Prudence and Florian
LOSING THE PLOT
WASH AND WIN
The distant Pony Club
THE PONY CLUB
Florian - the Official Portrait
FLORIAN`S BIG DAY
Rush hour at MacPeanuts
Supersize me!
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WHAT I`M READING...LE PAPILLON & LE PHALENE - GRAND COEURS EN PETIT TAILLE - Jean-Marie Vanbutsele
THE LAST FILM I SAW....
" PACIFIC RIM" - great fun. Gojira meets Neon Genesis Evangelion
Saga of a woman old enough to know better who lets her life be governed by the ridiculous hobby of breeding and showing dogs, musing on life, the twenty first century, Cameron and his mini-me, and the occasional sheep.
"IN DOG YEARS, I`M DEAD"
Saturday, June 04, 2005
WALK OF SHAME
Do you live in the Strathclyde area? Did you need a policeman this morning, around 9? Did you have trouble getting one?
I know where they were.
The little town nearest to me was turned into a no-go area this morning. The main street was closed off. Busineses were shut down.
And the place was packed with police. Plods and mounties. Vans rolled up and disgorged riot police in full gear. I counted 150 - I think there were a lot more. Not to mention the helicopters.
A riot? A big drug bust?
A walk. In this case a Hibernian one, but it could as easily have been the other lot.
And a whole community brought to a standstill. Trade non-existent. Not to mention the awesome cost of the exercise, lots of it coming out of my council tax. A police presence had been drawn in from miles around - it was the ideal morning to start a new career as a burglar or mugger.
I find the whole west of Scotland sectarian business disgusting. I wasn`t brought up in a tradition of religious hatred and find it hard to adjust to a society where it is the norm, and there is absolutely no social or political justification for it. This isn`t Ireland.
I`m shocked to hear fathers say to children - "You`re marching for your faith".
Faith is for home and prayer and life, not provocative marching.
We have laws against incitement to religious hatred. I`d like to see them used to outlaw Orange and Hibernian parades in my country. It would be a start.
Fat chance.
I know where they were.
The little town nearest to me was turned into a no-go area this morning. The main street was closed off. Busineses were shut down.
And the place was packed with police. Plods and mounties. Vans rolled up and disgorged riot police in full gear. I counted 150 - I think there were a lot more. Not to mention the helicopters.
A riot? A big drug bust?
A walk. In this case a Hibernian one, but it could as easily have been the other lot.
And a whole community brought to a standstill. Trade non-existent. Not to mention the awesome cost of the exercise, lots of it coming out of my council tax. A police presence had been drawn in from miles around - it was the ideal morning to start a new career as a burglar or mugger.
I find the whole west of Scotland sectarian business disgusting. I wasn`t brought up in a tradition of religious hatred and find it hard to adjust to a society where it is the norm, and there is absolutely no social or political justification for it. This isn`t Ireland.
I`m shocked to hear fathers say to children - "You`re marching for your faith".
Faith is for home and prayer and life, not provocative marching.
We have laws against incitement to religious hatred. I`d like to see them used to outlaw Orange and Hibernian parades in my country. It would be a start.
Fat chance.
Comments:
Absolutely. Well said, Elizabeth.
It defeats me completely.
I was seeing a man a few years ago. A well brought up, highly educated person, with a very responsible job in Higher Education. He worked in Glasgow, and I was visiting. He took me for a drink at a pub in town. I think it's called The Horseshoe(?). I was admiring the mahogany bar and the wall tiles when I heard him say "of course, you shouldn't be on this side of the bar, with me". I laughed - he'd told me the bar was segregated. The laugh froze on my lips when I saw his face. He damn well meant it.
I was gobsmacked. He's not even Scottish - just a pretend one. He's got the accent and all, but he's got less Scots blood in him than I have. I doubt he has set foot inside a church in many years. And this guy is a highly-respected, and supposedly cultured, "suit". What hope is there for those kids whose fathers tell them they are marching for their faith?
What kind of a world is this?
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It defeats me completely.
I was seeing a man a few years ago. A well brought up, highly educated person, with a very responsible job in Higher Education. He worked in Glasgow, and I was visiting. He took me for a drink at a pub in town. I think it's called The Horseshoe(?). I was admiring the mahogany bar and the wall tiles when I heard him say "of course, you shouldn't be on this side of the bar, with me". I laughed - he'd told me the bar was segregated. The laugh froze on my lips when I saw his face. He damn well meant it.
I was gobsmacked. He's not even Scottish - just a pretend one. He's got the accent and all, but he's got less Scots blood in him than I have. I doubt he has set foot inside a church in many years. And this guy is a highly-respected, and supposedly cultured, "suit". What hope is there for those kids whose fathers tell them they are marching for their faith?
What kind of a world is this?
# posted by 
: 11:43 AM
: 11:43 AM