It’s a fine open morning in October and the honeybees are still flying .indeed the big purplish -blue passionflowers, hanging off the trellis ,on the deck , are open and in mad, tattered bloom and the bees are wrecking through the big stamens looking for a late season treat. They haven’t settled to the idea of Winter- coming yet, it would seem. The seasons are as topsy -turvy as the politics in Norneverland.It’s all- of- a- piece, as my father would have said.
It makes intriguing television at least .That Edwin Poots display live on the air , broadcast last night on the “Nolan Show”. I don’t believe I’ve seen such an unwarranted explosion of pure blind atavistic , primitive , hatred spat out at another human being, or a representative of an entire group of people. Alex Maskey was the recipient of all this ire. It reminded me of the mad television encounters in Norneverland in the 1960’s ,just before the “Troubles” left the evening television , political debate spots and exploded into violence onto the grimy streets.Yeah …love thy neigbour, baby!! Christianity …in all its mellifluous glory.
I found myself asking “Is Edwin Poots actually insane?” I watched him on the show as he sat stony faced, looking for all the world like one of the undead,a man who’d much rather be standing alone in a large field staring into the distance at a herd of cows , rather than sharing the air with his enemies . He has just said he and his colleagues had to “hold their noses” in order to do business with their fellow Sinn Fein ministers in Stormont. No one asked him, in return, how it felt to deal with the festering , fuming undead.
I looked at the man, taking in his Mr Spock , Star Trek-styled ears, his Alfred E. Neuman upper lip and his Jim Carrey “Dumb and Dumber”/Three Stooges haircut , realising that this man has already carried many crosses, but it was his outburst of insane anger when under pressure that made me think that the man has been irreparably damaged by holding back his obvious hatred .Keeping it in check and under wraps was obviously not the best thing to do for an extended period of time, but thankfully that particular cat was finally allowed out of that uncomfortable bag and was allowed to howl its hatred to the heavens. I wasn’t shocked .but I’m sure many were astounded by his level of animosity. Many expect more from politicians.He said “many in our community can’t stand the stench of Sinn Fein in government” .Well we all knew that , didn’t we?Many think he’s being very reasonable, of course but others think that a hatred like that makes him unsuitable for public service.How could such a man be even-handed?
Like I say it made great television but it was not a great look for anyone …especially someone doing politics in a shared Assembly.It was useful in the sense that we’ve only seen this full-blown hatred in little piecemeal pieces from the likes of Peter Robinson and Arlene Foster in recent days but this was really a bumper edition of hatred .
Meanwhile the Health Minister /ex Health Minister/ every so often Health Minister….. Simon Hamilton ,is making a case that the job should really only merit part-time wages in future days as he’s demonstrating that a capable person should be able to run the department by popping into the office on one or two days per week .Hopefully we’ll eventually be able to adjust the minister’s wages and maybe he’ll be able to fit another wee job flipping burgers in MacDonald’s to make up for the shortfall, on his days off.. In fact , if we only need our First Minister on a part time basis , maybe his wage bill could be halved too. While we’re budgeting , counting every penny , these are savings possibilities surely worth pursuing .
A woman was on the radio just now , saying that Mr Poots should be brought back to replace Mr Hamilton as Health Minister . She said he did a much better job, but in my view I’m afraid Mr Poots anger management problems should actually make him unfit to have any place at all in any kind of governmental position .I’m afraid he’s blown his top and blown it all in the process.Better that he should stand in that field staring at those cows.
IMO Poots simply stated the DUP mantra towards SK, republicans/nationalists. I am sure he has framed pictures of old “Punch” magazine cartoons picturing the Irish as sub human on his wall
Harry, didn’t see the prog, however, my own belief is that it is a positive thing when someone, regardless of party, expose their true feelings. Mr Poots has managed to insult SF supporters north & south. Still if it means the DUP in power, perhaps they could follow the example of their late leader & chuckle along together, regardless of bad odours.
Bridget…it simply has to be seen to be believed. It was the most extraordinary outburst that has been televised in years . My description does it scant justice. All that was missing from the wretched , naked hatred was the smell of sulphur. If it’s on iPlayer catch it …not one to miss.
My money is on Poots taking over from Robinson. He has all the attributes necessary.More bigoted than even Robinson or Foster. He is dour, even worse than Deputy Dodds and the Evagelical fervour of Paisley.Should fill the bill for those born again Creationists madmen and women that vote for them.
‘Better that he should stand in the field staring at the cows’.
But have you no compassion for the poor cows, as his venomous hatred might be directed at them?
But he cleared it all up on Talkback. He actually loves Roman Catholics.It’s the terrorists he hates.He can’t figure out how decent, professional catholics could ever vote for terrorists. How could anybody with half a brain vote for the DUP? As fine a collection of flat earthers, homophobes, racists, sneerers and moaners as you would never thought could exist. Don’t forget a man has been murdered on our streets. Not two men or 200 men but a man. This has to be brought to a head. Like in 1969? When this new independent IMC comes out with a verdict ‘substantially the same’ (to quote the Governor General) as the ex- RUC man’s, where do we go from there? Do we flush Stormont? Do we hold our noses and carry on? Bring on Direct Rule. A colony once again.
Aw dear, Jude …I must’ve forgotten to upload a lovely photo of Jim Carrey…It would’ve balanced things out…..
sure send it to me and I’ll add it…
Okay , Jude …coming right up!
Deanta
didn’t see the program but will look for it. what caught my eye the most was the “explanation” afterward Poots made – that he loved Roman Catholics but hated terrorists. many in SF are RC, shall he not love them too?
it is upsetting but and easy out for him because I’m sure many of his fellow DUPers would then agree with him and say well right then, we love Roman Catholics
I think Poots took his cue from Donald Trump and his vitriol about Mexicans being rapists, murderers. etc but some of them are good too….
there is no place in politics for such people
If only the Ubermenschen of the UK Uppercrust had been content to send over chinless wonders of the Drones Club to rule the roost, as it were, from on high things wouldn’t have been too bad. But once the crucial policy decision was taken to put, erm, Poots on the Ground all helium broke out.
It’s been downhill and high registers for Noreneverland every since.
Know what I mean, ‘Arry?
Still, all is not lost: not as long as the life-enhancing, unalterable, undead portrait of Alfred E. Neuman is (bottom right) still there to stare out at us, daring us to worry. When the realpolitik (alleged) is at its most bleak, then what a friend we truly have in Alfred.
That smile, that dial ! Bi-eyeballing us from the cover of MAD magazine, it never fails to banish the bile, much in the way as the cover scene in It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World invariably does.
When, in one of the great visual gags in fillumic history, the last act of Smiler Grogan (Jimmy Durante) as he lays dying on the side of a California hillside is to jerk out his bent knee and accidentally dislodge a rusty old bucket (which quite astonishingly just happened to be positioned there) which goes a-clattering down the hillside to the bottom of the canyon.
Curiously, there is, of course, a Newman (incorrectly spelt, alas) House in Dublin which was the first edifice to accommodate the new Catholic University of Ireland. Even more curiously it was originally built by Squire Whaley who was known as Burn-Chapel Whaley for his rather less than pro-Catholic sentiments. In today’s money, that would translate as an editorial in, say, The Unionist Times.
Things gets even curiouser. His son, the legendary Buck Whaley went on to play handball against the Wailing Wall of Jerusalem (for a bet) and later, for another bet, moved to the Isle of Man ‘so that he could live upon Irish ground without residing in Ireland’.
This he achieved by importing soil from Ireland and having his new house built upon this soil. For a second time, he won the bet.
Hard to believe that the long version of his adopted isle was not The Isle of Neuman.
Yes …Mighty …what a friend we have in Alfred, indeed…All sing , very loudly in unison
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
Take it to Alfred E……in there….
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Alfred knows our every weakness;
take it to Alfred E. ……in there !
It seems that the DUP have been giving such grave offence to the olfactory sensibilities of the establishment over in the “mainland” that they couldn’t even gain a place in the pre-election series of debates on the BBC. It seems the British nostrils have been picking up the same noxious whiff that nationalists/republicans have been picking up for decades.
here are a few , a very few more examples of Unionist contempt for Nationalists/Republicans https://eurofree3.wordpress.com/2015/08/07/unionistsloyalists-hold-nationalists-and-republicans-in-contempt/
It’s very hard to see how this mindset can be reformed. For the general good of the people of NI, the Uk and Irish governments need to find some way to circumvent it – joint authority/sovreignty looming on the horizon?
When you lay it all out in a sequence as you have done, ben, it really does look very damning. There seems to be a complete disconnect to rationality.. These people are supposed to be whiter than white Christians but they don’t even get that much right. There’s no “love thy neighbour as thyself”, here..it’s just….hate , hate , hate in all its forms…and yet they seem to believe in a redemptive Christian god . I find it baffling hypocrisy. Why do they even bother with all that religion when they don’t even get that right? Theirs seem to be a everlasting mantra of barely disguised hatred…well it’s not disguised at all ..it’s twisted and crooked and it’s pulled them right out of kilter…..but nobody talks about it enough. How can they even rationalise that?
An outburst like the Poots one would have a politician anywhere else thrown out of office …banned from the airwaves and possibly gaoled for hate speech ..and yet it is swept under the carpet within days until the next outburst or the next bonfire.They have no idea why we are in such a morass . They don’t seem to understand the origin story of this place either..the artificiality of its original structure and the bloody awful mess that was spawned by it..the fact that it was constructed through threats of violence and sustained by armed neighbours joining police armies .
Some kind of joint or three-way governmental structure might be an interim idea with the Republic and the UK both sitting with possibly some outside advisors from America and Europe who might inject some much needed logic and distance to the affair unstained by growing up in this mess. At the moment , unionism is crashing the car on a regular basis and nobody seems to know how to stop them doing it . It’s obvious they don’t want a government with nationalism involved and that is the problem .It simply can’t be any other way and that won’t change anytime soon so they are stalling at every chance.Some people need to be advised in no uncertain terms that there are disciplined rules of behaviour to adhere to if a society is ever going to function.Ministers like Poots are failing to see that simple fact and if they are incapable of sharing the load in a fair and equitable manner without a lot of one-sided unChristian carping , they are simply not fit to do the job in the first place.I would have much more respect if they at least said they were failed Christians rather than pretend in their delusion to be whiter than white .Not that I’m a believer, myself, , mind!