Martin
McGuinness Enantiodromia from man of violence to peacemaker
The
death of Martin McGuiness gives much scope for debate. The truth is
he moved from man of war to man of peace. The truth is that this
process of change shows a profound understanding of the situation.
The Unionist control of the north is underpinned by violence for over
400 years. The skill of transformation is a real mark of genius and
the ability to persuade and influence the IRA and others to hand over
their arms and accept peace is staggering. In the 1960s the IRA was
virtually dead and yet it was oppression by the Unionists that
brought it back to life. The British army sent in as peacekeepers
then simply appeared as supporters of the Unionist domination.
McGiinness enabled transformation and began a long term process of
Irish reunification making real the dreams of Michael Connor. The end
of violence is a dream for many Their will be those horrified by my
words yet we must realise that all armed struggles end this way. Even
the Thatcher government had channels of communication with the IRA. I
have always had sympathy with the Republicans and have always
supported a united Ireland. We all must ask ourselves what we would
do under a repressive government and we would all answer that
question differently . I wonder what any of us would do and i mourn
the death of Martin McGuiness ... The British state accepted former
terrorists as Begin and Makarios as politicians .The British state
has supported terrorists when it's interests were served. McGuinness
realised violence would no longer serve its purpose have our
conventional politicians made the same realisation i do not think so.
Paisley and McGuinness both marked a massive personal transformation
and brought peace .If i had been raised in similar circumstances to
Martin McGuinness i might well have made the decisions he made. I
know that under a far right or fascist government I certainly would
have...The move from war to peace was mirrored in Paisley's movement
from bigotry to tolerance ..An enantiodromia we all benefit from RIP
Martin McGuinness we have all benefited from your transformation
.Those who learn from their past are the real transformers and
bringers of peace and reconciliation .
Sensible and compassionate piece.
ReplyDeleteThank you for teaching me a new word! We could also say that figures such as Trump and May are 'necessary' to produce a much needed enantiodromia in the public mood - something sorely needed, and that no amount of rational persuasion could achieve on its own.
ReplyDeletefuck Mcguinness
ReplyDelete