I've been remiss in my coverage of Marching Season as they call in in Northern Ireland.
For the uninitiated, it's the time of year when Protestants celebrate supremacy over Catholics in Northern Ireland. They hold a series of marches starting on July 3rd and culminating on July 12th which marks King James' victory over the Catholics in Ireland in 1690.
Critics of the Orangemen liken this to a Klan march. Supports say its a celebration of their culture. To me, this is short of a Klan rally but more like the Southern Partisan crowd if they regaled themselves in Civil war garb and marched behind a Dixie battleflag and played offensive songs.
The Orangmen also have a penchant for marching through predominantly Catholic neighborhoods. (Imagine the Civil War parade mentioned above happening in Compton, CA or Camden, NJ and you get the idea). They (rightly IMO) claim they are citizens and have the right to march wherever they want. I don't have a problem with them marching but they're instigators and sing horrible songs about Catholics and the Pope (their bands are often referred to as "kick the pope bands") which isn't helpful. Add to that the Loyalist terrorist groups like these who attend every year with the express intent of "Killing All Taigs" and things go bad very quickly. (NB: K.A.T. is frequently seen in Loyalists areas in Northern Ireland)
Northern Ireland established a Parades Commission to handle this every year and the most contentious parade at Drumcree
Some news stories here, here and here.
Note that the last article calls the parade a "success" in that nobody was burned alive this year or rioted
My take on it is similar to this. As the writer states, it's easy for an American to tell people to ignore hatred and biogtry when he's a thousand miles away. On the other hand, must we not resist such things head on? Yes, but where's the line? I would let the Orange Order march if they refrained from playing any songs while in the predominantly Catholic neighborhoods and renounced violence and refused to allow any UDF, UDA, LVF, RHC, RHU banners or members from participating.
As one Loyalist supporter put it:
For the uninitiated, it's the time of year when Protestants celebrate supremacy over Catholics in Northern Ireland. They hold a series of marches starting on July 3rd and culminating on July 12th which marks King James' victory over the Catholics in Ireland in 1690.
Critics of the Orangemen liken this to a Klan march. Supports say its a celebration of their culture. To me, this is short of a Klan rally but more like the Southern Partisan crowd if they regaled themselves in Civil war garb and marched behind a Dixie battleflag and played offensive songs.
The Orangmen also have a penchant for marching through predominantly Catholic neighborhoods. (Imagine the Civil War parade mentioned above happening in Compton, CA or Camden, NJ and you get the idea). They (rightly IMO) claim they are citizens and have the right to march wherever they want. I don't have a problem with them marching but they're instigators and sing horrible songs about Catholics and the Pope (their bands are often referred to as "kick the pope bands") which isn't helpful. Add to that the Loyalist terrorist groups like these who attend every year with the express intent of "Killing All Taigs" and things go bad very quickly. (NB: K.A.T. is frequently seen in Loyalists areas in Northern Ireland)
Northern Ireland established a Parades Commission to handle this every year and the most contentious parade at Drumcree
Some news stories here, here and here.
Note that the last article calls the parade a "success" in that nobody was burned alive this year or rioted
My take on it is similar to this. As the writer states, it's easy for an American to tell people to ignore hatred and biogtry when he's a thousand miles away. On the other hand, must we not resist such things head on? Yes, but where's the line? I would let the Orange Order march if they refrained from playing any songs while in the predominantly Catholic neighborhoods and renounced violence and refused to allow any UDF, UDA, LVF, RHC, RHU banners or members from participating.
As one Loyalist supporter put it:
"We to the Loyalist Music Archive. We aimed to provide an historical archive and analysis of Loyalist music - warts and all. However as of late the continuing bigotry and hatred shown by some so called loyalists has scunnered me so much that I have decided to take a concerted stand against sectarianism, bigotry, racism and hatred. By that I do not mean giving up on our culture or heritage but rather showing the hand of friendship to others and tolerance, respect and equality for all even when I disagree strongly with their views. The songs covered on this site are Ulster-Scots, Irish, Loyalist and Orange patriotic and cultural songs, particularly World War 1 songs. Loyalist, Nationalist, dissenter or observer - I bid you welcome. Hopefully our much maligned and misrepresented culture, history and heritage can move forward in the new peaceful Ulster nd Loyalists can take up their place as a very important part of the island of Ireland. Either we leave the bigotry behind or we have no culture worth speaking about. We have a rich and wonderful heritage. It is such a shame that some choose to base it on hatred of others rather than celebrating our own identity as well as cultural diversity."
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