NO TALK. NO WALK

The question is; should the Orange Order engage in dialogue with the Parades Commission?

Alex Atwood, the most annoying pipsqueak in the SDLP, says they must do so! Sinn Fein/IRA, the foremost agitator of street violence against the Orange Order says they must do so. The British Government says they should do so. People like failed Ulster Unionist Leader David Trimble think they should do so. Vocal liberal critics of the Orange Order such as media luvvie Rev Brian Kennaway think they should do so.

Well, listening to all that advice and the myriad sources from which it comes, my mind could not be clearer. The Orange Order should NOT engage in any talks with this government appointed quango under ANY circumstances. OK? It may be populated with a few useful fools, such as David Burrows and Don McKay, but that does nothing to address the fundamental fact that it is an unelected crude tool for the suppression of civil and religious liberty. There must be no talking to such an imposed affront to democracy, no matter what little Alex thinks!

Comments

[Cunningham]

I agree: No Talking and No Walking!
(except in places where the people actually like such buffoons)

[iluvni]

As long as those gifted wordsmiths Bailie and Saulters arent included in any delegation.
Two gormless idiots.

[Colm]

Every organisation has the right to refuse to participate in a process if they think it is wrong. However they must also accept that means sacrificing what they hoped to achieve.

[Henry94]

Alex Atwood, the most annoying pipsqueak in the SDLP

Damming with faint praise. That's like saying George Best was the best footballer in East Belfast

[Ogra]

I dont think Unionists realize how stupid and backward the OO make them look. A bunch of fat middle aged bald men, throwing rocks at police. Keep doing what there doing. Its the best PR Republicans could get. I remember reading readers comments on an article in a Japanesse newspaper on the Whiterock incident, they were unanimous in calling the OO retatded freaks. Please Unionists continue marching , actually why not march every day, the more the merrier

[Reg]

"Alex Atwood, the most annoying pipsqueak in the SDLP"

Hear, hear!! We're looking at it from different angles but the outcome is the same

[mc]

Kennaway is hardly liberal. He just doesnt like what the order has become.

[David Vance]

MC,

He is a liberal and well know for it.

BB,

Glad you liked the post!

Iluvni,

Agreed re Saulters and Baillie.

[scouseproud]

The usual linking with the KKK, yawn!
Every town and village in Ulster has a war memorial, full of names of members of the Orange Order who died fighting fascism, a Fascism supported by the IRA from 1939-45.
Who knows how many members the Orange Order it has in Ireland North and South ? figures from 40,000 to 100,000? Its always been who attends the most meetings gets the top job, not the one with the brains!

[Colm]

scouseproud

Do you agree with the substance of David's post?

[scouseproud]

How could you think anything other by what ive posted? The thread is about the Orange Order,which i do know something about.
Everybody is free to agree or disagree on here. The one down side to this excellent site is that a significant majority of posters are Nationalist/Republican. I can say as a Unionist i have never visited a Nationalist/Republican site

[Tom Tyler]

There used to be Orange Order marches in Corby, where I grew up. (There's a large population of both Catholic and Protestant Scots there, for whom the whole Catholic/Celtic or Protestant/Rangers thing is very much part of their identity). The marchers looked very elegant, and I liked the drums and flutes, it was a great, cheerful sound. However, they would always make sure they marched past the Catholic church, stop for a minute and give those drums the full force! Which my mum thought was unnecessarily provocative, and I thought was pathetically childish.
Anyway, I hope one day all NI'ers will march together. God only knows how that will happen though.

[Cunningham]

Corby. Is that near Nottingham?
What brought all those Scots, and indeed NI sectarianism, to a place like that?

[scouseproud]

I was responding above to a slur re the Order, are we not supposed to respond to the comments of others?
The Orangemen were steel workers from Lanarkshire, they went to work at the plant in Corby. During the 1930s, you had to go where the jobs were!

[daytripper]

Every organisation has the right to refuse to participate in a process if they think it is wrong. However they must also accept that means sacrificing what they hoped to achieve.

Colm, youve summed up a large part of loyalist culture with that, not just the OO. perfect!

lets face it the OO missed their chance in the mid 90s to make july an all inclusive festival for all people of NI. instead they took the SF bait hook line and sinker. they were groomed better than 13 yo in a chatroom.

[David Vance]

Tom,

I should add that I only support dignifed parades. Often the OO are the own worst enemy.

[The Phantom]

I think that the Orange Order are a mob of troublemakers.

Serious people can differ about what the solution to Ulster's problems will be, but I don't think that a fair person can doubt that the Orange Order is, and has always been, part of the problem.

[Colm]

I see no reason at all why the Orange Order and other Loyal orders should not be able to parade as part of the way they demonstrate their culture, however it is a fact of life in Northern Ireland that there are strong feelings on both sides about each communities public manifestations and the parades Commission is a perfectly lawful body set up to try and deal with one of the contentious issues and it is incumbent on organisers of any parade to co-operate with the authority charged with addressing this issue.

We all have to deal with govt. bodies every day to arrange activities in the public sphere. Society cannot operate functionally otherwise.

Scouseproud

If every blog only attracted people who think alike and have the same opinions, they would all be very boring indeed. I like the fact that ATW has such a different mix of regulars.

[Alex]

The Orange has also had talks today with that woman who thinks the Protestant commmunity are Nazis - none other than Mary McAleese.

http://www.u.tv/newsroom/indepth.asp?id=72947&pt=n

[David Vance]

Alex,

They are foolish.

'who thinks the Protestant commmunity are Nazis' when did she say this, link?

She made a reasonable comment, protestants were brought up to hate catholics and vice versa. u dont need to be a genius to figure that out!!!!

[Ogra]

that was me

[Alex]

Exactly, the next thing they will be in talks with the PC and then before we know it, practically in bed with the Sinn Fein / IRA inspired and backed "residents' groups", begging for permission to walk down public highways of Northern Ireland.

I think if that happens it will be a huge mistake, forcing many people to feel their only option is to resign from the Loyal Orders - thus giving Sinn Fein / IRA and other hangers-on within Irish Nationalism, another victory over the Protestant and Unionist community - just wait and see.

[Alex]

"protestants were brought up to hate catholics and vice versa", Ogra, if I remember correctly, she left the vice versa part off, therefore causing justifable anger and hurt within the Protestant community.

[Ogra]

The OO are perfectly entitled to march, there is only a problem in about 3% of parades. They cant walk down areas where people will be offended. its common sense