tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008037633121035579.post8997006703314044203..comments2023-10-22T11:57:34.718+01:00Comments on A Pint of Unionist Lite: First the map, then the route?O'Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02531858236570346203noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008037633121035579.post-70075858830060946842010-11-04T18:53:00.445+00:002010-11-04T18:53:00.445+00:00It is just a reality that ethnic disputes can only...It is just a reality that ethnic disputes can only be got round by being in something bigger than the dispute e.g. the UK. That suppresses it but it continues none the less.<br /><br />Otherwise the ethnic warriors fight it out and one side predominates.<br /><br />So they are by definition impossible to resolve except by intermarriage or as I said expulsions - think of the Krajina in Croatia andAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008037633121035579.post-44789023322790242262010-11-03T20:44:48.828+00:002010-11-03T20:44:48.828+00:00"Name me an ethnic conflict that was resolved..."Name me an ethnic conflict that was resolved short of expulsions and partition?"<br /><br />That little gem was kind of slipped in there...the rest of the comment I wouldn't necessarily agree with but I also couldn't necessarily disprove.<br /><br />If all that we can hope for is expulsions and/or partition then we might as well pack in now.O'Neillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02531858236570346203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008037633121035579.post-1947362383638550592010-11-03T11:22:38.628+00:002010-11-03T11:22:38.628+00:00I am afraid the national question will not be reso...I am afraid the national question will not be resolved (without integration) this side of the second Easter Rising centenary. <br /><br />Name me an ethnic conflict that was resolved short of expulsions and partition?<br /><br />As to the UUP - it will remain the butt of nastiness from liberals, within and without the party, and all media commentators because it is largely conservative and used Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008037633121035579.post-88137814490665024452010-11-03T09:29:24.737+00:002010-11-03T09:29:24.737+00:00My hunch would be, like Chekov, that there are 2 d...My hunch would be, like Chekov, that there are 2 distinct faultlines amongst the, for want of a better description, non-culturalist Unionists. <br /><br />First, the pro-devolution/closer integrationists and secondly between the Keynesians and those who'd agree with present govt economic policy and favour a more libertarian approach to how we operate our economy here.<br /><br />That, in O'Neillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02531858236570346203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008037633121035579.post-15842734610020251832010-11-03T05:38:21.242+00:002010-11-03T05:38:21.242+00:00I suppose there's also the divide between unio...I suppose there's also the divide between unionists who pro-actively embrace devolution and integrationists like myself.Dilettantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03532639584338090676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008037633121035579.post-30604293842426043272010-11-02T21:23:15.755+00:002010-11-02T21:23:15.755+00:00I think that under devolution there should be a ba...I think that under devolution there should be a balanced appreciation of the importance of Stormont vis a vis Westminster. Most decisions of local relevance get made in Stormont, and this is the point of devolution.<br /><br />On O'Neill's points:<br /><br /><i><br />1. Northern Ireland's social responsibilities and rights becoming closer to those existing and enjoyed in the rest of Progressive Unionistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008037633121035579.post-40493214926914323502010-11-02T16:32:40.693+00:002010-11-02T16:32:40.693+00:00There's a couple of distinct divides even amon...There's a couple of distinct divides even amongst liberal / new / progressive / whatever unionism. One is fairly obvious and splits along so-called left / right lines, although you or I might question the legitimacy of those definitions in current UK politics. <br /><br />The other is between pan-UK unionists and Ulster particularists. Look at McCrea, who with reluctance I backed to becomeOwen Polleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00567787385096905811noreply@blogger.com