[lbo-talk] IRA & ETA?

[Lance Murdoch]

How dare someone compare 800 years of a British military presence in Ireland, Oliver Cromwell's devastation of Ireland, the havoc wrought by the Orangemen, Britain's exporting of grain during the 1840's Malthusian famine/genocide, the execution of the Easter 1916 martyrs, the Blacks and Tans rampaging through the Irish countryside, the 1960s pogroms on republican communities when they were demanding civil rights like one man one vote, the murder of 13 unarmed civilians marching against internment in 1972, as well as the tight connections between British security forces and anti-republican supposedly illegal paramilitaries; with Israeli settlements or Indian anti-Muslim nationalism.  Irish immigration to the United States began with people fleeing starvation at British hands (who were exporting grain from Ireland during the famine) in the 1840's, and fleeing economic ruin and political persecution after that.  Thank God someone was extending a hand back to the Irish working peop
le, the only misfortune is they did not foresee the violent reaction there would be to the 1960's civil rights campaign, and the IRA only had a handful of dusty old rifles to protect the republican community from the orange pogrom (backed by the police of course).  I'm sure 80 years ago you'd be complaining how Irish-Americans helped De Valera establish the Free State in the 26 counties and had removed part of England's colony from their hands.

-- Lance

From: Liza Featherstone <lfeather at panix.com>


>Don't know anything about the IRA and ETA but this reminds me of something
>else that's been on my mind...there WAS a lot of financial support for the
>IRA coming from the U.S. When I was growing up in Boston, middle-class
>housewives would have fundraising parties for the IRA. The whole phenomenon
>of comfortable middle-class Americans' considerable financial support for
>violence elsewhere is a fascinating one that I would love to explore
>further. Indian-Americans in suburban New Jersey are sending tons of $$ to
>far-right Hindu nationalists in India. Then there's the cash from many
>American Jews supporting the settlements. It seems people feel this
>sentimental attachment to nationalism but they don't want to put their own
>bodies on the line for it...so they send money, and never have to live in
>the hellish war zone that they're paying for!  If people have other
>examples, please share.
>
>Liza  
>

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