{"id":16159,"date":"2024-03-11T15:22:02","date_gmt":"2024-03-11T15:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cassandravoices.com\/?p=16159"},"modified":"2024-03-11T15:22:02","modified_gmt":"2024-03-11T15:22:02","slug":"anatomy-of-disgust-northern-irish-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/2024\/03\/11\/anatomy-of-disgust-northern-irish-style\/","title":{"rendered":"Anatomy of Disgust \u2013 Northern Irish Style"},"content":{"rendered":"

This piece is not intended to provoke. It is more a look at the way people\u2019s minds are shaped, how people think, and how that is articulated towards others.<\/span><\/p>\n

I realized something was \u2018ratten\u2019 in the state of \u2018Norn Ireland\u2019 when I was about four. My half-brother of about six or so and I were walking the street just on the periphery of our Nationalist Catholic housing estate, whereupon a teenager brandished a samurai sword, and with a twist of anger in his face said to us: \u2018Youse are Fenian bastards.\u2019<\/p>\n

I was perplexed even at that young age. We would venture around the estate pretty often so it was nothing new being out on our own during the day but this situation was \u2026 as I would grasp later, characterised by something that I would often hear in the rising and vitriolic anger during my life<\/p>\n

\u2018Dirty Fenian bastard!\u2019 and, \u2018Fucking black bastard!\u2019<\/p>\n

These<\/em> sectarian epithets, \u2018terms,\u2019 are learned from family members, from the local community, whether it be friends, etc., and were reinforced in those communities when I was growing up. Handed down. Indeed, I have repeated some sectarian hatred and bad language myself to tarnish \u2018the other side\u2019 i.e., the hated, and much-vaunted, enemy<\/em>.<\/p>\n

They are known in psychological terms as Interjections<\/em> \u2013 or interjects<\/em>. Which can be defined as the unconscious acceptance of terms, ideas, and personality traits of parents, guardians, and others we are close to when developing.<\/p>\n

This language of physical revulsion, termed \u2018the Sartrean Other,\u2019 is purely tribal; a visceral reaction to \u2018difference.\u2019 The anatomy of disgust \u2013 physical revulsion<\/em>. One is revolted by this other person, who does not worship the same way and that is to be feared, ridiculed and mistrusted \u2013 whole-heartedly.<\/em><\/p>\n

Bigotry came swarming from the pulpit, the soapbox, and the barstool from fervent rhetoricians stoking tensions. Revisionism is a strong pill that many swallow. Leafing out the hurts and wrongs of the past from the blood-soaked history of the place. Darkness lies there amongst the weeds where goblins live and thrive. The goblins of fear-mongering suspicion<\/em> \u2013 like you have an aura around you defining you as a being from a particular community, and once confirmed that aura becomes a symbolic role:<\/em> to hate, to destroy, and to kill.<\/p>\n

I have witnessed the teeth-binding, red-faced fury of hatred during a riot in Belfast when the two tribes were pitted against each other \u2013 the furore of two communities each on one side of the road separated by the police.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\u00a9 Daniele Idini.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The din was deafening. I remember thinking to myself, \u2018What circle or balcony of Dante\u2019s Hell is this?<\/em>\u2019<\/p>\n

Reinforced bigotry, non-capitulation, and plaintive victim-hood have been the two imposing forces that have fitted so succinctly into a certain kind of joint which once forged is forged into eternity in a union of unrest and hatred.<\/p>\n

I once worked in a factory setting in East Belfast and while on a break went over to the table in the canteen. A colleague pulled out a chair, put the book he was reading down into an open holdall \u2013 a Noam Chomsky work by the way \u2013 and smiled. His arms were swathed in tattoos. He was stocky but friendly with me. I cannot recall if we chatted much or not but I did wonder if this fella was a Loyalist paramilitary. By the look of him, I\u2019d opt for, yes<\/em>, but looks can be deceiving. One thing is for sure, he looked like a tough individual.<\/p>\n

Afterwards I wondered about the Chomsky book and thought to myself, \u2018Fairplay, you\u2019re reading Chomsky of all folk. For East Belfast, that\u2019s a brave step in self-education.\u2019 I smiled to myself at this autodidact. It was Chomsky\u2019s Who Rules The World? <\/em><\/p>\n

I told these guys like him, and guys from East Belfast during my shift and on the assembly line, that I was in recovery from alcoholism and do you know what? They listened and nodded their heads and some said, \u2018Yeah, my Da was an alcoholic. A terrible alcoholic. Fairplay to you that you are working on it.\u2019 I replied, \u2018Sorry to hear that, and, thanks.\u2019 It was gracious. Maybe God was looking over me. Who knows?<\/p>\n

I was never queried if I was \u2018A taig<\/em>?\u2019 I have no idea if they thought it. I surmise that it was because I was quiet, well-mannered, and honest with them: \u2018I am from Ballymena and I am in recovery from addictions.\u2019 Which is true. I was, and I am<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I worked late a couple of nights and through the night, a few shifts, at the factory and was never, ever questioned or challenged. I worked hard, and in many regards, was silently respected for my hard work.<\/p>\n

Then a couple of years ago, I was working with a few guys from the Shankill and, again, do you know what? We became rather friendly.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Shankill neighbourhood. \u00a9 Daniele Idini.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After our shift(s), they gave me lifts up home to a Nationalist area. Maybe seeing where I lived. Possibly<\/em>. But that\u2019s the cynic in me, maybe<\/em>, showing some caution too.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong, thirty-odd years ago I could have been taken to a quiet area say, up further than Ballysillan, made to get out and down on my knees and blasted in the back of the head with a gun \u2013 a couple of shots for good measure. \u2018There goes another Fenian bastard.\u2019 The supposed killers may have said. Blasted into eternity. Like the other victims of sectarian violence. Boom<\/em>. Gone<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But sectarianism doesn\u2019t just hold a grip on the minds of people back home, from working-class \u2018sectarian\u2019 communities. Indeed it can apply to people who refer to themselves as \u2018Christian\u2019, and who can be just as evil as the balaclava-clad gunman.<\/p>\n

I know because when I was homeless, and in a homeless hostel, in Belfast. I was harassed by a na\u00efve, and arrogant member of staff who would profess themselves to be a \u2018Christian\u2019. Their harassment was down to pure green-eyed jealousy. Their religious ethics, and morals, were overtaken by the temper of \u2018Getting one over on another human being.\u2019 Because they felt inferior.<\/p>\n

Basically, I was getting some attention from a female member of staff, who was to be my \u2018link worker.\u2019, This other member of staff did not like this and wanted to put an end to it. There was nothing going on, we just got on, but people noticed. Nothing would happen, nevertheless, this person glowered and bristled in their own way. It was selfish and clearly jealousy.<\/p>\n

That’s a pretty bad situation to be in if you feel you have to harass a homeless person in a hostel just because you wanted other staff members in the hostel to worship you.<\/p>\n

If you ask me, that was a disgusting way to act toward someone who was going through a difficult, and vulnerable, situation \u2013 someone without a familial home or any support. I was coming to terms with my alcoholism, but still in the early stages of accepting the reality and had not hopped on the wagon by that stage. I was struggling.<\/p>\n

I also remember working with a young woman from Loyalist Tiger\u2019s Bay on a project, in Belfast. We were chatting together and she said, \u2018You know, Neil, there\u2019s no difference between us, this sectarian and religious stuff.\u2019 And I replied, \u2018You know, you are 100% right.\u2019 Her conversation released me from the infinity of it, and I knew things would be different from then on; meaning I would have to leave in order to move on with my own life, and be free of it<\/em>.<\/p>\n

People in power, usually part of some particular establishment have a vested interest in preserving the statelet and write about it \u2013 with bias. As in, our side, our argument is more legitimate than yours. Hogwash<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Things can be different. As I have outlined my experiences in that factory and with those guys from the Shankill. I simply listened to their story. They listened to mine.<\/p>\n

It would be great if you could challenge yourself and listen too. You may learn something. I know I did.<\/p>\n

Feature Image: The Cupar Way \u2018Peace Wall\u2019 \u00a9 Daniele Idini.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This piece is not intended to provoke. It is more a look at the way people\u2019s minds are shaped, how people think, and how that is articulated towards others. I realized something was \u2018ratten\u2019 in the state of \u2018Norn Ireland\u2019 when I was about four. My half-brother of about six or so and I were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":225,"featured_media":16220,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[498,499,1438,1819,2499,3392,4512,6462,6464,6473,6680,6682,7430,7696,8252,8720,9268],"class_list":["post-16159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-comment","tag-anatomy","tag-anatomy-of-disgust","tag-cassandra-voices-northern-ireland","tag-comment","tag-disgust","tag-food","tag-irish","tag-neil-burns-antrim","tag-neil-burns-cassandra-voices","tag-neil-burns-northern-ireland","tag-northern","tag-northern-ireland","tag-prejudices-in-northern-ireland","tag-reflections-on-the-troubles","tag-sectarianism-in-northern-ireland","tag-style","tag-the-sartrean-other"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/225"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}