From: wisp@dcs.warwick.ac.uk (Wisp)
Subject: Re: McDonald's and the IRA (Re: Big mac's and students)
Organization: Department of Computer Science, Warwick University, England
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1992 09:45:58 GMT

In article <1992Oct14.212657.21438@cbnewsl.cb.att.com> jlacey@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (james.w.lacey) writes:
>In article <1acmdbINNq63@bigboote.WPI.EDU> padutton@joseph.WPI.EDU (Peter Alan Dutton) writes:
>>
>>In any case, this brings up a related peeve: Protesters at St. Patrick's
>>Day parades who hold up signs saying "Give Ireland Back To The Irish" and
>>such, not caring that the average participant doesn't care for much more
>>than finding the next mug of green beer. And that the IRA are a bunch
>>of twits. And I'm Catholic, so I can say that.
>>
>>Of course, when it comes right down to it, I'm sure that there is enough
>>twittitude to go around for both sides, as in most conflicts.
>>
>>Peter!
>>
>>(Give Ireland Back To The British!)
>
>Peeve:  Why are the British (or as they pronounce it "Brish") so
>determined to give back Hong Kong, but so detemined to keep
>Northern Ireland ?  If there was a Hong Kong version of the
>IRA who were trying to unite Hong Kong with China, would the
>Brish change their minds and decide to keep Hong Kong ?  Maybe
>the best compromise is rather than having Northern Ireland
>part of either the UK or the Republic of Ireland, make it
>part of the People's Republic of China -- make it a two
>for one deal.
>

Ah, another ignoramus with no knowledge of the situation. Let me explain...

Hong Kong was *leased* from the Chinese government (then the emperor...)
for 99 years. That lease runs out in 1997, the PRC are not interested in
extending it, so HK reverts to its original owners.

Up until the end of WW I (just after, actually), the *whole* of Ireland
belonged to Britain. When independence was sorted out, the Protestant majority
in the north of the country, fearful of being put under the control of the
predominantly Catholic southerners (and who can blame them, judging by the
midaeval attitudes to abortion in Eire?), demanded to remain part of the
UK. So it was agreed, as an expedient to both sides to sort out the main
problem, independence for Eire.

As for giving it back, nothing would please me more. The fact remains that the
majority of people in Northern Ireland want to remain British, and no
government is going to give them away to Dublin. Maybe an indepenent Northern
Ireland is the answer: who knows? It's not a question of being 'determined to
keep Northern Ireland', just an inability to find any solution that will
even partly satisfy everyone...

As for Peter's comment about 'twittitude', he's partly right. There's
certainly enough of it to go around. Unfortunately, just like the Matching Tie
and Hankerchief, there are three sides here: the Republicans (IRA, INLA etc.),
the Loyalists (UDA, UFF, UVF etc.) and the British Army stuck in the middle,
for no apparent reason. (They were originally sent in mostly to protect the
Republican areas, because the RUC was completely out of hand!). I honestly
think it would be best to get the Army out: they do no good, just provide
a ready target for any wanker with an axe to grind.

Enough: like any Brit (Welshman, actually) who's vaguely interested in current
affairs, I could write a book on this shitty subject...

Later,

The Wisp.