All entries for Friday 01 June 2007

Nationalism Is A Bit Gay

Writing about web page http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6707163.stm

No, it really is! Nationalism is gay gay gay. At least, Sinn Fein nationalism is, with the rather confusing sight of Martin McGuinness fulfilling a genuinely agreeable position by condemning Ian Paisley Jr for being a little bit homophobic. Alright, technically IPJr said he was “repulsed” by homosexuality, not that gays should be thrown into the sea, or worse in the Vatican. But it really doesn’t work well, in a country trying to move away from problems caused by entrenched and slightly backwards ideas about religion, to have a major political figure (or the son of one) being a bit bigoted. And it is only a bit bigoted as when Paisleys in NI get a very bigoted it tends to lead to attempts to curb civil rights and stuff like that.

So yes, Sinn Fein are trying to resolve this using dialogue and gentle disapproval in the form of words. It’s a sign of progress, even if it is a little weird to be able to cheer on something SF are doing without any annoying conflicting factors like sectarianism or being associated with terrorists to taint things. So when are we going to see the giant Nationalist murals depicting Elton John and Rhona Cameron? It’d give the locals something to argue over – which gay is best for NI’s walls?

The only downside to all this is that IPJr appears to be as much of a twat as his father. Damn.

: 01 Jun 2007 00:41 |  Tags: Politics And Other Things No One Cares About |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem