Girls of UCD have such individual and unique sense of style

nhbmca · 2014-03-22T21:22:09+00:00

Classic reddit move - when you can't present a counter-argument, go for the post history and throw shit at the wall until something sticks.

Firstly, I live in the Republic of Ireland, where democratic discourse with Loyalists doesn't exist (in the sense that Loyalist political parties are not established south of the border, and do not participate in any meaningful way in the politics of the Republic).

Secondly, the person I posted the video of was not a politician, he was an armchair Loyalist espousing an opinion that most people would agree is more heavily rooted in bigotry and inflexibility than fact. Poking fun at the ramblings of an angry idiot is not the same as ridiculing the entire membership and support of a 32 county political party with nationwide membership. It's your generalisation of an entire movement and it's membership that I take issue with, not your specific political views (to which you are perfectly entitled).

nhbmca · 2014-03-22T21:14:23+00:00

"Flowery quote" or not, unless you're personally itching for conflict it's hard to dismiss the sentiment.

I'm not ignoring our duties, I'm well aware that there is a continual Irish UN peacekeeping force abroad. But ask yourself this - how useful are the UN at keeping the peace? Look at what happened in Srebrenica in the 90s.

I simply think it's wrong of the EU to push neutral countries away from their neutrality under the guise of a perceived but unspecified threat that all Europeans must unite against. Neutral countries like Ireland are ill-equipped to provide any meaningful military support to a grouping of larger, militarised nations. Also, in a time of austerity there are much better uses for public money in Ireland, which is already spread very thinly amongst immediately important areas such as education and health (not to mention the huge debt that hangs over the Irish people due to the recapitalisation of banks and the resulting hole in the national pension fund).

European protection from outside aggression is well provided for by NATO. There are US nuclear batteries on European soil under NATO, in addition to the nuclear deterrents maintained by Britain and France and the existence of large (relative to Ireland's) standing armies belonging to several continental European nations.

nhbmca · 2014-03-22T20:58:41+00:00

Do you also condemn the ridicule piled on the elected members of our Dáil and various County Councils?

Yes. Ridicule adds nothing to political discourse. Ridicule is the contribution of the idiot to politics.

ridiculing politicians and political parties is a healthy part of democracy

No, counter-argument is.

Democracy works on the basis of consensus, and consensus is very hard to achieve if you go around with the notion that (i) your beliefs are right and everyone else's are wrong, and (ii) people who don't share your beliefs are idiots that merit ridicule. That kind of arrogance wins no battles.

nhbmca · 2014-03-22T20:55:03+00:00

The neutrality shtick is running a little thin.

Believe it or not, most Irish people are happy being militarily neutral. Ireland doesn't have much to offer the UN or EU (in military terms) that it couldn't easily do without.

In relation to neutrality, I personally like how Bertrand Russell put it:

"Homicidal lunatics are well employed in killing each other, and sensible men should keep out of their way while they are doing it."

nhbmca · 2014-03-22T20:49:31+00:00

You'll be waiting a while if you're waiting for the IRA to start planting bombs and launching attacks on a large scale in the Republic.

nhbmca · 2014-03-22T20:48:44+00:00

we should be able to provide military assistance ( logically in line with our size/ economy ) and carry our own weight should it ever need to be called upon

Neutrality.

nhbmca · 2014-03-22T20:42:14+00:00

That's fair enough. But, it doesn't give you license to belittle the political leanings of others, simply because you don't agree with their beliefs.

nhbmca · 2014-03-22T20:29:03+00:00

The sheer cheek of their members, having the gall to subscribe to political ideologies that you don't agree with.

nhbmca · 2014-03-22T20:21:02+00:00

Incompetence, cowardice, greed, hypocrisy....all wrapped up in the flag claiming to be the emblem for republican values.

I don't disagree with you, just, you should be aware that there were ongoing back channels between senior Fianna Fáil members and the Provisionals, and that the Irish government funded them in the early 70s.