Scenes of solidarity in the face of hate are food for the soul – Brónagh Diamond – The Irish News

It seems history has been made in Belfast. Amidst the racist protesters, a Union flag and an Irish tricolour were hoisted together simultaneously.

As news stories about stores being burned down and people having their heads stomped on emerged, I read many comments under these articles, such as: “This is biased media only showing the bad things. What about the flags being flown together for the first time?”

While the racism that unites a divided province may warm your heart, I don’t think “Of course that’s great, your honor, because, you see, we were tearing the place apart together!” is going to hold up in a court of law.

I vividly remember sitting in a politics class 20 years ago, having a healthy debate about how an influx of immigration into Northern Ireland could shape the country’s future.

The young and naive Brónagh hoped that more diversity would help the peace process, while our wise professor played devil’s advocate, suggesting that it could be used as a diversionary tactic to unite two factions against each other. If he were a betting man, he might be betting now.

We love to use the word “culture” here when referring to two national identities, but if we are honest with ourselves, we will probably conclude that our inherently white Christian cultures are two different ice creams of the same flavor.

The people who revolt on our streets say that we have no room for any other flavor, without even knowing what is in the freezer.

Others may argue that they have no problem with different flavors as long as there are no nuts, but even the best suppliers in the world can’t guarantee that, and to be honest, if we all shook our family trees, a few nuts would fall out.

The action that incited the recent discord occurred in England, where a 17-year-old (who has now turned 18) is accused of committing a heinous act of violence.

This led to the spread of misinformation about their religion and nationality by far-right influencers, giving them the green light to take to the streets and openly express their hatred towards an entire race because of the alleged actions of one person.

The UK courts broke protocol by telling the public that the child was not, in fact, Muslim in an attempt to calm misplaced anger, but by this point the bigots were not prepared to let the truth get in the way of a good riot.

The white xenophobes who scream that they will end up becoming a minority culture because of immigration, while simultaneously screaming that these people are getting preferential treatment through welfare and public housing, must be very noble and proud people, given that their argument is essentially: “I don’t want to become an ethnic minority because they get everything handed to them.”

The good news is that the hateful are indeed in the minority when it comes to displays of strength. The scenes of solidarity within our communities and beyond, where residents have stood shoulder to shoulder with business owners under threat from racists, are food for the soul.

It’s not all doom and gloom when we look for beauty wherever we can. For example, I like petty ironies, such as the fact that any heart attack suffered by pork pie-eating right-wing fascists as a result of high blood pressure-inducing rage is likely to be operated on and cared for by at least one immigrant, who makes up a third of NHS staff. Maybe then they’ll think again before telling everyone to “go home”.

I also smile when I think about the fact that Tommy Robinson is now an asylum seeker in Cyprus, which, incidentally, has a large community of British immigrants. Sorry – ‘ex-pats’, as they’re called when they’re white.

Knowledge is the remedy for this explosion of ignorance and hatred. The truth is that asylum seekers are not the reason the government is failing us and we would do better protesting on the steps of Stormont than in a Kurdish barber shop.

It’s worth remembering that a lie can travel around the world before the truth can put on its boots and, unlike the Olympics, the fastest person should not always be rewarded with respect and applause.

But here, did you see the Union flag and the tricolor flying together in the city? Why don’t we put both of them in the city hall?

Knowledge is the remedy for this outbreak of ignorance and hatred. The truth is that asylum seekers are not the reason the government is failing us and we would do better protesting on the steps of Stormont than in a Kurdish barber shop.