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On Doctor/Reverend/Lord Ian Paisley.
Feb. 8th, 2012 11:51 amSo, last night in chat there was a brief discussion on Ian Paisley, and as I was in danger of drifting off into a long, chat-clogging tangent, I decided - wisely, I think - to shut up and save it for a journal post instead. This is that journal post.
So, I'm bothering to make this post partly because I think that Ian Paisley, as a political case study, is an important one - especially for UK and Irish people, because how he's treated, and the legitimacy he's given, tends to show a lot about politics in the UK and Ireland.
I also understand that, when he's being joked about in chat, the things said about him may well seem to ring false - because they are quite out there and absurd, and it is almost unbelievable, because most of us are used to the idea of politicians being held heavily accountable. But as a political figure, it's important to know what he's like, in part because he's so unusual.
Brief overview of terms: Unionist and nationalist here refer to 'wanting NI to be a part of the UK' and 'wanting NI to be a part of Ireland' respectively, rather than the more widespread use of 'nationalist' as 'aggressive jingoism and xenophobia'.
So, without further ado, a post that might get long, starting off with the context necessary to understand this.
Oh, and a here's one of his speeches. It was - controversial, to say the least.
( Contextual points. )
So, let's move on to what Ian Paisley is like.
( What Ian Paisley is like, and why he's unusual. )
( What it says about UK politics. )
( And personal thoughts. )
Okay, I've talked long enough about this already. Oh, Liam Neeson once expressed interest in playing Ian Paisley on screen - have a go at imagining that, I promise the mental image will be entertaining.
So, I'm bothering to make this post partly because I think that Ian Paisley, as a political case study, is an important one - especially for UK and Irish people, because how he's treated, and the legitimacy he's given, tends to show a lot about politics in the UK and Ireland.
I also understand that, when he's being joked about in chat, the things said about him may well seem to ring false - because they are quite out there and absurd, and it is almost unbelievable, because most of us are used to the idea of politicians being held heavily accountable. But as a political figure, it's important to know what he's like, in part because he's so unusual.
Brief overview of terms: Unionist and nationalist here refer to 'wanting NI to be a part of the UK' and 'wanting NI to be a part of Ireland' respectively, rather than the more widespread use of 'nationalist' as 'aggressive jingoism and xenophobia'.
So, without further ado, a post that might get long, starting off with the context necessary to understand this.
Oh, and a here's one of his speeches. It was - controversial, to say the least.
( Contextual points. )
So, let's move on to what Ian Paisley is like.
( What Ian Paisley is like, and why he's unusual. )
( What it says about UK politics. )
( And personal thoughts. )
Okay, I've talked long enough about this already. Oh, Liam Neeson once expressed interest in playing Ian Paisley on screen - have a go at imagining that, I promise the mental image will be entertaining.
