To suggest that people unfamiliar with the Northern Ireland conflict watch an episode of ‘Pop Goes Northern Ireland’ on iPlayer?

[Cakescakescakes]

I’m starting this by presuming you can watch BBC NI programmes in the rest of the UK?

Pop Goes Northern Ireland is a series looking at news footage from the Troubles year by year soundtracked (rather than narrated) by songs from that year. Tonight was about 1988 - dozens and dozens of murders - murders of innocents of all ages, state murders of IRA members, bomb attacks on school children, grenade attacks on funerals and the savage event where two soldiers were dragged from a car and shot in broad daylight. Total and utter horror on all sides involved. No winners.

Someone on a Brexit thread the other day mentioned that it ‘wouldn’t be ideal’ for trouble to flare up in NI again following Brexit and that breathtaking lack of insight made me post this.

Get a snapshot of what it was like living through this year after year after year (1988 wasn’t even ‘that bad’ relative to the 70’s etc). Recent history on your own doorstep.

I live in NI.

It is worrying me but I cannot see it returning to the old days.

There are only 6 years between my sister and I. I have very clear memories of check points, bag searches going into shopping centres, checking under the cars for bombs. She does not. It shows how quickly attitudes can change. I hope that neither of my children ever have to go through it.

I was having a similar conversation with a chap from Ireland I met on holiday a couple of days ago.

I am in my forties and from England and remember the troubles. He is only in his early twenties so we both have different experiences but what we both absolutely agreed on is that there seems to be very little concern regarding this.

As for those who cannot understand why we should be interested in "something that happened 30 years ago." I have no words.

I pray they never get to understand...

Er because history matters and is still relevant today julie? Thanks op? I certainly don't know enough about the troubles so will watch this for sure.

Thank you for this link. I recently spent a short time in Belfast, absolutely loved it but it made me realise that I had very little knowledge of why and what happened. I am going to watch and learn

Sorry what are you trying to achieve asking people to watch something that happened a third of a century ago?

Because some people think it is OK to ignore the problems Brexit is bringing and may return millions of British people to the situation of murder being an everyday occurrence, children being frisked going in to shops normal and shopping trips turning in to bombing attacks.

People who survived these things "a third of a century ago" are still living with scars both mental and physical.

If you had 'lost' your sight or a limb in a bombing and had a child now wouldn't you want to prevent your child going through the same thing?

Whatever your view point on NI and where it fits or should fit in ROI or UK/GB politics and geography people who live there have worked hard to make Belfast a city with a history of the Titanic, Derry a city of culture and NI a place known for the filming or GOT rather than a place associated (by the outside world) only with death and terror.

'Working hard' includes knowing your relative's murder will not be solved, knowing the person who planted the bomb that changed your life was allowed out of prison early and 100 other things. And they are still trying to keep that process going.

Being asked to watch something on your tube to understand that better is such a small ask. Why wouldn't you do it?

Also, remember this is not just NI. That's where the troubles started. NI only began to be a serious political issue when places in mainland UK began to be targeted.

What the OP wants to achieve is for the story of NI to become more familiar to the general UK public and in a small way help not to return to the 1970s and 1980s.

Thank you - I will look out for this. Especially given what’s going on at the moment I can’t understand why anyone would question what relevance this has today. Very ignorant

What was Arlene Foster's speech at the weekend?

Has anyone seen this? Terrifying ignorance! www.joe.ie/politics/people-uk-try-draw-border-ireland-northern-ireland-fail-pretty-miserably-607864

Julie's argument appears to be, IDK, that stuff that happened ten years ago is boooring and that when someone tries to violently invade you, you should just sort of peacefully object?

Thanks for posting OP.

Thank you for posting this OP. It isn't hart wrenching watching some of those images. I've just seen from that video that Arlene Foster was a passenger on the school bus that was attacked by the IRA. I guess that explains (not justifies, but explains) to an extent, some of the entrenchment of her position .

What a mess all round.

It is heart wrenching that should say. Hopefully people realised that.

Julie should consider herself lucky that she didn't grow up speaking German.

useful suggestion?

waterfordwhispersnews.com/2017/11/29/irish-history-to-be-written-on-side-of-a-bus-for-british-people/

Just read the Waterford article; he's using the troubles as a reason to look down his nose at (his own ignorant petception of) British people - what a topic to hide behind.

Articles like this seek to deepen divides not bridge them, just using any means to push his own agenda.

@Clearoutre - it's a satirical website. Have look at this one. Have a look at this one. They take the piss out of everyone.

waterfordwhispersnews.com/2017/11/29/local-man-hoping-no-one-asks-him-to-draw-irish-border/

If you get the chance to watch this, I urge you to check out the episode on 1972. It's almost hard to fathom what people dealt with day and daily. It's not terribly hard to understand why the fear and bitterness runs deep.

And on a related subject - this is a very interesting interview about the Irish Potato 'Famine', re-cast as the intentional starvation of millions of Irish people at the hands of the British:

@doobeydoo, the older woman in the video in the red hat and scarf. Jesus!

@theymademejoin the Irish border article did make me chuckle.

Sorry what are you trying to achieve asking people to watch something that happened a third of a century ago?

You’re sounding pretty ignorant julie.

I’m English - have gone to NI every year since 1992. It has changed enormously (for the better) in that time. But I always feel the peace is fragile. It would be a tragedy indeed if that peace was lost.

treaclesoda the 1972 episode is almost unwatchable it is so horrific. (For anyone not sure 1972 was the peak of the killings.) The sheer volume of death and fear and blackness is just overwhelming.

cakes I agree. My husband and I were born in the 70s and when we had finished watching it we were saying that it's hard to fathom how our parents didn't leave this place. But I suppose that's easier said than done...And you'd always want to believe that the worst had now passed, I suppose?

Actually, I suppose I do know why they didn't leave, because they had elderly parents and didn't want to leave them in such worrying times.

My husband and I were also born in the late 70’s. His parents were married for over 10 years before they had any kids (unusual in those days for sure) and his mum says the reason was that she couldn’t face bringing children into such a world.

Cakes thanks for starting this thread. I agree, the programme gives a very clear view of just how awful it was and illustrates why so many people in NI in particular were concerned pre-referendum about the potential implications of a leave vote.
I live in NI and was born in 1979. My English husband and I are currently watching the series and it makes for educational but grim viewing for us both. I grew up in 1980s and 1990s, with the Troubles as a background to everything....my husband who came to live here 8 years ago can't belive the depth to which the issues still run.
He is however of the opinion that it won't go back to how it was in the darkest days simply because we have come such a long way and people won't accept it. I am less confident but so want to believe that he is right.