As a 14 yr old I stood in Duke St in Derry on the afternoon of Oct 5th 1968. Despite being behind the police line, (very few were in front of it) I still found myself fleeing across Craigavon bridge with a water cannon hard on my heels. Your article may be a necessary light on American society but so much of it resonates in Ireland and no doubt many other countries.
The dilemma of how one fights fire is pivotal to an individual's disposition. Do you choose to fight something with itself but bigger stronger or with its opposite; fire with water, heat with cold, anger with calm, rudeness with politeness? On the other hand, as a friend once explained to me when I asked why no one was rude to her: "When people bark at me i bite, they tend not to bark again."
To finish, it was the great Republican (irish) Terance McSweeney who said "It is not those who can inflict the most but those who can endure the most, who will conquer." Something the Republican movement forgot.
I appreciate your historical view, your grandmother's shtetl to acceptance near NYC's Park Av., Civil Rts. protests to Jan. 6 and the Capitol. Great writing!
As a 14 yr old I stood in Duke St in Derry on the afternoon of Oct 5th 1968. Despite being behind the police line, (very few were in front of it) I still found myself fleeing across Craigavon bridge with a water cannon hard on my heels. Your article may be a necessary light on American society but so much of it resonates in Ireland and no doubt many other countries.
The dilemma of how one fights fire is pivotal to an individual's disposition. Do you choose to fight something with itself but bigger stronger or with its opposite; fire with water, heat with cold, anger with calm, rudeness with politeness? On the other hand, as a friend once explained to me when I asked why no one was rude to her: "When people bark at me i bite, they tend not to bark again."
To finish, it was the great Republican (irish) Terance McSweeney who said "It is not those who can inflict the most but those who can endure the most, who will conquer." Something the Republican movement forgot.
Thanks for this, Gerard. May I quote parts of this in my social media networks, preserving your anonymity, of course?
What a delightful read!
Thanks. Is that an inronic use of "delightful"?
I appreciate your historical view, your grandmother's shtetl to acceptance near NYC's Park Av., Civil Rts. protests to Jan. 6 and the Capitol. Great writing!
Yes you may as you wish. Gerard McMenamin