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WHAT ARE THE traits of a dysfunctional family or household? Maybe there is conflict and tension. Maybe there is poor communication. Maybe people don’t understand each other and maybe they don’t want to understand each other.
There may be control issues or maybe there is no respect for diversity, with an expectation that all family members will behave in the same way.
At times maybe there is bullying, intimidation and violence.
In a dysfunctional household when visitors come calling there may also be a concerted effort to hide the problems and put on the “outward” face – to show that things are “normal”. No problems here – until the visitors leave. Then back to as it is.
Is that what is happening in this region when it is suggested flags and emblems, and murals, are removed from the Giro d’Italia route?
Are we the dysfunctional family? Visitors are coming so let’s clean the place up; let’s not argue while they are here. Let’s pretend it’s like this all the time. Isn’t it great?
But for many people flags on lamp posts and murals with gunmen in aggressive poses with bullying and intimidating messages are an everyday reality, not just on the route of the Giro d’Italia.
For many, they demarcate territory and with them come the messages they are designed to send.
I understand why there are calls to remove the flags, emblems and murals on the race route. Something is better than nothing.
But isn’t the most important thing that like many dysfunctional families we recognise that some behaviour isn’t normal. We simply don’t understand each other and maybe still don’t want to understand each other.
Underlying everything is the need to recognise that building a shared and reconciled society will take decades and generations, and will need major resourcing and commitment to make it happen.
And what does not help in that work is allowing intimidating and bullying images to shape space and distort attitudes.
And agencies have a duty of care to all people, including those that feel intimidated whether they are a member of a dysfunctional family or whether they are just living their lives within the community – our community.
Peter Osborne is Chair of the Community Relations Council and can be followed on Twitter at @PeterOsborne_
This article first appeared on EamonnMaillie.com
Believe it or not, some of these murals are good for tourism.
That was going to be my twist on it too , there’s a few headcases around still ,but to lay waste to the propaganda that brought us so much misery would be a terrible crime to those dead and for our childrens education on the dangers of big government ….that , been our gift to them
Thats true, theres bus tours going through areas daily and they stop at murals for people to take photos.
Anytime I have tourists I’m my Taxi I always tell them if they have a day to spare to head up to Belfast. There is nowhere like it in Western Europe.
Hi there ….. JB
Has anyone asked Willie Frazer on his thoughts about this. I am in need of a good laugh.
No doubt Willie will say this is another disgraceful attack on his Britishness and the Italian flag cannot be flown for the Giro d’Italia because it looks too much like the flag of the Republic!!!
Begrudgy.
Did you happen to see willie attending his latest court appearance? He came in costume, as Abu Hamza. He even had the eye patch and hook. It was truly comical.
He’s off his rocker.
Yes and while they should remove the murals they should repaint the phone boxes and the post boxes green.
I’ll give you a brush and bucket of green paint, you’ve got Sydenham to Stormont
Can I do Nelson Drive in Derry Jamesie? :)
I would prefere Newtownards to Dundonald in July.
Ask Jamey boy ………. He comments about Frazier all the time as if he knows him
All flags should be removed from lamp posts. All kerbs should be cleaned of colours marking territory. All paramilitary murals should be removed. Amazingly in a province that remains part of the UK, the above are to be found more in unionists areas. Why is that? Why do Loyalists feel the need to destroy a mural of George Best and replace it with a mural of a UVF man? I don’t think it’s anything to do with Republicans, but more to do with a show of strength in their own areas.
It’s not a show of strength anymore …….. It’s a defence of a weakness ….. They cannot beat their drums at my house any more……. They cannot stop my job application any more
In two more years there is more loyalists collecting the dole in North East Ireland cause all the irish have jobs across the border
And go across the sea to mother England and see if they want you……
And Scotland will be free . …. Ha ha. Union Quack will not be allowed in Scotland , North East ireland and the only union left is with Wales ……. What a glorious “united wackdom”
They’re great for tourists but eyesores for the communities and barriers to peace and reconciliation. My solution would be to photograph them all before removing them for good. Then open a murals museum/gallery for the tourists.
Sectarian emblems, murals, flags have the function of maintaining the sectarian boundaries on the ground and in the mind. Politicians that want to end sectarianism should immediately move to enforce and outlaw of these tools of sectarianism. Attitudes and positions will change because they are based on a true understanding of the “other”, rather than the distorted, sectarian portrait of the “other” that cowardly politicians allow to shape the region.
The murals reinforce division.But forcing communtities to remove them would just be counter-productive.
How and why? Explain how it would be counter productive?
Sending in squads of PSNI in riot gear into neighbourhoods to remove murals which both sides of the divide see as integral to their identity,would be liable to escalate into violence.That would be counter productive.It would only work if communties voluntarily removed them.
They could do it during the day while they’re all at work. Ohhh right, ok then, maybe do it at 8am when they’re all tucked up sleeping off their buckfast hangovers.
Its not the communities who paint the sectarian murals. Its organisations like the UVF. The community cant remove them or they will be intimidated and hurt. That job is for the PSNI. But the Politicians and Police aren’t keen to take on the UVF. The UVF took over the flag protest a few months ago and with the orange order took on the Haass talks successfully. The Haass talks fell on the issue of banning Loyalist bands displaying sectarian emblems and playing sectarian tunes at the back of Orange parades. The DUP afraid of losing marginal seats in East Belfast torpedoes the talks. The Politicians and Police have no agenda to end sectarianism unfortunately.
Very true. They would also be replaced in days. Your comments are always spot on al shamen.
There will never be peace in N.I. Too much history, bad blood & shite stirrers like Fraizer using hatred & half truths to further their own agenda. No amount of ‘integration’ speeches will change that & the extremist elements on both sides exert a disproportionate influence for their numbers. Sad but true.
There is peace in the north. While it’s not perfect, it’s better than what we had before. And people like Frazer, who really should be sectioned, are a tiny minority. As are the dissident idiots.
It’s a pity the mind sets can’t be gotten rid of along with the murals. That way the upcoming generation might stand a chance.
These murals do represent the history of NI though, painting over them will not change that history, but perhaps in time they can serve as reminders of how far their communities have come. These were put up by local communities, only local communities should be allowed remove them. State intervention in what is ultimately a fairly trivial matter (they’re just paintings, the gunmen they represent are the real problem) could cause more trouble than it’s worth.
Also, a lot of the nationalist ones are absolutely brilliant. It’s as if they started doing paramilitary ones and just realised they were very good at art so started penning all sorts. Saw a beautiful Children of Lir mural in Belfast, and there’s a huge one for some Celtic player on the Falls. These are representative of the communities without in any way representing violence, and greatly enhance the areas in which they appear.
There was a lovely one of George Best in Belfast, which was sadly replaced with a UVF man.
While these murals undoubtedly have value in a historical and sociological context, the foremost personal conclusion I have drawn from them is that there was only ever one photograph taken of Mr. Bobby Sands, MP.
Did you ever consider that his family keep them private ?
They don’t allow swastika on the walls In I’m sure their brushing it under the carpet too but it’s not allowing a bunch of bigots to revel In their twisted culture.
I have a suspicion that the person in charge of the route for the GIro D’Italia may have consumed some alcoholic beverages that day!!!!
It is rather difficult to sweep a mural under the carpet, without first demolishing the wall.
What would be considered “sectarian”. There are murals commemorated to those who died on either side of the divide. Some to Che Guevara, to the GAA. etc, I would not class them as sectarian. I felt uncomfortable on the Shankill on my visit, only because I knew the history, not because of the people themselves. The murals remind of the past, and in many cases, of why we cannot go back to that. Go to the Basque region of Spain and tell them to remove their ideals and you will get a short abrupt answer, it should be the same here. The Giro d’Italia will not cause any issues in the 6 counties, so long as people don’t go looking for trouble (like with the flag issue) removing the murals might just cause that.
I think if people go to Belfast for the Giro (I myself hope to) and see the murals, they may read more of Irish history and learn about us, the good, the bad and the ugly, that to me is a good thing.
Natalie. You must look at where these murals and flags are positioned. For example, there are now more peace walls in Belfast than at any other time. In recent years, some peacewalls have opened crossings at different times of the day. I know that crossing from nationalist to Loyalist areas, you are immediately hit by UVF murals. The purpose of these is intimidation, and to let Catholics know that this is UVF turf, we still despise you, and we don’t buy into this reconciliation thing. There are also flags with KAT (kill all Taigs) which speak for themselves. The flags are not reminders of the past: but are the tools by which the sectarian past becomes the sectarian present. They are not just symptoms of division: they are designed to perpetrate division.
Their purpose is to herd a community into the old sectarian mindset, and to simultaneously harden the division between the communities.
Turlough ======= 20000 green thumbs
I love the murals…on both sides. What I would like to see is all the murals on one wall, they tell the story of Northern Ireland so well. Having them in certain areas, i.e. Battle of the Boyne in Loyalist areas and Eire 32 in Nationalist areas will never advance the peace process but will only serve to preserve the old mindset which we have tried so hard to eradicate. But its important that the story these murals tell should continue.
Those murals are part of the cultural landscape up there. Both sides. They should be maintained as tourist attractions.
Politically correct gombeen squad want to erase them ? That would be a bigger crime than leaving them in place.
Statement just received from the Willie Fraser camp ” For every mural removed we will replace it with a massive cock that’ll show you all”
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