Doctor No
Iain Paisley is finally going. He will be remembered for saying ‘yes’ after a lifetime of saying ‘no’. Perhaps he knew his community and knew that, during the peace process, the time was not right. Maybe the people he represented politically and spiritually needed to spend more time during the then-ongoing peace process to prepare themselves for the end result.
I find it more likely that Paisley was being obstinate and trying to score points on the other side. The demands for photographic evidence of IRA decomissioning that held the process up have been conveniently forgotten. He supports the criminalisation of homosexuality. Until the last, he has been a virulent anti-Catholic; in expressing the (perfectly reasonable) view that he should not choose his successor, he felt the need to attack the Papacy by saying that
“This is not the Church of Rome. This is not Apostolic succession and I have no right to say who will succeed me.”
It may be that only Nixon could go to China. That over-used phrase should reinforce the ‘authenticity’ of the traveller. It is because of their obnoxious starting point that they have any authority.
I have to recall one of the greatest exchanges of graffiti of all time. Someone had written on a wall ‘Ulster says no’, which a wag topped with ‘But the man from Del Monte says yes’. That was betted with ‘and he’s an orange man’.
xD.
March 5th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
End of an era. At least he had clear views: better than all this consensus, focus group led policy we have to put up with.
March 7th, 2008 at 10:40 am
Yes, he had clear views. Nationalist, homophobic, discriminatory views. No, not better than today; today’s not perfect, but it’s better than what he offered.