Victimised?

When de Valera declared the Irish Free State in 1922 as "a Catholic state for a Catholic people" and Carson declared Northern Ireland as "a Protestant state for a Protestant people", the scene was set for a victim culture on both sides of the border. In Northern Ireland, Protestants got the best housing and the best jobs. In the south, it was the Gaelic ascendancy. There's a lot of resentment in the northern Catholic community (as there would be among Protestants in Éire, if it weren't for the fact that nearly all of them either moved out or married people from the Catholic church which insists offspring be brought up as Catholics).

I see Fr. Alec Reid, the Catholic priest who watched the IRA destroy its weapons recently, has likened last century's Unionist ascendancy to Nazism, saying, "The reality is that the nationalist community in Northern Ireland were treated almost like animals by the unionist community. They were not treated like human beings. It was like the Nazis' treatment of the Jews." He later apologised for his harsh words, claiming he'd lost his temper in the face of antagonism. Indeed, victims leader Willie Frazer took the hump and walked out of the public meeting.

My first reaction when I read this was, "What a load of babies. Grow up". But that's far too simplistic. Why? Because whether Fr. Reid's words were ill-chosen or spot on, whether Mr. Frazer was right or wrong in walking out, and whether Nigel Dodds' and Reg Empey's subsequent cries of 'racist' are justifed or not, the truth is that there's a hell of a lot of hurt on both sides, and we ignore that at our peril.

Whether the resentment is justified or not is a moot point. Personally, I've never seen the police vicimise anyone, and any army patrol that ever stopped me was nothing short of courteous (and I'm blessed with a name that could fall into either camp). But by the law of averages I guess there must have been times when the security forces were heavy-handed, especially with people they knew to be terrorists or those who actively aided and abbetted them. Coupled with the economic disadvantage Catholics suffered, we have a cauldron of hurt in Northern Ireland that the current generation of Protestants should pause to recognise.

Whether or not you take issue with the above, think on this: in 21st century Ulster, feelings are as important as fact. Whether Fr. Alec Reid's statement was true, false or somewhere in between, it's the way he feels - the way his community feels - and it should simply be accepted and recognised. And you know what? I think at this stage people simply want their hurts to be recognised. People know the clocks can't be turned back. But as we enter a new phase of equality and peace, people are aching to be taken seriously. And that's why Willie Frazer - ironically a man well acquainted with suffering - should not have walked out. Had he shown sympathy, he may have received some in return.

You see, we're all victims. Playing down someone else's hurts doesn't lessen your own. And them voicing their hurts doesn't negate yours. I lost several friends to IRA terrorism, but spelling Republican with a small 'r' isn't going to bring them back.