Ireland till the 1800’s and it was an unpopular move at the time, so that’s a couple of centuries of doing without it

Ulster Flag – Didn’t come into existence till the 20th century, so that is a relative newcomer.

Independence Flag – Somehow this flag still makes its way into demonstrations by people eager to show their loyalty to an institution that the flag purports to disengage from.
Go figure.
It’s like wearing an IBM or Coca-Cola T-shirt to a Marxist rally…

All in all, the culture of disgracing flags by attaching them to lampposts with gay abandon is something relatively new and perhaps not essential to unionist or Protestant 'culture' after all?

A Gaelic game played by Prods?! Scotland you Lundy!!!!!

Cammanachd
“what?”

I said cammanachd.

The easiest way to describe it would be to think of the Scottish game of Shinty.
Actually, cammanachd is the ancestor of both shinty and hurling, arguably shinty would more closely resemble the old cammanachd on account of its caiman (stick), the hurling stick came from a later summer version of hurling (well, Cammanachd) that gradually supplanted the older version.

Whilst hurling sticks became synonymous with Irish nationalism old Cammanachd (or shinny as it became known) limped on up north, mainly in the Protestant areas.
So there you have it, the last bastion of an old Gaelic game was in Protestant Ulster.

The Old Firm be damned
Other ‘taigy’ activities:

Other suspect activities that were part of Ulster Protestant culture at various points of history include the following points; I’ll only list them as I’ve ranted in greater detail about them previously.

·         Irish/Gaelic

·         Uilleann pipes – Once upon a time they were part and parcel of the culture of ‘gentlemen pipers’ and clergymen

·         Crossroads dancing

WHAT?!!!
·         Bodhran playing - Just like many Protestant folk enthusiasts still do across the water in Scotland 

·         Celebrating St Patrick’s day – Though some still do celebrate it, more are starting to and I THINK there’s an annual Orange parade in Ballymena not to mention Ian Paisley’s enthusiasm for St Pat (he opened his Martyr’s memorial church on St Pat’s day).

It could be argued that those who are arguing most passionately for the preservation of their culture are among the worst offenders with regards to its decline and stagnation.

They have no respect for the old traditions of folk music & dance (resembles ‘Irish’ culture too much), care not a jot for fiddles or ballads, think of the Gaelic languages as ‘foreign’ (despite a tractor trailer load of evidence to the contrary) and would sooner stuff their ears with wax rather than listen to ‘fiddledy dee’ music (unless they’re in Scotland).
Irish music - Taigy (?)



They’re seemingly only interested in preserving their mutant version of Britishness which is not recognised by the majority of folks living in Britain.




Scottish music - Not Taigy (?)
If they put as much effort into preserving the Ulster versions of Gaelic as they do preserving the place of flags in public spaces then Ulster Gaelic would perhaps have less in common with the southern variants.  Who knows, just speculating?




If they had kept up the dancing and fiddling with the enthusiasm they have for marching then perhaps Ulster folk music would not be so ‘Oirish’?

Loyalists and indeed some unionists despise what they see as Irish culture but fail to realise that they are partly responsible for its current incarnation having opted out of its development.

It’s a sad irony for them that Northern Ireland would perhaps be even more culturally detached from the South than it is now had Loyalism not turned its back on its Irish culture.

I’d ask what would happen if loyalism and Orangeism were to re-embrace their lost culture, alas I think I know the answer:

People would see them as ‘Irish’, a price too great for some to pay.

Tragic.

Remember kids, if you're not loyal enough you'll turn into this
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Guest Post: November 30 Uncivil Shites march – There is no absolute right to protest

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GUEST POST

This post has been written by regular contributor Brian John Spencer



Let’s get this very straight. There is no absolute and unabridged right to protest. People like Simon Hamilton who say there is an "absolute right", are very wrong. Yes the land is planted thick with laws which protect our liberty. However, protections also exist that limit liberty, in the event and only in the event, that a person's use of freedom infringes the liberty of other persons.

In a Northern Ireland rapidly advancing in civilization, the whole history of the flags protests has been one of anti-civilisation; of gratuitous and promiscuous violence and vandalism. Of the anti-civilisationists acting to deprive and limit the rights of those who wish to live in civilization with liberty, peace, safety and prosperity. Protest and march after march, loyalists have shown themselves pathologically incapable of marching peaceably or in a manner that is open, decent or even remotely family-friendly.

As Visit Belfast found out from some very unfortunate tourists, it's been the consummate jungle and booze filled circus. (And let's come back to that matter in a later day, that the 12th has degenerated into a festival of piss (preface here).)

And on this matter the precedent has been set: loyalist protesters exercise their liberty at the expense of society's liberty. This cannot stand. We cannot tolerate this. Their violent experiment has been tried and they will continue it upon us at the expense of our liberty. 

On these grounds, I can present the argument that these marches should be heavily restricted in way that is in accordance with the law, and in a way that is neither an indiscriminate or disproportionate restriction on a person’s right to protest. 

Here's the European law:
Article 11 – Freedom of assembly and association 
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests. 
2. No restrictions shall be placed on the exercise of these rights other than such as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. This article shall not prevent the imposition of lawful restrictions on the exercise of these rights by members of the armed forces, of the police or of the administration of the State. 
By virtue of Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights you possess the liberty to protest by holding meetings and demonstrations with other people.

By virtue of Article 11 you possess the responsibility to act peacefully and without violence or threat of violence.

On the balance of rights and responsibilities, the right to protest may be restricted provided such interference has a proper legal basis, is necessary in a democratic society and pursues one of the following recognized and legitimate aims:
– National security
– Public safety
– The prevention of disorder or crime
– The protection of health or morals
– The protection of the rights and freedoms of others.
Any interference in the Article 11 right must not only be justifiable, but necessary. 

Here's domestic law:

There are a number of legislative provisions which allow the restriction or prosecution of public protest. Provisions such as offences under the Public Order (Northern Ireland) Order 1987, the Protection from Harassment (Northern Ireland)Order 1997, the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Anti-social Behaviour Act2003. 

In the event of breaching the terms of any parade set by the Parades Commission, this is a crime under the Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998.

In the event that a person incites another person to disobey a Parades Commission ruling, that person can be charged with inciting a breach of a ruling as a specific offence under the Public Order Act.

The argument:

Now, I submit myself to my honest and honorable readers: Do loyalists march peacefully, without violence or threat of violence? Do they compromise our national security? Do they compromise public safety? Do they promote disorder and crime? Do they pervert the freedoms of others? Do they unleash fear and uncertainty writ large across the whole of Belfast?



I take leave to submit that Loyalists have consistently violated every single one of these elementary duties they owe towards their fellow citizen. Newton Emerson agreed. He said in the Sunday Times here that "Flag protesters have rode roughshod over all these concerns and it is irresponsible to indulge any notion of their “right” to do so."

By that fact, the simple case should be made that this coming march should be heavily restricted if not banned.

By the Loyalist precedent for violence, I suggest that there is an imminent likelihood that Saturday's peace and prosperity will be breached. On the balance of liberties, I submit that Loyalist protesters will hold sway over the city and hold much of civic society hostage by their delinquency.

Because of our indulgence of them, Loyalism has constructed a hideous mentality of Loyalist exceptionalism. That they can act with impunity and that they’re immune from the laws we must subscribe to. Call them out and you get more rioting. Call them out and you get accused of police brutality. This is a hideous distortion.

They have also constructed some disgusting grievance culture. That they have it hard in a way unlike any one else. Catholics and nationalists have it hard. Moderate loyalists and unionists have it hard. These are challenging times for us all. You would think that beyond the walls of loyalism lies a utopia. This is babyish babble.

Now ladies and gentlemen, what are we to do? I suggest we take a stand and offer a modicum of civic opposition. Loyalism wields arbitrary power over a civil majority in Northern Ireland. They make grand, abstract claims. No power can exist unchecked. Grand claims cannot go out unopposed.

They can have their protest this week. But I suggest something changes. Friends, I beseech you. They will repeat their foul experiment upon us. As long as we let them. Stop appeasing this horrendous nonsense. It's time to stand up and oppose these squalid little bigots who masquerade themselves as civil rights protesters and call them out for what they are: uncivil shites. Use the law as it exists. Lodge complaints. Campaign against this shower of loyalist incontinence.
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Guest post: LAD may not be middle class, but their attitudes are.

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GUEST POST

This is a guest post from a new contributor Ed Simpson

Ed contacted us to request that we post his response to another guest post that previously appeared on our blog entitled 'An Anus Horeebliss'.

Whilst we don't necessarily agree with all of the content of this article, we are happy to feature an alternative point of view.

This is the opening paragraph from a post by a contributor to the Loyalists Against Democracy blog:

“December 3rd 2013 signals the first anniversary of the restrictions placed on the flying of the Union flag at Belfast City Hall, a decision so incredibly benign that the overblown reaction to it could only spring from a place as barking mad as Northern Ireland.”

You can read the rest of the post here and it’s worth a read but, I generally think it’s misguided and ignorant. I could go through it line by line but I think I’ll concentrate on this first paragraph because it is, like much of the content LAD produce (though they didn’t produce this), a good example of the attitude that pervades their work.

They refer to the decision to restrict the flying of the Union Flag to designated days as ‘so incredibly benign.’ To whom is it benign? All the evidence suggests that it was far from benign.

It wasn’t benign to the Loyalist community. Not in the least. As much as people like to apportion blame to the DUP and the UUP for stirring up trouble (and they certainly must take some of the blame), it’s incredibly arrogant to suggest that Loyalists were a) ignorant of the planned vote and b) needed the DUP & the UUP to tell them how much to be upset about it.

It wasn’t benign to the Nationalist/Republican community. Sinn Fein – who LAD quite sincerely claim were defeated on the night – were rumoured to have had a celebration party after the vote. An Phoblacht recorded the flag coming down – keen to capture the significant moment. SF Council Leader at the time, Jim McVeigh said:

“Perhaps more than any other, this symbolises the process of change taking place across the city of Belfast and within the City Hall. Sinn Fein has become the biggest party across Belfast and we have used that strength to push ahead with the equality agenda. This decision is a milestone. This is part of our strategy to make City Hall a City Hall for everyone and every tradition, not least the republican and nationalist tradition.”

Republicans and Nationalists speaking after the flag was taken down talked of how important it was that the city was a shared space for all and that an inequality had been addressed.

That’s not the markings of a benign decision, is it? In fact, is it really even benign to LAD when it seems to be their key reason for marking out the pro-choice, pro-equal marriage PUP as a regressive party? Yes, they are right to point out the change in tune from the PUP over their position on the flag and hold them to account for it. They may well decide that it casts doubts on the PUP claim as a progressive party. But if that’s the case, it’s not really a benign issue is it?

Regardless of whether it was actually benign or not, the attitude that others should see it as benign is what is unsettling. This and other such attitudes – telling Jamie Bryson to get a job – are what I refer to as a ‘middle class attitude.’ An attitude of ‘those beneath me are the problem and the way they stop being a problem is to be like me.’

Why call it a middle class attitude? Because it is most often presented by people who are sitting in a position of relative privilege. The phrase ‘Get a Job’ is almost only ever said by those who are lucky enough to actually have a job. Those desperate for work would never suggest getting a job as an easy solution to a problem. In this climate, it’s not the class you were born into that is relevant, but your circumstances. Having a job and qualifications are pretty much all you need to be in that position of privilege.

That’s not to say LAD are middle class – I have no idea who they are so couldn’t possibly label them as such – but their attitudes certainly are.

I understand that it’s not easy these days to assign class to people and in many ways that’s a good thing, but we’re kidding ourselves if we pretend class groups don’t exist and there’s undeniably a class group that thinks itself superior to Loyalism and the majority of Loyalists. It’s plain to see in the mocking of poor grammar and spelling. In the mocking of the clothes people wear. In the mocking of the accents people talk with. That class group doesn’t need to be made up of people in similar socio-economic circumstances; they just need to display the same attitudes.

To be absolutely clear: there is nothing wrong with being middle class, working class or even upper class, it’s the attitudes I take exception to.

My issue is that I think those attitudes are detrimental to society. We won’t get anywhere by alienating people. We need to make people feel equal within society, people need to know that what’s important to them is for them to decide and for us to respect, with the obvious caveat that it shouldn’t be detrimental for others. There’s no doubt that the approach by some factors in Loyalism aren’t meeting that criteria and it’s right that they’re criticised, but that criticism needs to be measured and it needs to offer solutions beyond telling them to ‘wise up’.

LAD will say, and have said, that that is not their responsibility and so be it. But they shouldn’t condemn others for trying. They have said on occasions that some of the behaviour and actions of some who claim to represent Loyalism would have David Irvine spinning in his grave. They might well do, but I’d wager he’d have a bigger problem with the way LAD conduct themselves.

I didn’t want this to be an attack piece on LAD – I’m not immune to their humour, and it’s right that the likes of Jamie Bryson and Willie Frazer are held up as the backward and dangerous idiots that they are, but for all the good LAD can do on that particular score, it is undone by the way they apply that same approach to anyone who disagrees with their view on things.

We like to try and pretend our problems are unique in Northern Ireland but that’s self-indulgent nonsense. Our problems are rooted in class warfare, as are most countries, and they’re best addressed by attacking the systems that perpetuate them – the fallacy of Grammar school social mobility, being one – not the people who suffer under it.

For the record, I pretty much agree with LAD on the fact that the flag not being flown every day doesn’t represent an attack on the civil rights of Loyalists. I don’t support the reasons for the ‘civil rights’ camp at Twaddell, though I do support their right to protest. The flag protests are not the cause of our problems, they are a symptom and we will never get anywhere by attacking the symptoms, while ignoring the underlying causes.

I’m glad LAD exists. Satire and parody are important, provided the right targets are engaged. Too often though, I feel that LAD have the wrong targets in their sights (though they’re bang on the money with Poots) and while the PUP may be an easy target, I don’t see anyone else trying to bring Loyalists along the right path.

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New Belfast, Old Attitudes

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A little bit of history was made on Monday when Máirtín Ó Muilleoir became the first Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Belfast to attend an Armistice Day commemoration.


Ó Muilleoir stood alongside the DUP Deputy Mayor, Christopher Stalford, during the two-minute silence for the war dead at Belfast City Hall and described his decision to attend as "difficult for Belfast’s republicans ... because of the experiences we have had with the British army over the last three decades, and more, to accept that a mayor who comes from a Sinn Fein tradition would be at the cenotaph."
However Ó Muilleoir said he was fulfilling a pledge he made on taking office to be a mayor "for all the people of Belfast".
"Part of that means reaching out to unionism and today really was about peacemaking towards unionism,"
"I think it's the most difficult decision I have made in 30 years in politics and community activism. It is a challenge and I think that it had to be done. I think building the peace and building a better Belfast demands that we have to move ourselves into places where we are uncomfortable, which challenge us and which move us into new positions of peacemaking." 
The Deputy Lord Mayor welcomed Ó Muilleoir's attendance and Ulster Unionist Leader Mike Nesbitt commented: 
 "I consider these gestures important at a time when a generosity of spirit will be required from all political leaders, if we are to succeed in our current efforts to reach agreement on the difficult issues under consideration in the Haass talks process."
On the same day an exhibition covering the period from 1912-1914 'Home Rule Crisis... the unionist response', opened in Dublin. It brings together the largest collection of UVF memorabilia ever gathered together in one place. The Ulster Volunteer Force was formed to resist plans to make Ireland self-governing, but many members went on to fight in the First World War. It was officially opened by the Irish Minister for Arts and Heritage Jimmy Deenihan. A priest read prayers before people in UVF costumes laid wreaths at the War Graves Commission memorial to those from the Republic who died fighting for the allies in the two world wars.
Jonny Harvey, who this time last year was chairman of Ulster Protestant Voice (one of the main organisers of last year's flag protests) and now a member of the PUP tweeted:

Sadly on a day of progress, some in the 'Unionist Family' could not find it in themselves to suppress petty begrudgery, led as ever by everyone's favourite shit stirrer, unelectable wannabe European M.P. Wee Jamie Bryson (a former colleague of Harvey in the UPV)
 Bryson's lack of equanimity was echoed elsewhere on Twitter:

Perhaps 'The Purple Standard' is unaware that Máirtín Ó Muilleoir's great-grandfather was a British Army soldier who died in 1916 while training troops at the Somme and his funeral was one of the last British military funerals to take place on the Falls Road in 1916.
As one might expect views on Facebook were even more scathing:


Written attacks on social media are a reminder of events in August when the Lord Mayor was attacked by loyalist 'peaceful' protesters on a visit to open a park in Woodvale, near the now infamous Twaddell 'civil rights camp' and dogging site.

These people speak for a tiny minority of Unionists (the fictitious "PUL" community) as evidenced by their pitiful electoral showing in the past. The protests at City Hall and Twaddell are dying a slow lingering death and only the threat of further 'peaceful' protests, and the potential for further street violence as we approach the anniversary of the democratic decision to fly the Union Flag at Belfast City Hall on designated days only, can give these trouble makers any sort of voice.

Whilst recent statements by Nesbitt et al in calling for the cancellation of the loyalist protest on November 30th are to be welcomed, isn't it time the entire mainstream 'Unionist Family' spoke out as one against the likes of Bryson, Frazer and their apologists in the so-called Protestant Coalition?
The leaders of Unionism must now show genuine leadership and condemn the sort of rampant sectarian bigotry displayed by Bryson & Co. and tell them "enough is enough," or perhaps more appropriately say...

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They're Not British, They're Brutish

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On December 3 2012, vulgar and violent forces appropriated the Union flag and turned it from an icon of Britishness, into a symbol of illiterate, drink-sodden brutishness. 

Since then, civilised Northern Ireland has stood back in a state of silent bewilderment. The swamp of suspicion, superstition, non-think and non-speak has been breath-taking; The Niagara of sentimentality, solipsism and self-pity mind-boggling. 
In the face of the barbarism and nonsense-speak, civil society dare not criticise. The cult of respectability abides. "The brave [not so] new orthodoxy of whatever you say, say nothing" as Brian Walker called it, must be held. But civilised Northern Ireland needs to wake up and push back against the cult of violence and misinformation. And below is an outline of why you should and why you'd be right to do so. 
Firstly, for those soft-bellied multiculturalists scared to say anything, here's why the Twaddle camp and associated protests are a nonsense. The political philosopher Edmund Burke was a pointed critic of the French Revolution, an event he characterised as mindless anarchy. For him, legitimate freedom was the freedom to do positive practical acts in society. It was not the liberty to enjoy freedom abstractly, obstructively or destructively. For Edmund Burke, the doctrine of abstract rights as advocated by French revolutionaries was folly. 
Is marching and protesting wherever you want, whenever you want, for whatever reason you want constructive? Is the associated and farcical civil rights movement fighting for a non-cause, costing thousands of pounds a day to police, constructive? 
Secondly, for the ever-indulgent middle-highbrows scared of expressing an opinion, here's why the marching debate is a farce. The freedom of association and of public procession is not an absolute right. Those who want to enjoy civil rights must discharge certain responsibilities. Elementary duties like civil behaviour, respect and inclusivity. The enjoyment of the right to procession also requires people to meet and accommodate the rights of other peoples.  
As Ian Coulter of the CBI asked, "Where are the rights for the people trying to trade and build businesses?" 
But evidently these people claim a special, exclusive and absolute right, and they claim it at the point of force and by violence. It's very much like hardline Muslims; think of the Muhammed cartoon, offend them and feel their wrath. This is exceptionally solipsistic and must be resisted. 
Thirdly, to those who think the 12th of July has degenerated into a festival of drink-yer-f**king brains out, you'd be right. I'm saying the unsaid and so it needs said. So here it is: much of the parading isn't culture, for it’s neither open or tolerant, nor is it inclusive - not even for tourists and moderate unionists. This demands a serious critique. And here's the third party authority for my offensive observations.
The Belfast City Centre Management Report made a number of striking, but hardly surprising, observations on the state of the 12th:
One: "Visit Belfast received complaints from tourists who talked of "an intimidatory atmosphere" and "louts roaming around drunk"."
Two: "The condition of the public realm after the parades also remains a key issue."
Three: "50% of businesses reported an unfriendly family atmosphere and several cited rising tensions as being a turnoff for some consumers."
Four, a non-native resident commented on these findings:
"As someone who has lived here for quite a long time now, I can confirm that 12th July is absent a positive atmosphere. It's militaristic, nasty, sometimes vulgar, and not much fun." 
In The Irish Times, Eamon McCann recalled the anecdote of the Protestant who called the Orange Order a "bunch of bigots quite undeserving of respect."
Fourthly, for those who think that loyalists represent everything that Britain stands against, you'd be right. For those who think that the dysfunction reaches top office, you'd also be right. Newton Emerson said that "it falls to unionist leaders to explain that the world has changed but not ended." But where Martin McGuinness calls out dissident republicans as "traitors to Ireland", people like deputy Lord Mayor Christopher Stalford and Junior Minister Jonathan bell prop up the brutality.
Unionism needs to do a McGuinness and reproach the boondocks and call them out for what they are: traitors to Britain. But if they cant do it they must take responsibility for not calling to book the jackboots on the ground. Otherwise political unionism will stand as apologists for thuggery and the real traitors to Britain. 
Fifthly, if people think the campaign of self-pity, misinformation and exaggeration is sickening you'd be right. If we look at the facts, the situation and events have been grossly pulled and stretched out of proportions. 
As Newton Emerson recently noted in The Sunday Times, unionist parades outnumber republican parades by fifteen to one. We also know that 550 parades were held on the 12th. Of those, only minor restrictions were made. To then say that civil rights have been curtailed is both grotesque and absurd.  
To conclude. When you try to run communities on isolation, suspicion and a rejection of modernity, everything grinds to a halt.
When that happens, the failed community isn't going to blame the failure on itself. No. They'll say it's the neglect of others and a conspiracy against their culture. Then they’ll want to project violence and brutalism outward. But we can't be indifferent about that. We can't be indifferent about rogue communities and rogue ideas and rogue concepts. 
All the burbling and babbling of police brutality and civil rights oppression is abject nonsense and an offence to modernity and the people who've brought us here. Loyalism is not the product of unemployment, but the creators of it. Loyalists are not the suppressed but the suppressors of modernity. 
They hold us, the whole of normal Northern Ireland, hostage. Yet we don't say anything. We are in a fight with fanatics and you had better get used to it. As Alex Kane said, Northern Ireland is in big trouble. Our collective welfare is being attacked and undermined by a fanatical movement. You either stand up and show the nonsense for what it is, or you capitulate to the enemies of modernity and let all the good that has come to the north of Ireland unravel. 

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