I received a Facebook message yesterday from a ‘young lady’ who had happened upon one of my comments on a Bel Tel piece. The subject? An NI Protocol protest parade led by Loyalist paramilitaries. The comment from me in question was one in which I stated “Loyalism supports terrorism, it’s literally that simple.” The ‘young lady’ in question who contacted me by way of private message, had the following response, and I quote, “U should STFU shit bird. Its SFIRA that support the rats ira. Embarrassing comment you left. *Union flag, Union flag*.” She then sent me a screenshot from my own page of the piece I wrote titled ‘Unionism’s only plan is Violence’. Under the screenshot she wrote, and again I quote, “Are you obsessed with us you fkin rat.”
Honestly, I have no problem with what ‘she’ said, oh how I chuckled. I’ve heard it all before and I get it on a regular basis as some of my work is public. The one thing all these ‘abusers’ have in common is, they don’t wait around for a response. All of those people who send me blatantly sectarian messages, and the one above is soft in comparison to many I receive, either block me as soon as they send the message or they have set up an anonymous account or fake account to send the message and then shut it down immediately afterward. I have yet to have had the pleasure of responding to a single one of these messages. I’ve had threats, I’ve had some really funny ones…well, in my opinion, and I’ve had some which I simply couldn’t decipher due to the Queen’s English being in such a state that I simply couldn’t tell from the broken words and grammar what the sender was attempting to convey. The wording in these messages contain all the usual terms which Loyalists seem to believe cause Republicans, Nationalists and Catholics much insult. Fenian, Taig, Priest lover, SF/IRA…”shit bird” – oh please, no more insults, I can’t stand the level of hurt this is causing my fragile Irish Republican feelings.
The thing is, in sending these messages, they are simply confirming what I’m writing about. Perhaps these people can’t accept that a fenian is more astute in his analysis of Loyalist culture than they themselves are. Threats, violence, supremacy (threatening messages) and support for armed terrorists are the weapons Loyalism and Unionism turn to when adversity challenges them. For instance, from the outset the Loyalist Communities Council have all but led Unionism’s response to the NI Protocol and I’d also say they’ve been involved from the time the DUP were negotiating the Brexit we have now.
The LCC’s Spokesman, David Campbell famously claimed “If loyalists have to physically fight then so be it”, a claim which caught even Jim Allister’s personal interviewer, Stephen Nolan off guard and was made much of even though Loyalists have failed to leave violence in the past. The threat of violence is always there, it’s always in the periphery until such times as Loyalism and Unionism is challenged. There was no outcry from Unionism when masked men marched through Portadown adorned in balaclavas and flying UVF flags but when dissident Republicans carried out the same in the past, there were immediate calls from Loyalism and Unionism for arrests. One rule for Loyalism another for Republicans – dissident or otherwise. While I don’t support dissident Republicans, the blatant bias is plain for all to see.
You see “Sinn Fein/IRA”, contrary to what many ‘private messagers’ may think, are no longer armed and are peaceful, and I do not associate dissident Republicans with Sinn Fein or the IRA. The fact is, Loyalists desperately need Sinn Fein and the IRA to be associated with and connected to current dissident Republicans because it maintains the self-inflicted notion that Loyalism is under siege and must support an armed terrorist force. Sadly, for Unionism, the IRA are gone, Sinn Fein believe in a peaceful transition to a united Ireland and that will not change, no matter how much the threat of violence is levelled at Nationalists, Republicans and Catholics…that’s not to say we won’t defend our communities.
Never assume that because I am peaceful, that I have forgotten how to defend myself.
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