Like most English people I don't give a shit if it's British, Irish or German. Whatever. All the while there was an IRA bombing campaign then the view was it had to stay British or else the terrorists would be deemed to have 'won'. Now it could become part of a united Ireland tomorrow and there would be no complaints from us. Indeed most of us are slightly embarrassed by the Unionists marching up and down in orange sashes and bowler hats and waving union flags. The great thing that's happened in the 21st century is that 99% of the population of Britain and Ireland realise that the world has moved on. Both nations, Britain and Ireland, are subject to laws made in the European parliament and enforced by the European court. This means that British politicians once more have a say in the government of Ireland, in return Irish politicians help formulate laws that govern us. Consequently people who still chant 'Ulster is British!' or 'Ourselves alone!' are seen as quaint relics of a bygone age; a bit like seeing Civil War re-enactments. The other thing is that Britain itself as a single political entity may not survive much longer. Last year (2007) was the 300th anniversay of the Act of Union between England and Scotland and it passed totally without ceremony as neither nation was particularly keen on celebrating the fact. If Scotland becomes independent what happens to Northern Ireland then?
I drink in an Irish pub too and I have NEVER met one bit of anti-English sentiment. All we get is banter, especially during the Six Nations. It was nice to beat them this year! (And that's a UNITED Irish rugby team, including Protestants, as I'm sure you're aware)
Formed or just supported by Americans? The support makes sense, we have a lot of Irish(I'm at least half myself), guns and money to buy them. And for some reason the Irish-Americans seem to be a more proud bunch(in terms of identifying with and celebrating their heritage) than just about every other European group so it's easy to see Irish-Americans rallying for the oppressed(whether it was perceived or real) back in the old country. William F. Buckley, Jr. didn't think so, though, and he knew a lot more about the Northern Ireland thing than I do.
Will this matter in the next 50 or 100 years when there is one Europe? I know that the Irish have been adamant about keeping their independence, but down the road I don't think national boundaries will matter much anymore. BTW, my ancestors were from Armagh.
you are entitled to feel you own anything you wish, believe Ireland owns the moon if you want. in reality though, Britain owns northern Ireland and we are keeping it, regardless who you think the rightful owners should be.
It might seem harsh, but this is exactly why you are going to get bombed. Btw you don't own anything. You're just property of the crown, too. You may be lucky enough to be of a class that sold its allegiance early enough to be socially rewarded, but there's no sense in taking pride over your master's other conquests simply because they're treated as a lower class than you.
No more than you're justifying the genocides England committed to originally conquer its colonies. If you go in with force and say "this is the way it will always be" you are sending the message that only more force can reverse the decision.
So are you or are you not trying to justify the murder of children by saying my opinion is a valid reason to bomb civilians? You were a little muddy with your answer, so ill ask you again, in the hope that you can develop the courage to say in plain English what it is you are trying to express.
I'm saying "Let's be realistic and look at what history tells us." It says that nations hold grudges when they're conquered, it says that people are willing to use violence (even random violence) to vent their frustration. History says that wars fought hundreds of years ago can still leave stinging wounds and a desire for revenge. I don't agree with political violence, but it doesn't surprise me and I don't assume that it comes out of nowhere. I saw 9-11 and didn't think "We need to kill someone in revenge!" I thought "Dang, we kinda had this coming for all the people we've killed and nations we've interfered in." Expectation is not the same as justification... I'm not going to mix bombs and make targets, I'm going to sit here and think of intellectual ways to stop violence from happening. I think that the first step to achieving this is to reduce the extra-national reach of imperial powers, and this condemns London and D.C. as much as it condemns Moscow and Beijing. Then again, I mentioned the problem of realism and we can also assume that this imperial state of affairs is as natural to the human condition as any other. Now you say: "Tough on them, we won and the game is over." Who are you to say the game is over? If you condemned the game you would reject the "winnings." Instead, you have implied that the game is just so long as it is not used against you. This is the type of hypocrisy that is rarely settled with words and logic....
You seem to have mistaken my request for clarity with a request for an even more vague reply containing even more text. We all understand the motivation behind the filth bombing us and murdering children, I was asking if you thought that their response was valid. Saying "this is exactly why you are going to get bombed" is a bit like justifying domestic violence by saying "well you should have learned to cook the eggs how he likes them".
Not at all. I'm saying that if you didn't want to get into a gunfight, you shouldn't have brought guns.
So the bombing of civilians and the murdering of children is or is not justified? it's a very simple question korr.
Seeing as we, by supporting the Americans in Iraq, have helped to slaughter FAR more women and children in the early years of the 21st century than the IRA managed in the whole of the 20th I think the British government's answer to that is 'yes'. Also as far as Ireland is concerned it's only in the last thirty years or so that we've been able to claim (most of) the moral high ground. For the previous thousand we'd been the baddies - often very much so.
I never mentioned Northern Ireland. Keep believing that Britain will still have its presence in Ireland for years to come, its obvious you are clueless about your own country. Its called collateral damage. I thought you had the intelligence to realise that by now. After all, Britain uses collateral damage to achieve its gains for many years.
lol what are they going to do? Throw potatoes at us? Don't waste too many, otherwise we wont have anyone left to rule over. No, It's called the murder of children by cowardly filth. It wouldn't be so bad if these cowards put on a uniform, Give us something to shoot at. Of course, the bravery of the irish is evident by the way they decided to participate in the second world war, Which was to turn their back, soil themselves and say "we don't want to get involved". Even France had a go, FRANCE! The cowardice alone is a reason for us to keep northern ireland. As bad as giving in to terrorists is, Giving in to cowards is even worse.
It should be BRITISH- I just heard the postal officer said it belong to British (England) yesterday when I was in the postal office
It belongs to them by law.. But really I consider myself Irish... I dont think anyone can take away that right. It was Irish, and in our hearts will be Irish.