Poles attacked in Northern Ireland

[ianek70]

A "family of Poles" (5 men, 1 woman, 1 small child) had their house in a
loyalist area of Derry attacked by masked thugs.

serwisy.gazeta.pl/swiat/1,34180,3365535.html

These thugs are a small minority, and attacking anybody's home in the middle
of the night is disgusting and cowardly (children or not).
But how could anyone who's spent more than 3 or 4 minutes in the North of
Ireland even consider wandering round a Prod housing scheme in a Celtic top?

[nasza_maggie]

You can't blame them...
I lived in the Uk for many years and to be honest 9/10 of my friends had no
idea what was the whole mallarchy about with the IRA and Northern Ireland wasa
about.
So to be honest, I'm not surprised many Poles (especially those looking for a
new life) have no idea about Irelands past and Celtic tops and the
Catholic/Protestant divide.
And since most Poles are seen as Catholics and Derry is protestant - 'Bob's
your wujek', as you say.

[ianek70]

nasza_maggie napisała:

> You can't blame them...
> I lived in the Uk for many years and to be honest 9/10 of my friends had no
> idea what was the whole mallarchy about with the IRA and Northern Ireland
wasa
>
> about.

A lot of English people just read about the conflict in newspapers, and
occasionally got bombed. In Scotland we never got bombed, but both sides bored
us shitless with their propaganda, graffitti, martyrology and, most mercilessly
of all, the constant singing.

> So to be honest, I'm not surprised many Poles (especially those looking for a
> new life) have no idea about Irelands past and Celtic tops and the
> Catholic/Protestant divide.

Poles often ask me "Celtic or Rangers?", and I don't support either, but the
question is still surprising because u nas it's a kind of taboo, the same way
you don't ask a stranger's surname, or which school he went to, because that's
basically asking if they're Catholic or Protestant.
But most Poles who know anything about football know that one team is this way
and the other that way, and any Pole who's ever read a newspaper, or ever even
wondered why Northern Ireland actually exists, knows about the Great Divide.
Obviously most folk in NI just want a peaceful life, but the small amount of
homocidal maniacs on both sides are well-known for being more homocidal than
maniacs in most other parts of Europe. History is complicated, but provoking a
mainic is deceptively simple.
Would you roam the streets of Chorzów in a "Łowca Hanysów" T-shirt?

> And since most Poles are seen as Catholics and Derry is protestant - 'Bob's
> your wujek', as you say.

Derry is actually about 2/3 Catholic, which perfectly suits the siege mentality
of some of the non-Catholic community...

[nasza_maggie]

singing??


> Would you roam the streets of Chorzów in a "Łowca Hanysów" T-shirt?

not intentionally, but if I did i wouldnt know it would do me harm..

[ianek70]

nasza_maggie napisała:

> singing??

People with strong views tend to try to express them artistically.
Unfortunately, people with stupid views tend to be completely talentless, and
express themselves by shouting.
"Would You Like a Chicken Supper, Bobby Sands?" is only a minor masterpiece of
sick humour the first time you hear it, and even then it gets boring by the 3rd
or 4th verse.

> > Would you roam the streets of Chorzów in a "Łowca Hanysów" T-shirt?
>
> not intentionally, but if I did i wouldnt know it would do me harm.

OK, bad analogy.
Think about Jerusalem. East or West.
Do some extensive research into the history, culture and sociology of the place
and find out which football strip is most likely to get you killed. Then buy
this strip and wear it.
In NI very very basic research is enough.
But having said that I'd still advise against wearing a "Łowca Hanysów" T-shirt
in Konigshutte.

[marcus_anglikiem]

having read the article, i'd not stand for it. if i lived in a divided area i
would mind my own business. but if once someone started a problem with me, it'd
be war to the death, no question.

[ianek70]

marcus_anglikiem napisał:

> having read the article, i'd not stand for it. if i lived in a divided area i
> would mind my own business. but if once someone started a problem with me,
it'd
>
> be war to the death, no question.

It's hardly a divided area, since bigoted arseholes carried out ethnic
cleansing several decades ago.
So if you objected to having the pavement outside your house painted red, white
and blue then you'd be in a minority of one, and war to the death would, sadly,
be quite possible.

[nasza_maggie]

You know, I can't help think, someome really doesn't have the time to be
bothered to go SO MUCH into history to see if s/he can wear a football shirt or
not....
I mean, in London you'd have to be really unlucky for that to happen to you
because of a MANU or Liverpool football shhirt.
But then I guess Derry is just - different.

[ianek70]

nasza_maggie napisała:

> You know, I can't help think, someome really doesn't have the time to be
> bothered to go SO MUCH into history to see if s/he can wear a football shirt
or
>
> not....
> I mean, in London you'd have to be really unlucky for that to happen to you
> because of a MANU or Liverpool football shhirt.
> But then I guess Derry is just - different.

There are parts of Bosnia where you can wear a Serbia shirt, and parts where
it's best not to.
Some people need encyclopaedias and National Geographic documentaries to tell
them which is which, others use their common sense.