i genuinely feel crazy when people act like ireland is just as much of a colonial power as other european countries. ireland is one of like 3 western european countries that NEVER colonized anyone else. the irish were genocided and then all our shit was stolen by the english who continue to profit off that theft to this day 😭😭😭 why on earth do you expect me to like the english. thank you for fighting the good fight even though you have to deal with braindead replies
Most people genuinely just don't know a thing about Irish history. That's the issue. Most people don't know the famine wasn't a famine, but a genocide. Most people don't know that Ireland was one of the most impoverished places in Europe barely over a century ago, most people don't get that Ireland is still occupied by a foreign military, and they don't care to. Anti-Irish propaganda is as old as the Britiah Empire and its worked its way into western hegemonic culture, its worked its way into Irish culture for Christ's sake.
Because if you accept that the North of Ireland is indeed a violently occupied colony, you have to accept that the western world isn't this finished product with settled, nice borders and colonialism is something unique to the East or Africa, you have to understand that colonialism is alive and well in the modern, developed world.
I don't think Ireland is some perfect pearl of pure anti-imperialism. Many Irish people in history and today are vitriolic racists, homophobes, fascists. But the Irish People, have always aligned themselves with progress, with anti-imperialism, with the right side of history. And we have done for centuries. Everyone loves talking about the Bad Irish people (i wonder why) but you know what else the Irish did? The irish people rallied and forced their government (along with spain) to be the first to recognise the Palestinian state and have been been vocal not only before, but especially after October 7th about the palestinian genocide. The irish have been vocal supporters of the Basque struggle, a struggle most of these people have never heard of. But you'll never hear people talk about that, they want to slander victims of colonisation and support the real underdog of history, the british empire.
Just look at the company kept if you want the real story in the North of Ireland. Unionists, that is, people in the North of Ireland who support the maintaining of the colony, align themselves with zionists and fascists and burn effigies of brown immigrants on boats chanting 'Get them out!' (How ironic). Republicans ally themselves with Palestinians, with Basques, with queer rights. (Largely, god knows if you have even ONE bad apple in your group the whole batch should be thrown out so I'll say largely because they'll start whining). That alone should tell you which side is on the right side of history. But yeah, its chic to genocide indigenous languages and people, I guess.
