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My Dad grew up in Belfast during the troubles, and was raised protestant. It's always been really interesting to me to hear his perspective on stuff like this,
by pringk02 3y ago
My Dad grew up in Belfast during the troubles, and was raised protestant. It's always been really interesting to me to hear his perspective on stuff like this, as he is always sort of amazed by how normalised things like putting effegies of the pope on these was back then. And how he never really thought about it until he moved, not exactly far, to Edinburgh and understood that Belfast was a place very different to most of the world at the time.
He talks often about how you would have photos of the Mayor of Belfast shaking hands with loyalist leaders infront of one of these bonfires with the effigy of the Pope in the background and it would be seen as a good thing, a positive PR moment for the mayor.
- pringk02 3y agoIt's still not dead obviously, but less publicly endorsed. Here's some from just last year with images of the pope, the palestinian flag (there's an undercurrent of NI Republican solidarity with Palestine), and the tricolour: https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2022/07/13/news/psni_gathering_evidence_about_flags_posters_and_effigies_on_bonfires-2770836/ https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2022/07/1...
- arethuza 3y agoEdinburgh isn't, or at least wasn't, completely free of sectarian problems (obviously not as bad as NI) - we used to live close to the Hibs ground on Easter Road and when Rangers visited it wasn't exactly a pleasant atmosphere. Mind you - that was 25+ years ago!
- smcl 3y agoI don't think it's ever going away. Rangers just announced their away shirt for next season (blue and orange stripes) and you had a weird situation with rangers fans both feigning innocence "why are you so offended by a colour?" in one thread and giggling about how having an orange kit will wind up the Celtic supporters in another.
- trilbyglens 3y agoIsn't the pope burning still pretty common throughout england?
- pmyteh 3y agoNo. The standard bonfire topper is Guy Fawkes or nothing. There are a handful of places that go for the pope (Lewes perhaps?) but anti-Catholicism is much weaker than it used to be in England.
- smcl 3y agoI'd say that for a couple of generations at least (and perhaps further) those taking part in Guy Fawkes bonfires and fireworks did so because it's the thing you do on that day, not out of some anti-catholic sentiment. So while it's likely a big part of how this "celebration" got started, and everyone will have learned about it all in school, I think the vast majority of people in Britain itself (i.e. Scotland, England and Wales) don't believe or realise they're taking part in something with sectarian roots. I can't speak for how people in Northern Ireland feel, however. I was never interested in it, really, as I don't like fireworks. I did find it entertaining once when I was a kid, we had just moved to a fishing village and they were struggling to light the bonfire. So some guys poured petrol on the fire, lit a flare and threw it on the bonfire :D