(no subject)

[owl]

I was flicking through Michael Moore's Stupid White Men today. He takes a chapter off from Bush and Co to discuss global problem children...sure enough, the craziest corner of north Europe's in there.

His contribution to the solution of all Northern Ireland's problems? Convert the Protestants to Catholicism by force.

You know, he should have pitched that to the writers of Give My Head Peace instead.

First, Protestant does not equal Loyalist or even Unionist. Ditto Catholic and Republican/Nationalist. There's a very strong correlation, but it's not 100%.

Secondly, I know it's a joke. Lighten up, and all that. But you can only laugh about it if you've lived in the mess. How come the Palestinians got passive resistance, which might have a minuscule chance of making things better, and Northern Ireland got a sneer?

Than man spent pages and pages complaining that Bush is presiedent even though he had a minority of the votes. This seemed to get him very angry. So why is he even mentioning the equivalent of waving a sparkly wand at Democrats and crying 'You're a Republican'? So what does he mean, Britain has no right to Northern Ireland? Majorities win, NI has a Unionist majority, that's why it's part of the UK.

The problem with Northern Ireland isn't the Protestants; it's the inability of people to stop hating The Other Lot, the horrendously disadvantaged areas, the bastard gun-runners who are in the drugs these days, the economy that took off (goodness knows how when 65% of all jobs are in the public sector) and left the bottom section of the population behind, the paramilitary control of communities.

You know, I'd really like to see Mr Moore, a priest and a bucket of holy water in tow, set off up the Shankill to pacify Northern Ireland. On foot, if you please. I hope he isn't overly fond of his teeth. Or his kneecaps.

Comments

[leeflower.livejournal.com]

yeah, he has a habbit of taking his 'jokes' too far sometimes.

He's made some good points over the years, but the attempts at shock-humor tire after a while. Sometimes, after a very short while.

Unfortunately, it's a sentiment I've heard from a lot of people on my half of the pond. Both about Northern Ireland and Israel/Palestine: 'They just need to get the £$%& over themselves and stop hating each other.' Yeah, because it's *really* that simple.

I haven't seen SWM, but Farenheit 9/11 was pretty decent. That is, if you don't mind the fact that the retoric's cranked up to eleven.

[owl]

It's like he swallowed the Sinn Fein line whole. Considering that he spent two chapters complaining that the majority of voters didn't vote Bush in 2000, he finds it easy enough to handwave the fact that there is a majority who want to continue as part of the UK. Not even getting into the people who have an amotional attatchment to a united Ireland but might sing a differnet tune when faced with the economic reality...

'They just need to get the £$%& over themselves and stop hating each other.'

Well, they do. Not going to happen, however; it'd take a lot more grace than a bucket of holy water.

[leeflower.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm just saying it's not as simple as people just up and deciding to bury the hatchet.

Also? Not really so much a religious conflict, so even converting everyone probably wouldn't help (even if it were feasible, which of course it's NOT).

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

I loathe Michael Moore. The guy's a fraud and a phony. He simply figured out he could make a fast buck by selling the idea that most Americans are backward nutjobs to foreigners and the East/West Coast elites.

[owl]

When Bush got in again, I did start to wonder...

Of course, somebody has to keep voting for Phony B.Liar, or at any rate for his party's members.

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

As one of the backwards nutjobs who did vote for Bush, the alternative definitely wasn't better.

[owl]

Eeyore did strike me at the time as having no integrity (and so unmemorable that I can't even remember his actual name). His main advantage was in having not wasted billions invading to end up with a civil war. (And I have no idea why our government decided to help, unless it was in the hope that the US might be persuaded to take on northern Ireland as the 51st state, knowing that the Republic doesn't want it).

I don't think I'd like a system with just two parties; over here we probably have the opposite problem.

[aquarius-1977.livejournal.com]

Amen to that! He doesn't make documentaries. He makes propaganda. Many of his assertions and ideas are just ridiculous.

[owl]

Well, it was a second-hand bookshop and I didn't buy the book anyway. Still wouldn't vote Republican if I was an American, though.

[elerrina-amanya.livejournal.com]

*spits* What tablets does that man take? American arrogance about NI irritates me, and MM might just be more annoying than Clinton & Co. *grumps*