Thursday 30 April 2015

May 7th

Usually I prefer to stand outside of the establishment and piss through their letterbox rather than attempt to change it from within.  That’s the excuse I’ve allowed myself to wheel out whenever an election has come around and I’ve been apathetic towards the candidates.  All too often it’s made easy for me; after all, for the most part they’re lying self-serving bastards. But there’s a bigger picture scenario taking place in Northern Ireland at the moment and more amazingly, the smell of change in the air.

Those of you unaware with the Democratic Unionist Party might be fooled into thinking that they’re somewhat right of the Conservatives and a little left from UKIP but there's a black, vindictive, cancerous lie in their name.  They are by no means democratic.  The DUP believe strongly in equality, liberty, tolerance and understanding when it comes to them but for everyone else they are more than happy to tear up your civil rights and march across them to get what they deem to be their God-given (creationist) rights.  Over the years their targets have changed.  First it was the Irish Catholics of Northern Ireland.  When the Belfast Agreement was signed it became Immigrants and now Gay, Lesbian and Transgender couples.

Aside from their efforts to push a “Conscience Clause” effectively making it perfectly legal for them to discriminate against whoever they want under the banner of “religious freedom”, they’ve said they would only enter into a coalition if they had a law passed guaranteeing their right to march (who gives a fuck about the people made captive in their homes until the DUP have finished?!).  They have placed a blood donor ban on gay men and have blocked not one, not two, not even three but FOUR fucking attempts to bring Northern Ireland into the twenty-first century and pass a bill allowing Gay Marriage.  Everything they have done over the past three plus decades have been in active pursuit of a two tier system of equality (an oxymoron if ever there was one).  It would look as follows: Top Tier – DUP and its cronies – free to do and say whatever they want under the umbrella of “religious freedom”, Bottom Tier – Everyone else – free to do whatever the DUP don’t find objectionable.

All too often we don’t vote because we don’t feel we have something to vote for but on May 7th I, and I hope you, will be voting because you have something to vote against.  The DUP is a vile stain on Northern Ireland’s landscape.  It’s an unwelcome, and unwanted reminder of how things used to be.  They’re fighting to keep everyone that isn’t them as second class citizens.  They have been allowed to do this for so long because the majority in Northern Ireland were lazy or disenfranchised and for my part in passively retarding change in this country by doing nothing I’m sorry.  But enough is enough, equality doesn’t exist if it is not for everyone.  Democracy is a two-way street and these nasty bastards have had it their own way for far too long.  My name has been dirtied by proxy.  They represent Northern Ireland, they (in theory) represent me and yet you don’t speak for me.  I’m a heterosexual, white, male.  I’m part of the “privileged” of society.  I’m also non-religious (dead Catholic) and intolerant towards intolerance.  If you do not speak for me, I will not vote for you.  Together as a Nation we can remove the DUP from their seat or power and reinstate a degree of humanity to Northern Ireland.  We got Jim Wells out, time for the rest of them.