The Tensions (Like the Troubles, But Less Violent)

Hey everybody! Sorry I haven't written an update for you guys in a while... I guess I've been a bit busier recently than I expected. Anyway, here's a post on a topic that I've been meaning to write about for a while; hopefully, I'll be able to give it the attention and care that I feel it requires.

Well, I suppose that we've all heard of the Troubles. Or, at least, the IRA, Irish car bombs (NOT the drink!), and Protestant-Catholic ethnic violence. For those of you who might not be so familiar with the history of this stuff, well, it's kind of complicated and goes back a long, long time. So, simple version: the Troubles basically lasted for 30 years - from the major Catholic civil-rights protests and campaigns in Northern Ireland starting in 1968, to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. This was a bad, bloody thirty years, and Belfast was the frontline of the Catholic-Protestant power struggle. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that I'm living in what was once the bloodiest city in Ireland.

The Troubles are over, now, of course. The provisional IRA has given up it's weapons, and Sinn Féin and the DUP (don't worry, there'll be another blog on this stuff) are sharing power up in the Irish Parliament at Stormont. But the central problem - distrust and mutual dislike between Catholics and Protestants - remains. One of the most surprising things that I've encountered during my time here has been the extent of Catholic-Protestant hostilities, or, at least, the central importance of the distinciton between the two religious groups. Let me give you an example...

A couple weeks ago, I went into my kitchen to fix myself some instant coffee (hey, it's not the Motley, but it's better than nothing...). Well, two of my floormates were in there talking religion. One of them, a clearly nationalist Catholic (I have this sinking feeling that he would be "connected" - i.e. in the provisional IRA - if the Troubles were still going on), was going on about how "deposing the government and victimless crimes don't disqualify you from Heaven." Well, I asked him what counted as "victimless crimes" and was subsequently sucked into a conversation/grilling/lesson that would last over two hours. After explaining a number of things that he believed consituted "victimless crimes" (including smuggling petrol, bank robbery, insurance fraud, and - most disturbingly, but I think he was kidding - killing gays and Gypsies), this fellow and one of my other floormates decided to find out how much I knew about Irish ethnic issues. (NOTE: all of my floormates are Catholic, with the exception of one atheist; on this particular day, since no one bothered to ask me what I was, I guess I was an "honorary Catholic").

Anyway, they grilled me for about an hour, listing off places, people, names, weapons, clothing, dates, and character traits; the task was simple: identify these things as either Catholic or Protestant. I didn't do so badly, except for the places.... Well, when they couldn't think of anything else to ask me, they decided that it would be a good idea to teach me how to differentiate between Catholics and Protestants on sight. This proved to be a revealing glimpse into common Catholic/Protestant stereotypes... For instance, if a person is wearing nice shoes, he's Protestant. If his shoes are old and worn, he's Catholic. Any male with long hair is a Protestant. If you can't drive well, or keep a messy and overgrown garden, you're Catholic. Basically, the general stereotype was that the Protestants are generally more affluent and well-to-do than their Catholic counterparts; which can, supposedly, be seen in their choice of clothing, accessories, etc.

After all of this instruction, there was only one thing left to do: test me, of course! So we had to stand at the kitchen window for about half an hour, waiting for people to pass by so that I could label them as either Catholic or Protestant. It was definitely kind of an eerie experience... I mean, you always hear about stereotyping, racism, and prejudice, but to actually be in a place where stereotypes are the order of the day - and to even participate in this stereotyping yourself - is decidedly creepy. I mean, the guys on my floor are all good guys; I don't think that they'd necessarily pick their friends based on religious differences, but their attitudes towards the whole religious split are certainly revealing.

Well, I think I'll cut this off here, for now. This Protestant-Catholic issue will probably be addressed again, but we'll see...