The natives are restless...

[sandyRoe]

The incessant throbbing of tribal drums lasting long into the night, frenzied dancing around gigantic bonfires, and today long trudges to arcane religious rituals.
How do you spend the 12th of July?

[sandyRoe]

Most of the marches pass without any trouble. But a few that pass close, or through, the other sides territory can cause trouble.
It's like taking your dog for a walk. It will want to pee everywhere to mark its new territory. The dogs already there won't like that.

[Bobbisox]

Morning neti, it is to show some kind of superiority over the 'other side' which is Catholic versus Protestant and beliefs that go back generations

[Bobbisox]

I am not about to say where in W Scotland I went, suffice though to say I was told, "If you are asked which School you attended put a St in front "
I was visiting and stayed a week, this is not to say all Scots are like this, I like my neighbours over the border very much

[daisya]

Most conflicts come about because of religion, if they banned religion for good it would help but only after a generation had passed I think.

[RATTER15]

Religion has incited violence since the year dot!!!

"With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion"
Steven Weinberg, quoted in The New York Times, April 20, 1999

[daisya]

Thus spake the truth Steven Weinberg.

[Old_Geezer]

I recall some years ago saying on a different forum that I thought the marches were antagonistic and those involved should be prepared to stop them for the sake of good relations. Another poster from Northern Ireland went ballistic at me even though I don't recall any reasonable point he made in support of them. It just seems that the community there consider it a virtue to hold events that happened hundreds of years ago as justification for activity today. I'm all for tradition, but there is a limit; one has to let go of things in order to move on. Maybe you are right, maybe the youths of today will grow out of it and the next lot not continue in the same vein, but somehow I think that it is the youth who are just more single minded about expressing the views of the community without care for consequences.

Oh and I'm unconvinced how much this has to do with religion, that is just a part of what can separate communities.

[vulcan]

I agree things have improved over the past few years but the problems are still there. Reading the BBC website news last week I realised I could have reading the news from thirty years ago.
Paint thrown at Ballymena church.
Orange hall burns down.
Bomb scare in Belfast.
shots fired etc etc.
It might, at the moment, be happening on a smaller scale but it is always simmering just below the surface, ready to erupt.
The peace bridge in Londonderry has already been vandalised, no doubt each side of the community will blame the other and so, on it goes..

[DrFilth]

it reminds me of animal farm you agree to things the rules are put up on the wall of the barn for all to see

then a few more words are added

[Ankou]

i agree with og, i think this has faff all to do with religion.

[Bobbisox]

so what do you think it has to do with Ankou?

[jackthehat]

It has more to do with the difference between the perceived 'cultures' and 'heritages' of the two sides.

Wrap it all up in an additional coating of 'Religion' and you have the recipe for decades yet of intransigence and conflict.

[Ankou]

tribes and gangs, east side, west side, same old same old.

add "religion" in an attempt to give it some form of malignant credence.

[China Doll]

Religion has been the proverbial dirty stick but the main problem has always been politics.