This is 2011 isn't it?

[Orior]

Jeffrey (I'm not gay) Donaldson was on the radio this morning chastising nationalists for being intolerant. Jeffrey wants the British Army to have a home coming parade through the centre of Belfast.

Do the two things compare?

[tbrick18]

Jeffrey (I'm not gay) Donaldson was on the radio this morning chastising nationalists for being intolerant. Jeffrey wants the British Army to have a home coming parade through the centre of Belfast.

Do the two things compare?

I heard that myself.....of course they compare. For something like this the nationalist tradition in the north is branded as being intolerant to others, whereas the Orange Order area a "religious" organisation and are just following tradition when they are intolerant of catholics.
Fact is, the OO are an organisation founded as an anti-catholic organisation, and yes they get government funding to preserve their "tradition". They get money every year from the government to help ensure their bonfires are safe at the 12th, they get a police presence for all their traditional anti-catholic parades which has to be paid for by ALL tax-payers and they openly admit to ideals like not attending catholic mass/funerals/weddings, refuse to let catholics join - as if they would anyway but besides the point, and marrying a catholic is forbidden! Now all of this yet they try to portray themselves as a religious organisation steeped in tradition. The tradition is one of putting down Catholics then they bring out PR exercises like Orangefest to make themselves look like a family friendly open to all so they can justify themselves...but how many catholics attend or are invited?
We are subjected to marches on TV around the 12th, every paper is full of pictures and every town blocked for parades.
For me it is state funded bigotry that we are subjected to and as tax paying Catholics we actually part fund the bigotry directed towards us! Is there any other organisation in the world who get away with this? Imagine if we were to set up the GreenOrder where we took all the orange ideals and applied them to Protestants. Would we get funding? Would we get to march through east belfast or portadown waving flags and get police protection to do it in the name of tradition? I put them right up there with the KKK and IMO and in the opinions of a lot of people I know, the OO should be outlawed in much the same way paramilitary groups are. This country will never be able to move on fully as long as organisations like this are accepted in our society.

[omagh_gael]

For a bit of Craic (and if anyone has a year or so free) would the possibility not be there to challenge the OO similar to this example:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6562075.ece

As the OO forbid/prevent/discourage Catholics from joining, participating/attending Catholic services and certain restrictions on marriage i.e. not allowed to marry a Catholic then surely these are impinging on certain peoples human rights/freedoms?