To ask everyone in the UK to watch this NI documentary

[NornIronKid]

You will (hopefully) be aware of the Ballymurphy Massacre, that has been in the news this week, when innocent civilians were killed by British soldiers in 1971. It has taken 50 years for the victims' names to be cleared of any wrongdoing.

There has been a lot of posts on here mentioning NI over the past years due to Brexit, and it has become clear that many people in GB are not aware of the history. This documentary is from 3 years ago and now showing again on Ch4 - it is a long, difficult but important watch

www.channel4.com/programmes/massacre-at-ballymurphy

Lots of innocent civilians murdered by the IRA too.
Do you have a link to a documentary on that?

There were many mass killings by all sides. Bloody Sunday, Bloody Monday, Bloody Friday for example. It's odd how the focus is always on those allegedly committed by the British Army and rarely on those by the IRA or loyalist groups.

If we're recommending films on the subject, '71 is an interesting look at the human side of the Troubles, showing what the British soldiers were up against, being targetted from Republicans and British alike. Contact is also good, a sort of docu-drama.

I saw it a while back but will rewatch.

For anyone who doesn't know this was the same British regiment involved responsible for the Bloody Sunday massacre.

There were many mass killings by all sides. Bloody Sunday, Bloody Monday, Bloody Friday for example. It's odd how the focus is always on those allegedly committed by the British Army and rarely on those by the IRA or loyalist groups.

That's because any army, or agent of the government should be held to a higher standard than organisations that are, depending on your point of view, terrorists or guerillas. And what ever your opinion of them if they were caught they went to prison with convictions for murder / manslaughter or other charges.

The fact that the British army, with the approval of the government were able to murder British people including children and not only get away with it but not even be investigated for it is abhorrent, or at least it should be.

@Slub

Lots of innocent civilians murdered by the IRA too. Do you have a link to a documentary on that?

This. Although to be fair, the loyalists were no better.

You can’t compare killings on both sides when one side was the British army, the other a para military group. The army was sent there to try and restore order, not to massacre civilians.

Disappointing but not surprising replies so far

That's because any army, or agent of the government should be held to a higher standard than organisations that are, depending on your point of view, terrorists or guerillas. And what ever your opinion of them if they were caught they went to prison with convictions for murder / manslaughter or other charges.The fact that the British army, with the approval of the government were able to murder British people including children and not only get away with it but not even be investigated for it is abhorrent, or at least it should be

Exactly what sashh has said here. I'll never understand why people think a legitimate army representing their country should be no better than terrorists

The British army and government work and are funded by you. Of course if you're happy with the army murdering innocent UK citizens, smearing them and covering up their atrocities, then this documentary is probably not for you.

Cannot believe some of the responses on here. Please watch that documentary and efucate yourselves. A priest and many parents were murdered by the British Army.

Whether the IRA killed people isn't a valid argu6here, these were innocent people, and their families suffered with the stigma for years.

In normal life, do you not want the criminal who committed the crime to serve the punishment, not just anyone of the same colour/faith/nationality.

How the fuck can you justify that attitude?

Oh my gosh. I am actually shocked and appalled by some of the answers so far. How awfully sad that the lives of innocent people are reduced to arguments in ‘whataboutery’.

In addition to @sashh’s excellent point, it is also worth noting that the reason we are hearing now more of the atrocities committed by some members of the British army, is that they are only just coming to light after years and years of campaigning and evidence gathering by the families of these poor people.

‘Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it’.

Some appalling comments on here already but I expected no less when I saw the thread title. @sashh has it right. I will watch the documentary as I was unaware of what happened there. The Pop Goes Northern Series is also worth watching, though some years are much worse than others.

(Born in NI but left twenty years ago).

I'll take a look.

I've said this before (& this is to my complete shame) but the first time I realised that there was any more to the narrative of 'IRA bad, British army good, was when I watched the Steve McQueen movie Hunger. I'd previously studied the Irish Question at A-level too. It made me realise how invested our education system and our media are in promoting the idea of the British army as infallible.

After watching that movie and finding it weird that it was so sympathetic to a terrorist, I read a lot about it to educate myself and I couldn't believe the amount of things I didn't know about my own country's history.

If I'm being honest it's a huge bugbear of mine that British history is not taught very well in schools. I can't imagine a German person not knowing about hitler's concentration camps, but not everyone knows about ours in Kenya. People don't understand how complex the situation in Ireland is or the UK's role in Israel in 1948 or the scramble for Africa or the Bengal famine. This narrative that we're always good and that countries that don't like us are evil or have a chip on their shoulder from too long ago does nobody any favours.

Should say Pop Goes Northern Ireland Series

I think it’s appalling that we weren’t taught any Irish history in state schools until A level (which obviously people self selected into). I can tell you plenty about English history though, not even Scottish or Welsh, so I can’t even say it was British.

@OutComeTheWolves I lived in London for a while as a student and was shocked by how little most people knew tbh. I would love to see British history taught more thoroughly in schools, and that goes for schools in NI as well, it tends to be skipped over here too

Let it go.

Another case against the British Army was heard in Court last week and then thrown out, again. How many times do we need to keep reopening wounds.

It's the constant revisiting of history - this is now 50 years ago - that causes things like the little shitbags rioting in (London)Derry last month, as it prevents all communities from moving on from the past and dark days of the Troubles - because it is glorified and revelled in.

It's no comfort for the victims families I know, but the alternative is condemning another generation to more heartache.

Let it go.

@smittenkittten

You can’t compare killings on both sides when one side was the British army, the other a para military group. The army was sent there to try and restore order, not to massacre civilians.

That’s funny because the IRA regard the seas an army. Nice attempt to excuse them being made on this thread by a couple of posters. I will not watch this documentary but I would be interested in watching a balanced one looking at both sides. Oh and I don’t think the relatives of those killed by the IRA including children would give a shit whether they were a real army or not. Many of them haven’t had justice either or had to see the killers walk free. The Good Friday Peace Agreement should work on all sides and I make no apology for that either

How many times do we need to keep reopening wounds.

The wounds didn't heal. Well, how could they when they were infected by the lies of the British state. The little shitbags rioting in (London)Derry last month were loyalists complaining about the border in the Irish Sea. Fuck all to do with the Ballymurphy Massacre.

@FuriousCheekyFucker I disagree. I don't think it's possible for communities to move on until there's some accountability for atrocities like this. This is very different from attacks carried out by paramilities on either side

OP YADNBU as the many arseholes on this thread have shown.

Totally agree @NornIronKid. But they mostly don't care or seem to understand that the IRA weren't the state. The British Army were sent here to protect civilians, not murder them, slander them and lie about it for 50 years.
They'd be more upset if the army had shot a couple of dogs. Same attitudes on display about Palestine. It makes me despair.

YANBU OP, but as some of the responses show, some people just want to cling to ignorance because actually knowledge hurts their wee heads.

Yanbu op. So much trash on this website.