What is our shared future?
People in Northern Ireland are not normal. We might try to tell ourselves that we are but we need to wake up and smell the coffee…as long as that coffee hasn’t been bought in Tesco’s.
Once again we have a British company treating the citizens of a British country differently. And why do we get treated differently? Because we aren’t viewed as normal, at least not by Tesco’s.
They won’t give us car insurance and now Tesco’s staff here are not allowed to wear a commemorative Jubilee badge celebrating 60 years of the British Monarch. This badge is how the Tesco stores across the UK are playing a part in the national celebrations. But not in Northern Ireland it seems.
Tesco’s claimed to have ‘regional variations across the UK in how the Jubilee is celebrated’. What exactly does that mean? They sent these same badges to Scotland. They are having a referendum on whether to remain part of Britain. Would it not have been more offensive in Scotland than here in Northern Ireland where we are British, proud to be British and politically, have secured our British identity. What ‘regional variations’ have occurred in Wales I wonder. Tesco’s claimed ‘these badges were issued in error’ to Northern Ireland.
However, this dispute raises a bigger question. How are we ever going to have a ‘shared future’ when, it seems Nationalists cannot even bear to look at anything resembling Britain without feeling oppressed, down trodden or greatly offended.
Everybody knows the reason Tesco’s don’t think British citizens living in Northern Ireland should be treated as equal as British citizens living in England, Scotland or Wales is because wearing this Jubilee Commemoration Badge might upset Nationalist/Republicans.
What is it that is so offensive about us, our culture, our way of life and our flag that causes uproar within the nationalist community?
The, now ex Sinn Fein Lord Mayor as soon as he came into office removed pictures of the Queen, and on leaving office claimed the ‘office of Belfast Lord Mayor is dominated by unionist trappings’. News for you young Niall, we are part of the Union!
And it was Sinn Fein, who’s Chairman Declan Kearney, is currently claiming their party want to sit down to cosy fireside chats with Unionists, who asked for an Equality Impact Assessment on the flying of the Union Flag at City Hall last year because of a handful of complaints. The results of this report recommended the Union Flag fly at City Hall on only 18 days in the year. Again, not for equality, but to appease a handful of nationalist/Republicans.
Northern Ireland is a pluralist society made up of a wide variety of nationalities. Yet the only nationality that has an issue with us is not our closest neighbours in the Republic of Ireland but nationalist/republicans who live in this part of the UK.
I have never heard any other nationality claiming to be offended by the flag of our country flying on the City Hall in our capital city.
Today, 1st June, Martina Purdy writes about a leaked report which suggests ‘fresh legal advice indicates that the present policy of flying the Union flag every day over city hall is lawful and that there is low risk of a successful challenge under discrimination law’.
Belfast City council meets on Friday evening and is expected to back the plans by the council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee to begin a public consultation on the issue of the Union Flag on 6th June. If you value your flag I would encourage you to respond to this consultation.
Sinn Fein claim they want to see a ‘neutral working environment or two flags’ at City Hall. They talk of wanting equality etc in Northern Ireland but then they seem to think there are only British and Irish people in Northern Ireland.
There is a very large Chinese community in Northern Ireland. Is Sinn Fein aware that the Chinese have a flag? Within this ‘shared society’ Sinn Fein talk of it only being shared between the British and Irish!
Or is it that Sinn Fein just don’t want to see anything British about the place, (while Declan reaches out to the unionist community).
Let me do some calculations for you. Martina Purdy’s report ends with a number of statistics. She writes that in September 400 visitors to City Hall were asked about the Union Flag. Of this 400 85% were from Northern Ireland, so we’re down to 340. Of this 340, 62% (211) were Protestant, 24% (81) were Catholic and 14% (48) ‘other’.
It then goes on to say ‘most Catholics – 56% – had no feelings on the issue of the flag’. By my calculations, (and I stress they’re approximate), that works out at 69 of the 81 Catholics having no problem with the Union Flag. Again only a minority have a problem.
There were only 12% of Catholics who ‘said the flag made them feel offended/unwelcome’. This equates to 9 Catholics.
Is our democracy now dictated by the minority?
In this survey of 400 people 9 have an issue with the flying of the Union Flag. And yet the issue of the Union Flag will be put out to public consultation.
How can we have a ‘shared society’ when it seems Nationalists cannot stand anything British and this minority get pandered to by all and sundry. Why is this? Why, in this shared society can the view of the majority not be listened to and accepted, instead of the bigoted view of a small minority getting the ruling vote all the time.
Can you imagine Muslim fundamentalists in England claiming they are offended by the Union Flag etc and the Government pandering to their every whim to remove all traces of things British?
SHARED SOCIETY
If Nationalist are genuine about wanting a shared society then they need to start to recognise and accept we are British.
Just because we have a pride in being British does not mean we are anti-Irish anymore than it makes us anti-Chinese.
If Nationalists genuinely want a shared society then stop trying to get rid of every part of our culture and identity. Show us, as proud British citizens some respect. Don’t give us hollow words about wanting to understand us and have a genuine debate with us while behind the scenes scheming to rid the country of any sign of British-ness. We are not that gullible.
Tesco’s maybe shouldn’t be blamed for bottling out in regards to their Jubilee Badge. They are responding to what they are seeing and hearing about Northern Ireland.
We are not a shared society. We have a society where a minority have a bigger say and are given more respect than the majority. Where the majority are lambasted, derided, ridiculed and made to seem like fascists every time we wish to express our culture. Where the good news stories are ignored by the media and our mainstream politicians submit in favour of lies and half-truths.
If Sinn Fein are genuine then let’s see and hear them accept, whether they like it or not, they are living in the UK, amongst British citizens. We hear them cry about injustice and inequality every time Britain is mentioned. It’s time they got over themselves.
Society today is not the same as 1916 or whatever time warp they live in. Because the Union Flag flies proudly over the City Hall does not mean they are being treating unjustly. It simply means they are in the UK. Just because Tesco’s decide to celebrate 60 years of the Monarch with a small badge, does not mean they are trying to offend Irish Nationalists living in the UK, (neither does a Union Flag sticker on a banana).
A ‘Shared society’ and future will happen when those living in society accept each other. Just as Loyalist people have accepted other Nationalities into their communities, whether Chinese, Polish or of whatever hue.
A ‘Shared Society’ will happen when we accept each other for what we are. Not when we try to change everything about each other.
Let us be a salad bowl society rather than a melting pot society
We are not going to live in some romantic unreal melting pot where we either have no identity or dual identity of British and Irish. Where, if the Union Flag is going to fly, then the flag of the Irish Republic has to fly alongside it.
In a salad bowl you get lettuce, tomato, cucumber…all different, all recognised as different, all together in the one bowl but existing together.
We are different. Let us accept our differences, debate our differences and recognise our differences.
It’s time Nationalist accept that when we celebrate being British what we are really doing, is celebrating being British, we are not oppressing them.
It’s time Nationalist accept that because we may fly the flag of our country at certain times in the year from lamp-posts does not mean we are trying to intimidate them on their way into work.
It’s time Nationalist accept that they are not the only other nationality living in Northern Ireland.
It’s time Nationalist accept that equality does not equate to their flag and commemorations being given equal footing as British ones in the UK.
It’s time Nationalist accept that regardless of how difficult they find it, regardless of the IRA trying to terrorise us, regardless of spineless politicians pandering to their every objection we are British, ‘we haven’t gone away you know’.
Now, excuse me, I’ve some shopping to do…in Sainsbury’s!!
Robert Allen
