Because the people of Northern Ireland actually want to remain British.Originally Posted by eestlinc
Because the people of Northern Ireland actually want to remain British.
Sweet little half-truth there. Half of the population do, the half that colonised here from Scotland & England.Because the people of Northern Ireland actually want to remain British.
First, the Irish side of my family has lived in the North for longer than we can trace with any certainty. Most of them have absolutely no desire to see a united Ireland.Sweet little half-truth there. Half of the population do, the half that colonised here from Scotland & England.Because the people of Northern Ireland actually want to remain British.
Second, the logical conclusion of that argument is that only the first people who existed have valid claim to any land. And we all come from the same place. Ergo, the argument is nullified. Unless you want to actually find some Neolithic cavemen and ask them what they think, of course. Edit: Sorry, not Neolithic, Mesolithic cavemen were the ones who went over there first.
Finally, it's not like this mass emigration happened a decade ago. There is a certain point (Though I confess very hard to define and one which changes depending on many circumstances) where a person (Or at least a family line) stops being wherever they emigrated from, and become wherever they emigrated to.
So here's the two elections which should take place;
In Northern Ireland, among residents of Northern Ireland, whether or not they wish to join the Republic of Ireland.
In the Republic, whether or not they wish to admit Northern Ireland to be part of the nation.
If that works out in a way people don't like, then both sides should open their borders to the other so that people can choose to live in whichever side they prefer. It's an imperfect and flawed solution, but at least it means anyone stranded in a nation they dislike or don't wish to live in can easily move to what one presumes to be their preferred destination (Which, by the by, ought to be the case everywhere in my opinion.).
Last edited by Madame Adequate; 09-28-2005 at 06:00 AM.
I am not entering into another forum tennis match where reply meets reply with neither side waivering, which is why I did respond to your other post on another topic. All I will say is that the people who consider tghemselves Irish want a united Ireland, those who smite the word don't. This breaks down to the Scottish & English settlers over a period over 400 years. The Celtic settlers embedded themselves long before that.
The problem with Unionists is that they fear losing their identity if they say they're Irish, and thus their allegiance to the Crown. This brings up the problem and dilemma of, if you are not Irish, don't want to be labeled as Irish, why are you in Ireland and want a equal say? I am well aware of the Unionist suspicions and fears, and understand much of them, but they need to lose the fear of change. Without that we will still be shooting eachother. I, along with a lot of people, have lost friends & family. I have also seen & done things which I'm not proud of and do not wish on anyone. This country needs to lose it's festering hate and festering mistrust in order to move anywhere.
The only thing I object to in what you say is that you blanket your claims to the whole population. Not ALL of our residents want to remain British, not ALL of our residents think the IRA are still active. Some do, most accept, while more could have been done to PROVE it, that more WASN'T done to try and save face.
I Love my country and still hope for a united Ireland, I just thank God we can all try peacefully now.
The next move is the Unionist/Loyalist one. I'm not expecting much.
Perhaps they view being Irish as something different, though? To use a stereotypical parallel, some people consider being American to be loyal to the President and supporting the troops. Whereas some people consider being American to be ready to voice dissent and to try constantly to change the system. But I agree, the country does need to try and move on. I know many people on the Northern side of the border who are unecessarily distrustful and make various assumptions which are usually untrue.
That's entirely fair and I apologise for giving that impression/any time I may have overtly made such claims. It was unfair and I got dragged into the heat of the debate.The only thing I object to in what you say is that you blanket your claims to the whole population. Not ALL of our residents want to remain British, not ALL of our residents think the IRA are still active. Some do, most accept, while more could have been done to PROVE it, that more WASN'T done to try and save face.
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