As the Guardian reported yesterday;
Mourners at the funeral of Lyra McKee have implored politicians to turn the journalist's murder into a turning point for Northern Ireland.
Clerics, friends and relatives of McKee issued blunt, impassioned appeals to Theresa May and other party leaders who attended the service in Belfast's St Anne's Cathedral on Wednesday, urging them to convert the shock at her killing into a transformative moment.
“Why in God's name does it take the death of a 29-year-old woman with her whole life in front of her to get us to this point?” said Fr Martin Magill, addressing a congregation which included a rare gathering of all Northern Ireland's main political players. His rebuke electrified the service.
The priest got a standing ovation. It started amongst those who were not politicians. The politicians took a long time to realise that they had no choice but join in. I suppose that this does at least suggest that they knew the rebuke was to them.
And the question was fair. What in God's name does it take to effect change in a political class who have lost touch with the world? I wish I knew. I fear Fr Magill will not get his answer as yet.
in the meantime my sympathy to those who mourn Lye McKee.
And to all who ask the questions that she sought answers to.
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We know the answer to this and it has nothing to do with God.
This is all about human behaviour.
As for the political class – what can you say? Too many come from affluent backgrounds where they can insulate themselves from the daily fight for resources and personal pace the rest of us squabble over in an austerity blighted Union. Too many have no idea about what real life is like for ordinary folk.
They’re over paid for what they do and put the income stream before principle. I mean, if you solve problems – what is there left to do? It would not occur to them to actually do some work then to manage the solutions well. That’s too hard. Better to bicker for ever instead and if a few innocents die as a result – who cares? ‘Perpetual war for perpetual peace’ as Gore Vidal highlighted.
Disgusting. The people of NI are poorly served by Westminster and their local politicians. And still Stormont stands idle.
Why!!!?
Let the Irish sort it out themselves. They can do it.
It was certainly refreshing to see the Northern Irish, Irish and UK leaders in harmony and reminded that ordinary people are getting impatient with the Brexit deadlock and much else. However, as long as there is segregation on sectarian lines in schools the underlying problems in NI will always be there under the surface. NI needs a comprehensive non-discriminatory school system as in most of the rest of the UK. This will eliminate in the longer term the perpetuation of this insane sectarian rivalry. In the short term to heal to some extent the political situation NI voters should either choose the non-sectarion Alliance Party or the Greens.
“NI needs a comprehensive non-discriminatory school system as in most of the rest of the UK”
Not sure telling them what to do from outside will go down too well. Hasn’t done so in the past, has generally made it worse.
The UK education system is still often segregated.
England especially still has a very large number of private schools, even its comprehensive schools are in competition with each other with “good” schools in well-off neighbourhoods, and “bad” schools near council estates, largely, although there are exceptions.
There are a large number of faith schools where children learn from a young age that “others” are different, think and behave differently, which often leads to fear of differences, and later to a lack of understanding and communication.
So no, the UK has no right to showcase to other countries how to develop a less discriminatory education system.
“NI needs a comprehensive non-discriminatory school system as in most of the rest of the UK”
With elite public schools ? and academies ? and faith schools and a rump of Grammar schools, failing schools in ‘sink’ areas and public education system chronically underfunded……..
It would perhaps serve the Northern Irish well to come and look at the mess that is UK education and do something very different.
Surely neoliberalism is to blame?
So what if it is?
We still have to find workable solutions
Harry says:
“Surely neoliberalism is to blame?”
I assume that’s intended as a smart-arse faux question, but it isn’t entirely because it begs a sensible response.
Yes, in part neoliberalism is a major contributory factor because the essence of neoliberalism is elite private opulence and public service squalor. Money thrown at education will not save the system without its being well directed, but underfunding education is a guaranteed way to ensure it does not serve society well.
The popular (right wing neoliberal) trope, that all public money is badly spent therefore we should gradually wean the public sector away from spending at all, is so asinine that it really ought to have registered in polling by now. It is indicative of the failure of our UK education system that it hasn’t.