I has nothing at all to do with religion. Catholics have been allowed to freely practice their religion in Britain for 200 years now – there are absolutely no issues whatsoever as far as that is concerned. It is about power. The economic power of Ulster Loyalists, the power of Nationalist and Loyalist organised criminals. It is about employment opportunities and housing. It is about political and sovereign power.
And far from not 'reporting it as a religious conflict', the opposite imo is true – too often the media reports it simply as a conflict between Catholics and Protestants. Instead of what it really is, perpetual struggles between antagonistic classes – political and economic struggles.
Reconciliation, welcomed as it is, can only ever be a short term fix. The long term fix can only come through fundamental shifts in political and economic power. Of course a great deal has been achieved in recent years in that respect, but imo only a fool would believe that all of NI problems have suddenly "just disappeared".
And as we can see, there are still those who are willing to exploit the situation and the bitterness which still exists for their nasty misanthropic agenda. If the "Real IRA" (what a **** ridiculous name) really cared about the Nationalist community which they purport to represent, then they would cease immediately their criminal acts and and throw their weight behind political and economic struggles. But of course as we all know, the bunch of psychopaths don't give a toss about the people of NI.
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As a Northern Irish person I look forward to the insight and wisdom that only Singletrack forum users can shine on this subject.
Obviously that is a pisstake, and you presumably resent anyone who isn't Northern Irish having an opinion on NI, but do you extend that to all the British people, including the British government ? Because whilst there is probably a case to be made that long term the British should have little input into the affairs of NI, as long as the British taxpayer is pouring money into NI and the British government is prepared if necessary, to send it's troops over there, I think the British people are perfectly entitled to have an opinion on the situation. Of course it would be hugely useful and constructive if it was an informed opinion, which sadly often isn't the case – but I blame the media to a large extent for that.
IMHO