{"id":2538,"date":"2013-11-02T14:52:08","date_gmt":"2013-11-02T14:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.longkeshinsideout.co.uk\/?p=2538"},"modified":"2013-11-02T14:52:08","modified_gmt":"2013-11-02T14:52:08","slug":"talking-with-loyalists-is-anybody-listening-john-kyle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.longkeshinsideout.co.uk\/?p=2538","title":{"rendered":"Talking with Loyalists: Is Anybody Listening?: John Kyle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Talking with Loyalists\u2026is anybody listening? asks Dr. John Kyle<\/h1>\n
Posted on November 2, 2013<\/a> by David Magee<\/a><\/div>\n

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\"John-Kyle\"<\/a><\/p>\n

by Dr. John Kyle, PUP Councillor on Belfast City Council<\/p>\n

Long before the ceasefires of 1994 or the George Mitchell talks, well hidden from the public gaze,\u00a0 Republicans, Nationalists, Unionists and Loyalists sat down to talk.\u00a0 More accurately they sat down to talk and listen.\u00a0 Listening to \u2018the other side,\u2019 hearing their experiences, and listening to their analyses was an important element of the journey from violence to the Good Friday Agreement.\u00a0 Slowly and painfully a measure of trust grew.\u00a0 Imperfect it may have been, but nonetheless essential for power sharing democratic institutions. Negotiation replaced armed conflict and the rest, as they say, is history.<\/p>\n

\"listening\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If only it was.\u00a0 To many people, we seem to be dangerously close to drifting back into old enmities and a new conflict.\u00a0 Is history repeating itself?<\/p>\n

Trust is once again a diminishing asset.\u00a0\u00a0 Bellicose rhetoric damages it and makes listening more difficult.\u00a0 What is said is also drowned out by the language used.\u00a0 There is growing ignorance of the \u2018other side\u2019. Significantly, there is also as a yawning chasm between middle class Unionism and Loyalism.<\/p>\n

By and large middle class Unionists simply do not understand Loyalists, they lack an appreciation of their everyday lives, their culture, their struggles, their deprivations, their fears and their aspirations.\u00a0 They are angered by the obduracy and stubbornness of Loyalists, dismissive of their concerns and scathingly critical of their actions. Their lives intersect infrequently.<\/p>\n

The middle class obsession with preserving grammar schools reinforces class difference and social division, keeping communities apart. Surely it is time to look again at an educational system that reinforces class differences and separates communities?\u00a0 Children should be educated in socially mixed environments, and academic selection at age eleven militates against this.\u00a0 A socially mixed school environment has been demonstrated to have significant benefits for society as a whole. If we are serious about a commitment to \u2018the common good\u2019 then we should not socially and academically segregate our children at the age of eleven but rather allow them to grow up together.<\/p>\n

Today, opportunities to talk and listen are few and far between, dialogue a distant memory.\u00a0 The problems of working class communities, educational failure, unemployment, suicide and addiction, and lack of suitable housing, are like a foreign country to many of the middle class.\u00a0 Why the Union Flag is so important to Loyalists remains a mystery and flute bands are without any redeeming features.<\/p>\n

Condemnation can be cathartic for the condemner but rarely changes the condemned.\u00a0 Dialogue is what is needed.\u00a0 Knowledge leads to understanding and understanding offers the prospect of informed debate and ultimately negotiated agreement and conciliation.\u00a0 Surely this is what we want?<\/p>\n

\"the-end-of-ulster-loyalism\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It is convenient to stereotype Loyalists. While some have engaged in organised criminal activity, they are a small minority and have been roundly condemned by the majority. To quote Gusty Spence \u2018Gangsterism and corruption of whatever type must be resisted at all costs\u2019. \u00a0Furthermore, recent books by Peter Shirlow (The End of Ulster Loyalism?) and Tony Novosel (Northern Ireland\u2019s Lost Opportunity) document clearly how some of the most progressive political thinking of the 1970s and 1980s emanated from Loyalists. Progressive Loyalist thought did not evaporate with the ceasefires of 1994 but it suits some to continually rubbish contributions from this quarter.<\/p>\n

\"northern-irelands-lost-opportunity-the-frustrated-promise-of-political-loyalism\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Too much acrimonious criticism has filled the airways in the past year.\u00a0 Perhaps it is time for \u2018moderates\u2019 to sit down and engage meaningfully with working class Loyalists.<\/p>\n

Listening to them alone, however, is not enough. Dialogue imposes obligations on all participants. Effective dialogue requires talking and listening, but it also maters how the communication is done. For their part, Loyalists must learn to communicate without aggression and rancour.\u00a0 Too often the Loyalist message is lost in the style of delivery; it\u2019s not just what you say, it\u2019s the way you say it.\u00a0 It may feel satisfying to verbally batter your opponent but it doesn\u2019t move us forward.<\/p>\n

For there to be hope for the future in Northern Ireland, we need to develop empathy for each other: that means opening up dialogue with everyone, including Loyalists. But can you do that, and will you listen?<\/p>\n

This post first appeared on the compromise after conflict blog page.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"understandingcartoon1\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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