ciaran harvey

Jamie, you show an immaturity and an extraordinary ignorance of the word “supremacy.” you might want to invest in a dictionary. Chris Donnelly makes a perfectly reasonable and historically accurate point. The Orange Order is an exclusively Protestant institution with a long history of sectarian exclusion, political privilege and contentious marches. Yet Orange parades are accommodated across nationalist communities throughout NI, often without controversy. And your response? “Nationalist supremacy.” Jesus wept, Have you even a notion what supremacy means? Let me give you a wee leg up , my legal eagle chum. Supremacy: the condition of having superior power, authority or status over others. Now, let’s apply that definition to NI’s history, shall we? Who presided over a state in which Catholics experienced systematic discrimination in housing, employment and political representation? Who defended a political system built around permanent unionist control? Who enjoyed privileged access to political power while nationalist communities struggled for equal treatment? And which exclusively Protestant institution became so closely intertwined with that political establishment? So do you want to phone a friend? Unionist political dominance and the Orange Order’s historical relationship with it are textbook examples of institutional privilege and a supremacist political structure. You can Google that also And let’s not forget that the Orange Order’s membership has included individuals associated with loyalist paramilitary organisations, the police and the defence forces. Yet you would have us believe this historically powerful institution is somehow being oppressed because residents object to its members marching through their neighbourhoods. Then there’s your ridiculous comparison with the Catholic Church. Seriously? The Catholic Church exists primarily as a religious institution. The Orange Order is a religious, cultural and political fraternity with a long history of involvement in unionist politics. Religious exclusivity alone does not make an institution sectarian. Its conduct, rules and treatment of others matter. Nobody is denying Orangemen their religion, their British identity, their traditions or their right to assemble peacefully. What they are being denied is the supposed entitlement to exercise those rights wherever they please, regardless of the rights, wishes and historical experiences of the people living there. Not sure you get the distinction you continually and conveniently refuse to acknowledge. And here’s the part you really need to understand, Jamie. NI operated under a political system in which unionism held institutional power and nationalism was treated as subordinate. The civil rights movement challenged precisely that inequality. The GFA established principles of equality, parity of esteem and respect for both traditions. It did not replace unionist supremacy with nationalist supremacy. It rejected the principle that either community should dominate the other. Equality isn’t nationalist supremacy, Jamie. It’s the rejection of supremacy altogether. And perhaps that’s what troubles you and people of your ilk most. When you’ve grown accustomed to one tradition enjoying all that privilege, having to respect the equal rights of another can apparently feel like oppression. Chris Donnelly understands that distinction perfectly well. You, on the other hand, appear to be confusing the loss of historical privilege with the loss of human rights. And that, Jamie, says considerably more about your understanding of equality than it does about Chris Donnelly.