Irish left becoming more deranged

 

This post was made by a leftist in reference to protests against Eid being celebrated in Croke Park.

If name-calling was a gaelic sport, the author would certainly have an all-star or two at this stage; losers, inbreds, West Brits, morons, scum. If there is one thing the left excel at, it is this. Responses from fellow travellers also add to the collection: vermin, arseholes and many more. A general air of snobbery is apparent too, the idea that the protesters are uneducated thicks.

But that is just a passing observation. It is certainly not a complaint because if the left were to take a higher road and speak more empathetically about their fellow countrypeople we'd be in serious trouble.  Thankfully, they are happy to throw vitriol and show their true selves, and that is grand. We won't have to worry about charm offensives.

The aggressive and vitriolic tone shows raw hate. The left condemn hate in a notional sense, but there is clear hate for people to be seen here. It's one thing hating what these people do, hating how misguided they might see them, hate how they have been led, hate how they have been used as pawns in a game of divide and conquer. It's another thing hating them themselves, particularly as they are ordinary Irish people just like them at the end of the day. This is part of another trend we increasingly see: expressing preference for foreigners against fellow countrymen and countrywomen with the wrong politics.

Another thing that strikes me from this is the general desperation and frustration it reveals. To use a GAA pundit cliché, they are "rattled".

One insult in particular shows real desperation and that is the West Brit one. Now to be fair, this is more political, not unlike communist can be, so it's not the same category as the others. Nevertheless, this one is bizarre in that it is very forced. He is trying to link two things so as to taint one with the other but it makes no sense.  He talks about them imitating the "British imperial mindset". There is nothing uniquely British about this at all. Even if they are mimicking an imperial mindset, indeed even a fascist one, that's more general to Europe. Sure, it may have featured in Britain but it also features in other places. There are also aspects of British imperialism that do not manifest themselves in chauvinist ways. 

This need to make chauvinism British, so that you can then fit chauvinism into traditional fenian narratives is a common tactic of the left. Another one is accusing their (Irish) enemies of not knowing their history and of hijacking history. The phrase "every accusation is a confession" comes to mind.

For example, let's take the point the author makes around the Easter Proclamation and religious liberty. The protesters are going against the words of the Rising by denying religious liberty to Muslims. They don't know their history.

Firstly, freedom of religion, like any freedom or right is not absolute. It doesn't mean anything goes.

Croke Park is a key part of our heritage as a Christian and Gaelic nation. It's named after a famous bishop from the Gaelic revival. As Kevin Collins has pointed out, Catholic churchmen played an important role in the Celtic revival. If you think valuing our heritage and history is ok, then it's perfectly reasonable to argue that it is not appropriate, commercially or otherwise, for an event of this nature to be in this place.

Furthermore, that clause was written in a very different context. I doubt the devout Catholics of Easter week foresaw a situation like this. We are a Christian country (historically speaking) and the leaders of the Rising believed as much. The Rising is infused with Christian ethics and Catholic motifs. The rubble of that Rising forms part of Croke Park today. I would not go as far as some protesters in calling the ground sacred, but it is certainly something analogous to that.

The author, as a leftist, likely does not value this part of our history and seems to want to delete it from the record. Of course, if like many leftists, you do not value the traditions of our land, traditions valued by the 1916 rebels, you will have a hard time understanding the motives of the protesters. 

Ultimately, the left are feeling upset because they think the memory and legacy of our revolutionary past is their property. They see Irish people with different views to them reclaiming this legacy and it is causing them great distress. They are consequently lashing out. This is a big problem for them also because they rely on being able to sell future leftist policies to the public by wrapping them in the green flag and presenting them as being authentic. The fact that the plain people are taking their symbols back is inducing meltdowns and it's highly amusing.