The Equality Commission has a Guide for Employers and Employees. It says “there should be no place in the workplace for conduct that has the potential to disrupt an harmonious working environment”. So here’s the question: did Ruth Patterson’s donning of a Linfield scarf in Belfast City Council last night help promote a harmonious working environment?
Definitely No. Did Ruth know it would damage harmonious working relations? Of course she did. Ruth’s record on promoting harmonious relations is nothing if not consistent. When she was deputy mayor, she refused to shake hands or even look at the Sinn Féin mayor. She posted on a website her satisfaction at the thought of a Michael-Stone-type attack on a proposed republican march. She is a woman who appears to delight in doing things that belong in the past and certainly not in an adult political system.
The fact is that Linfield in its history as a football club was the epitome of anti-Catholic bigotry. I say ‘was’ – the club is presently doing all it can to leave that history behind it. In Belfast City Hall I presume Sinn Féin were seeking to encourage that kind of positive behaviour in the club when it supported the motion to honour the LInfield manager David Jeffrey. Ruth on the other hand was seeking to appeal to those who would drag the club back to its unhappy past.
But here’s the saddest thing. When a politician speaks or acts – any politician – he or she has part of his/her mind focused on the next election. Will this action or statement get me votes? Ruth Patterson will, presumably, be looking for votes in May. Which means she believes that this kind of provocative, jarring, hackles-raising conduct is something her electorate like to see. Oh dear. I hope not. I really hope not.
You stay classy Ruth…
Well I suppose a Glasgow Rangers scarf is just a bit to embarrassing to wear these days.
There should be a strict policy of business attire in the council no football or gaelic gear no T shirts or jeans then we wouldnt have these issues at all.
‘business attire’, really? another person then who is impressed by a dress code. Surely it’s the substance of the person and the quality of their work that’s important, never mind what they are wearing? Banning particular items of clothing hardly deals with the matter does it, you still have a bigot on your hands at the end of the day.
No worries Jude – all part of the unionist community’s outreach programme ensuring that Nationalists will continue to vote for Nationalist parties, ensuring a Nationalist majority by 2020 and a Nationalist electoral majority by the mid-2020’s.
It’s all good as it’s working perfectly.
I am a Protestant , all I can say is God help us our politicians just keep making things worse?
Jude :
Dear, dear , dear…..What other world do people like this perma- tanned “Ruth” politician inhabit. There is legislation everywhere ,in offices and workplaces to regulate immodest , unlawful and provocative behaviour. Symbols and tee shirts are carefully vetted so as to avoid offence.The rules are already laid down and most civic- minded , sensible and mature adults respect the rules for the common good.. They know what can cause offence to their neighbours, so it takes only a fool to deliberately antagonise their fellow workers. If , and when they do, they face a board and possible dismissal.
People are fined for smoking where they are not allowed . Speaking on .phones are banned in cars for reasons of health and safety. Litter louts are fined. Parking tickets are issued. We all pay to live in a half-civilised world.
Divided up as Northern Ireland is into competing tribes ,everyone is advised to tread carefully lest they walk on someone else’s dreams…So where does a person get the idea that acting like an immature nitwit and flaunting a generally accepted behavioural rule like this is a good thing for the wider community?
It reduces local politics to a playground game. They may as well all wear various football jerseys and shout insults at each other before they get down to exchanging blows..
Like i said before , most of our politicians are n’t worth a damn, mostly intellectually challenged at best, but some , are completely unfit for purpose. No argument needed on that one….
Ruthless Ruth is appealing to the lowest common denominator and Sinn Fein are giving her the publicity she craves. Who cares if her industrial size knickers are red white and blue.
The bigger question for me is when was she relieved of her duties by the Roly Polys
Just watched the full clip of the event Cllr Mcveigh did not cover himself with much glory and his refusal to listen to standing orders was poor.
Cllr Patterson behaviour after the Mc Veighs comments left a lot to be desired as well
BTW some of the comments here are openly sexist and openly mocking of her weight Im surprised you have not challeneged anybody on this?
I expected nothing else from Ruth. I expected better from SF. They’ve let themselves down and look very silly. Let’s leave her to it in the future and not get dragged into her gutter.
I think some in Ruths own community are starting to see through her.A man called “John from Tyrone” came onto Nolans show this morning to berate her. He claimed she had no interest or knowledge of soccer or Linfield.He said she was only goading people and electioneering and that a donkey could get elected by wrapping itself in a union jack.John has been ringing current affairs programmes for decades and always came across as a very hardline Unionist.Interestingly in recent weeks I have noticed him giving Sinn Fein credit for their stance on social and economic issues.He said they were the only party defending poor and marginalised people with regard to welfare reform .He also said Martin McGuinness was the most strident about Villiers evicting Praxis from Hillsborough castle while Unionist politicians showed indifference.He put no blame on SF over the city hall shenanigans.I have to say I find this very interesting.
Jude, you forget in all of this that there’s a group who hate and despise her “attire” more than any foaming Republican and they ain’t going to votail Sinn Fein any time soon.
There are Nationalists who will never vote for the Shinners – but the real point is that the Re-unification of our country is a National project and is not the exclusive property of any single political party or group.
There are pragmatic Unionists who are not opposed to unity per se – this group ultimately poses one of the most serious threats to the hard-line unionists like Babe Ruth.
Michael c
Is this John the chap who always referred to the late lamented Talk Back presenter David as `Mister Dunseith`? If so that IS interesting. He always stuck me as a real die hard.
Yes its that John and he refers to Nolan as “Mister Nolan”.I would doubt hes turned Republican but he clearly sees the unionist parties as Tories and SF as being sound in defending the vulnerable.
I just don`t get it how thousands of perfectly sensible people continually vote for the two main Unionist parties when they behave like faithful poodles to the Tories.
Getting back to Ruth, nice Biblical name, she has probably never had any social dealings with Catholics, probably brought up to at best distrust us and at worst, well, just read her retweets. (Is that a word?) Sad but inevitable consequence of a society that thrives on religious bigotry.
Ruth had plenty of Catholic friends when growing up on her estate in Dungannon. Sure didn’t she tell us, not so long ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uUfZgRXDZY&safe=active
i’ve posted the video of the spat. the DUP deputy Lord mayor – and how he insists on his full title – comes across as very bullying .
Ben :
I would agree. Nobody came out of that video looking good. They really do all act like childish prats. They don’t actually “act”. That’s simply how awful they are.
Ruth’s idea of “humour” in donning the Scarf of Contention set the whole thing off of course.. She probably thought it was a funny gesture by her demeanour;much like those awful asinine adverts we are subject to on UTV. that are supposed to be humourous….{you know ,… the ones you’d never see aired anywhere else}…..it’s all very cringe-inducing..Then there’s the vitriolic over-reaction and following harangue between the Shinners and the Dupers. Any old excuse for both of them to stir up a stinking pot and remind us what terrible politicians they are.
Like i said earlier, these geniuses know what happens when a flag is waved at a bull. I dare say if it happened in any office or factory in Northern Ireland or the UK, it would be a sacking offence.
yes paddy – that’s all true. nobody came off well.Storm in a tea cup and all that.
But the Deputy lord mayor’s bullying and ordering mr Mc veigh to shut up, sit down and stop acting like a petulant child – all seemed reminiscent of Croppies lie down, which was probably the point the DUP had decided to make.
Arent they all shackin all together Paddykool.Sure isn’t wan side as bad as the other.Maybe you could tell us who you would recommend to save us from ourselves.
michael c and ben :
To tell the truth , all this talk of “Croppys lying down” and the like-minded insults mean nothing to me,They may have meant something a generation ago but not now, when thrown by idiots. if I’m honest with myself. I don’t feel that any of these people live in the same mindset that I do.Those kinds of insults are to be laughed at The insults are playground taunts.The hullaballoo over flags and symbols and all the rest is a nonsense to me . None of them are ever really going to insult me with this juvenile fodder.
It’s the bloody waste of time and energy over this kind of nonsense that bugs me.
Grown men and women prattling on like children in a school yard and then pretending to have serious intent at making politics work for all of us.the thing they’re paid to do!
I suppose we only get the politicians we deserve or those that a well-indoctrinated percentage of us vote into positions of power..I’m struggling to find anyone out there with an original idea or the presence and intellectual kudos to move the whole lot of us out of this political quagmire. We’re left to vote for the least damaging option. They’ve all managed to gain a shaky coalition of political power together here. There’s no opposition to their reign , but they seem unable to get the the whole thing moving. If either side decides to bail out ,Westminster and possibly Dublin and the USA will take over .
It means simply that we haven’t harnessed the brainpower to make the necessary political deals and compromises that will make our society work as a normal one.It’s way better than the slaughter of the past but it’s not really politics and none of them are in the same league , by comparison , to someone like Tony Benn or Mr Clinton…..Pygmies by comparison….
Tony Benn has great admiration for the SF leadership so you can count him out of your “plague on all your houses” argument.
Michael :
Tony Benn may have admired the SF leadership. I have no idea if he does or doesn’t. He may admire Gerry Adams or David Trimble for all I know. We’re not talking about them though. We’re talking about a bunch of lesser -talented individuals squabbling over a scarf on our payday
.We’re not exactly creating the “Great Society” here.These people are not in his league at all..
Don’t think Tony ever expressed admiration for any unionist.He despises partition and those that uphold it.
michael:
I think you misunderstood me. I know Tony Benn’s politics were left wing and I’ve great respect for his stand throughout his life. I do respect the man , his politics and his stance. What i’m talking about here are political “skills”. You mightn’t like a particular musician’s work for example but you can appreciate his skill and dexterity. .I love Picasso but would I want to live with his misogyny? Would i leave my wife alone with him? I don’t think so…..i didn’t particularly like Trimble’s public persona or Tony Blair’s for that matter, but i could see how good at their jobs the buggers were., even if I didn’t particularly like what they did with them at times..
michael c
Just to be clear can you tell me do you see anything wrong with anything Sinn Fein or the IRA has done in the last 40 years?
Here are a few suggestions;
Killing civilians, Catholic and Protestant.,
Killing children
Maybe allowing the whole armed struggle to go on a bit long
Using the hunger strikers as pawns
Disappearing people and forgetting where they buried them
Abandoning former comrades when they dare to criticise the leadeship
Covering up sex abuse within the organisation
Any of those bother you at all?
Or is everything for the best in the best of all possible worlds?
To save time, if we agree that Unionists are terrible people and the Brits are just evil can we get an answer out of you?
I disagree with many aspects of the republican campaign.I have no doubt that a ceasefire should have been called much earlier and there was a recklessness at times which resulted in civilian deaths.Those former comrades you refer to wanted no truck with peace and the Liam Adams case was reported to the police the minute his daughter mentioned it.Any difficulties I had with Sf paled in comparison to what the hypocrites who opposed them were engaged in.Governments who killed hundreds of thousands worldwide and those who supported them had much more to answer for in my book .SF took on the orange state and smashed it and me and hundreds of thousands like me will be eternally grateful for that.SF are admired worldwide by freedom loving people (see Mandelas funeral) and unionism is despised
I presume you are a parody poster Michael?
Fellas :
i think we’ve drifted way too far from Jude’s original point…