The idea of a first minister who supports closer ties to the Republic of Ireland — let alone one from Sinn Fein, a party with historic ties to the Irish Republican Army — was once unthinkable. On Saturday, it became reality.
I disagree. It seems like there is far less religious animosity between young Protestants and Catholics, and the economic and practical benefits of reunification are significantly stronger after Brexit. The old soldiers and terrorists and victims from 40 years ago are aging or dead, and the new generation read about the troubles in history books. The crown has never been weaker, and the political leadership in parliament can’t find their own dicks to pee out of.
The Troubles weren’t 40 years ago. They only “officially” ended with the Good Friday agreement in 1998, which wasn’t the end of the violence, not by a long shot. This isn’t ancient history, most of the people living here lived through it. And it comes up repeatedly over the years. Flag protests, parade routes, bonfires.
Those old soldiers and victims are being brought up. I lost track of the amount of times I heard “soldier f” in the news. And there’re countless other legacy issues still ongoing.
It’s also not just a religious issue. You can generalise it as protestant and catholics, but it is a lot deeper. It is about a cultural national identity, not economic or because the Crown is “weak”.
Yes okay, it is definitely less problematic than it was 40 years ago, but there are still fenced off communities and armored police cars. Things are pretty okay now, but Belfast is still a divided city and always will be. I’m not a native, but I visit regularly and I’ve never actually met anyone my age who cares about the divide, but I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t acknowledge the divide either.
I disagree. It seems like there is far less religious animosity between young Protestants and Catholics, and the economic and practical benefits of reunification are significantly stronger after Brexit. The old soldiers and terrorists and victims from 40 years ago are aging or dead, and the new generation read about the troubles in history books. The crown has never been weaker, and the political leadership in parliament can’t find their own dicks to pee out of.
That is a very superficial outsiders view.
The Troubles weren’t 40 years ago. They only “officially” ended with the Good Friday agreement in 1998, which wasn’t the end of the violence, not by a long shot. This isn’t ancient history, most of the people living here lived through it. And it comes up repeatedly over the years. Flag protests, parade routes, bonfires.
Those old soldiers and victims are being brought up. I lost track of the amount of times I heard “soldier f” in the news. And there’re countless other legacy issues still ongoing.
It’s also not just a religious issue. You can generalise it as protestant and catholics, but it is a lot deeper. It is about a cultural national identity, not economic or because the Crown is “weak”.
Yes okay, it is definitely less problematic than it was 40 years ago, but there are still fenced off communities and armored police cars. Things are pretty okay now, but Belfast is still a divided city and always will be. I’m not a native, but I visit regularly and I’ve never actually met anyone my age who cares about the divide, but I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t acknowledge the divide either.