Okay it is now the 13th of July and it has all calmed down a wee but here in N. Ireland but the last three days before where insane as usual round this time of year. I could not help but laugh when I saw that they are trying to call this "holiday" a family friendly experience hmmm yes I have lived here 28 years and that is not an expression I would use to describe it!
This part of Ireland practically closes down for three days and people flee to the south, or hide indoors if they where gifted enough to have a live brain cell. The streets become a wash of drunken arses yelling abusive slur's and insults and littering the place so it look's like a right dump.
I was disgusted while I was in the City centre on the 10th as the place was already starting to look like it had reversed in time to when Belfast was like before the cease fire and a Place my Mum used to warned me about that stank of prejudice and ignorance, not the Belfast today that I have grown to love which has a diverse community and a rich culture and history that we have embraced but shook of to glorously arise from like a phoenix from the ashes to a place that now has a good tourist over turn, not just people coming here expecting to see riots and see people running from gunfire! .
But on thursday as I was walking around in town the drunken assholes had started early and where stumbling about polluting the streets in more ways than one, I felt physically ill when I witnessed two drunken men coming up to two asian men walking and minding their own business only to hurl abusive racist language at them, I wanted to say something but like most people on this "so called holiday" who is of a non- protestant,white, bigot persuation you learn to keep your head down as they just love harassing the "different" looking people I know from personal experience. I later saw an another racist incident involving verbal abuse in the same area.
I came home as quick as my proudly odd little legs would take me as I was so enraged with people like that being allowed to exist and that the Police where not patrolling well enough to pick up the drunks on the main streets as per-fucking usual on this "holiday".
I find it hilarious that on the pride march (which i may mention is actually a good family event as my whole family always join me and I'm hoping my baby niece may come along this year) the police would not think twice about taking your drink off you on the street or arresting someone being rowdy or disorderly on the main streets, of which I have never seen as no violence ever happens ( that I've seen) except verbal bitching from the drag queens but thats all indoors or one stage ;) so it's lovely that the police turn the other cheek so these loyalist dick heads can litter the place, scream words like faggot and Fenian etc at passer's by and start violence and cause such a horrible atmosphere to loom over Belfast and N.I for 3 or so days every year.
My GF made a funny suggestion, that alot of the people that protest at the Gay pride march every year are part of the orange parade and that a bunch of us "Mo's" should go down to their march and protest with placards saying 'down with this sorta thing" and "careful now" (yes thats from father ted .lol) but as funny as that sounds I fail to think that we would be treated with as much freedom of speech or non violence as they are granted on the gay pride parades. As we let them protest because its their right to have freedom of speech but on filpside I know if anyone protests against the orange marches riots start and violence and electric black outs and all hell breaks lose, (sigh)..how we all remember.
This "holiday" is a bloody embarrassment to most people who live in N.I and I REALLY wish they would stop trying to sell it as a family fun time, bonfire night yes last time I checked setting fire to things was not considered child safe, pyromania is a lovely tradition to uphold.
The other annoying thing is that most people in these parades marching and celebrating don't even know the real history of the battle of the boyne they just have stupid beliefs and stories about it that are inaccurate and uninformed (which is no surprise regarding the sort that love this holiday).
I am so glad it is over for another year and Belfast can return back to sanity and peace. And a tip to people wearing orange sashes this season: Orange is not a good colour to wear if you suffer from red drunken cheeks, as they clash, darling really! you look terrible!
peace out and back thank fuck :)
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6 comments:
Oh God Donna I couldn't agree with you more. This so called "holiday" is just the biggest pile of feaces on the planet! Yes lets just celebrate the biggots and ill feeling that is felt towards each other's 'religion'!! I was driving to your good self last night and as you probably heard me say I was worried that my car tyres were going to be slashed by broken glass all over the road because of the fucking assholes that drink in the street (which can I remind everyone is supposed to be illegal)
Why is it that these people decide they are a law onto themselves! I think the whole thing should be abolished! It's such a waste of time and decent folk like us are forced to hide out in our own homes and are afraid to go out on the 11th night in fear of getting harrassed or worse!!!!
It's bad enough that N Ireland is like 10 years behind every other country in Europe - holidays like this make me see why!
bah to Prod Pride and hooray to actual Gay Pride which like Donna said is a family orintated celebration xxx
Hear Hear!!!
Usually I'd skip the country but for the past two years I've had to just deal with staying in the house. Talk about a serious case of cabin fever. And of course I was crapping myself on Saturday morning because I wasn't 100% sure where exactly I was going to come across a parade when leaving the other half to work for 9am.
*sigh* I probably wouldn't complain as much if they'd just do what everyone else did and parade for a few hours in the city centre instead of having the whole of NI shut down. I seriously begrudge the fact that they expect everyone to stop their own lives so some fuckwits can go parading down the road because it's "tradition" and their "culture". Tradition? Frankly get a fucking life and move on!!!
Hmm, what can I say... I actually went off to find a bar on the 11th night in Belfast City Centre... which had me trailing about... and trust me, there were some interesting sights... but oddly enough, no violence. Maybe I missed the bus there on that one.
So I ended up in Whites Tavern, by myself, and a few brave (or drunken) souls. And because there were not that many people about, I was able to talk to just about everyone in the place... What interested me the most was the fact that 2 women were there who had just got married (Sod being so PC'd about it!) One was a catholic, and the other a prodestant. What was funny was the rings, they showed me them, the catholic was wearing a red white and blue striped gold ring, whilst the prod was wearing a similar ring but with green white and orange stripes.
The 12th was interesting itself, went into town from home, and to a coffee shop which was doing hectic trade. Still met up with friends and had our weekly chat. All in a good way without a fear of being attacked.
So if people wanna say fuck the biggots, they really should not allow their 'holiday' disrupt everyone else. I didn't this year and I won't next year either...
I think Silverfox's experience is one only a relative few experience over the 12th in Northern Ireland. As pointed out there were only a few patrons in Whites tavern that night, presumably because the rest of the country had either gone on holiday, barricaded themselves in their houses or were at that moment outside ooh-ing and aah-ing at great big unsightly bonfires, which might I add 6 days later as I write are still smouldering in some areas and everywhere else have not even been cleaned up yet. When such bonfires are in the middle of a road, eg on Tates Ave or at the corner of Great Northern Street and Ulsterville Ave, they prove to be a huge disruption, as well as extremely dangerous.
From an environmental point of view, the amount of broken glass, discarded burgers and chips, and cardboard/paper left on the ground between the 11th-15th each year is a complete disgrace and is not going to help Northern Ireland win any environmental awards. What the fuck is wrong with people that they can't properly dispose of their waste. Do you think people on gay pride would get away with that? Hell no, but not to fear, cuz the Belfast Pride committee ensures that all the waste is disposed of, cuz that's what decent citizens do, they give a fuck about the aesthetics of they place in which they live and they care about how things affect other people. Also, as Darren mentioned all the broken glass just wrecks car and bike tyres, and is also extremely dangerous for children out playing during this supposedly family-friendly event.
Legally, the large number of Harp and Tennants cans, as well as the broken glass, would suggest that people are drining alcohol in the streets. Hell, I've actually seen people drinking in the streets whenever I have ventured out of the house on the 12th. Last time I checked there were signs all over the city deeming this illegal and an automatic fine and yet this has never been enforced over the 12th 'holiday', whereas, as Donna points out, any other parade or celebratory event in the city is most definitely policed to the hilt.
Economically speaking, given that 90% of all of Northern ireland's businesses shut down for a week or at least a few days, including huge companies like Tescos who always close on the 12th and sometimes the 13th too, this must have a disastrous effect on Northern Ireland's company. If Whites Tavern was practically empty on one of its busy night, as was one of Belfast's consistently busy clubs, the Kremlin, then surely all the other bars and clubs and restaurants, if they even bothered opening, must have been doing hardly any trade at all. Contrast this with gay pride, where every bar in the Cathedral quarter has its busiest and most economically successful day of the year. For example last year Mc Hughs made more money on gay pride day than any other day that year. Also, all the shops are still open and Belfast city centre is jam-packed full of people, all of whom feel they can go about their daily lives.
I bet nobody was out at Iris Robinson's march telling her that she was going to hell and that her very presence there was a sin, yet I expect her and all her old cronies will be out in force this year at gay pride as usual demonising our existence with placards and unedcuated prejudice and inaccurate scripture. All this despite our boost to Belfast's economy, our family-friendly attitudes, our lack of pyromania, our fun cheesy music that everyone young or old, gay or straight can appreciate, our bright peace-loving rainbow flags, our complete lack of violence and our care for our environment. The organisers for the 12th could learn a lot from how gay pride is arranged and managed.
jeez that was a long rant! I dunno if there was much trouble this year but I did venture out on monday night and they was some violence up in east BElfast when we where driving through. but I know I personally have had alot of horrible memories of this "holiday" as I grew up in a loyalist estate and then lived there on my own for 7-years and I had windows put in, the road to my house blocked so couldn't get down to bloody shop (luckily my bf had a van at that stage and we needed rat&dog food asap so a van can get rid of some of the little bigots barricades :D)plus cars where constantly set on fire up and down the street. I remember every year there living on my own having to make sure I keep my cat indoors as horrible things had happened to cats in the neighborhood on bonfire night and I know that our estate never had police patrolling much as they had the whole belief that "we'll just not get involved as long as it doesn't spill out of the estate" which it did often involving other estates and them having fucking hood rivalry and riots over this "holiday' so maybe I just have had a horrible experiences and memories of the 12th for 28 years and I hope it is getting better but I will always despise this so called holiday.
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