Silly Old Twit

    Writing about the issues raised by the movie , “Fairytale of Kathmandu” and the poet Cathal O’Searchaigh , Eoghan Harris in the Independent’s anyalsis page treats us to a few pearls of wisdom or what passes for wisdom  with those like Harris.
      Speaking of the poet Maira Mhac an tSaoi’s comments on the Joe Duffy Show he refers to her “forensic tour de force ” !!  And what was her contribution to the debate ? Well  ,she suggested that O’Chainnin’s  had betrayed a friend and acted for mercenary reasons …You can read the whole thing yourself but that’s what it all comes down to.  Harris is obviously a man who is easily impressed.
     He then goes on to tell us that Eamon Delaney has let the cat out of the bag about the Rape Crisis Centre and that …..wait for it …….(drum roll ) …the Rape Crisis Centre has a feminist agenda….  not only is this man easily impressed but he’s also a bit behind on what the dogs in the street have been yelping about for years.
   Now in case you think I’m being unfair to Harris here’s that link again (LINK) and oh , by the way Mr. Harris did manage to overlook one thing that Maira Mhac an sTaoi said on the radio , ie that young oriental boys were not as sexually innocent as they might seem. (and we all know what she really means , don’t we ).  But if you feel that I might be misrepresenting her then just listen for yourself. RTE Liveline Podcasts .But the wonderful Harris is not a man to do things by half. In for a penny in for a pound. And so in true Irish fashion he drags up old history…….he opens his mouth but forgets to engage the grey matter first and thus comes out with this bit of insight …..(another drumroll ….)…
  He tells us that Roger Casement ’s reputation would have been ruined if a camera crew had been around in his day. He tells us that Casement had ’sordid’ sex with boys and then goes on to say that he (Casement ) went on to show dauntless courage fighting colonial power. Now it’s difficult to ruin someones reputation if they never had a good reputation in the first place. And perhaps Harris was a very stupid little boy and swallowed all the propaganda he was exposed  to in his childhood history classes but he should not assume that we were all as stupid as him. I can only speak for myself  but I cannot remember , even as a very young child , believing that Casement or Collins were anything more than thugs and psychopaths. True , the Christian Brother of Westland Row tried to convince me that these were Great Men but  I didn’t believe it then and certainly don’t believe it now. Now don’t get me wrong , I’m not saying that I was particularly clever or anything like that , it’s just that I never was a complete ’thick’. Casement’s  speech in the dock was a fine speech no doubt but he was talking about himself….and he’s not the first to use this world of ours as his own plaything …as a platform upon which to carve out his own destiny. History ,as we all know is written by the victor. …..and the fact that it was a Catholic school system that tried to impress upon us the virtues of Casement ( while beating , humiliating and abusing vulnerable children ) should be enough to make us wary of accepting THEIR heroes uncritically.
     Unfortunatly people like Harris control the media and so dictate the level of debate. Have you notice how all these people keep referring to the fact that O’Searcaigh is a poet ? We all know he’s a poet so why do they keep mentioning it. Just last night on the radio I heard some media people refer to him almost as a tortured soul. You all know what I mean. Why this assumption of an almost spiritual nature to the man ?. Did anyone feel the need to ascribe these characteristics to Michael Jackson. No they didn’t , in spite of the fact that they both have presented themselves to the world in much the same manner. Jackson like O’Searcaigh is seen as ’naive’ almost childlike in his openness …even the body language is simular…and then there’s Garry Glitter. Has anyone tried to defend Glitter? Or look beyond the headlines to consider the man himself ? Or his predicament ?
           When Eoghan Harris writes about O’Searcaigh he is of course really trying to tell us something about himself.  He is telling us to look at him. To take notice of the ‘liberal’ man who understands the issues. He has his own agenda and it’s quite transparent…. But like O’Searcaigh , he has misjudged the mood of the nation. He has also misjudged the intelligence of it’s people. …..

 I have just found this quote from Pauline Bewick , one of O’Sharkey’s defenders , and well know artist. “ Rapists and paedophiles should be castrated “. She would no doubt say that O’Sharkey is none of these but the tone of this remark , the uncompromising nature of it is very different from that which she uses when speaking of O’Sharkey. This extreme right wing sentiment is in sharp contrast to her liberal attitude when speaking of exploitation in Nepal.

 See also my last post on this issue.