That’s what I advised him. He should lie that conversion therapy is working so he can avoid these Chrisitian bootcamps - they are extremely abusive.
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I’m glad to hear this. Thanks for letting us know!
It’s tough and people shouldn’t have to do this, but in this case, unless he can get help with this abuse, it’s the best he can do. Pretending might give him some space too until he can get the fuck out of there.
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Not sure where else this should go, but it’s horrific, and what’s worse, is that the report might have down played the role of the state and church institutions that created this brutality:
Heart breaking and rage inducing.
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QFT.
These places sound like something out of another world, but a fact that people could easily miss when hearing about these brutal institutions is that the last one didn’t close until 1998.
It’s pretty much impossible to overrstate the impact that the revelation of this scandal had on Ireland, arriving as it did alongside the uncovering of the Clerical abuse scandals, and the Magdalene Laundries. What had been a defining feature of national identity was shown to be little more than a Gulag in vestments.
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I would have put this in the Trumpian events thread, but… this goes back to the Obama administration…
Bernie and Arizona rep. Raúl Grijalva are trying to get it repealed, so this might be a good issue to contact your representatives and senators about.
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I’ve been wanting to post about it but I just fucking can’t. I’m so fucking angry, not just at the horrific misogynistic violence of the past, but the unbelievably awful government response.
I have spent since new year’s eve oscillating between despair and rage with this country. Since George Nkencho was killed, the unbelievable spike in the disease, and then this. I cannot articulate my and everyone I know’s hurt, hate, and confusion.
My elderly (Catholic) dad rang me yesterday and spent 45 minutes ranting about the evils of church and state.
I will post some material later which may be of interest and provides context.
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I mean… Sinead was right, yeah? Fight the real enemy indeed.
The damage done to generations of women by the actions of the Church and the State here is hard to put into words. Both need to make some kind of amends to all the lives they’ve hurt during this period, even if it’s utterly inadequate. I hear that Church attendance has been down in recent years in Ireland, and no doubt scandals like this is why, among other things.
Please do!
Also… this reminds me of a book I recently read, about the Irish-American invasion of Canada after the Civil War. One thing that struck me was the official position of the Church on the British occupation of Ireland - which was to accept it. Apparently, people who rebelled risked possible ex-communication. Of course, some priests defied that, but still. It shows you that often the Church preferred to be on the side of the oppressors, rather than on that of the oppressed. I think a lot of people hoped that Pope Francis would be more on the side of the oppressed, and he’s been better than the last 2 popes… but I’m not sure it’s enough.
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One thing is that it’s not just The (Catholic) church. I pass every day on the way to work a mass grave commemorated only recently due the the work of a historian colleague. It had possibly the worst death rate. It was run by the Plymouth Brethren, though most of the poor women sent there came from working clas protestant, C of I. It’s a societal cancer. We would love, conservatives do love, to blame it on the church and the past. They are completely wrong.
The walking past the concentration camp to church (now the shop) still happens. Only now it’s not mother and baby homes (though homeless hubs…) but direct provision.
Evil walks.
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True. They do mention that Protestants were also part of this.
Yeah, I think that’s fair enough and I agree.
I say this here often, and it’s generally not a popular view here, that religion is a tool, and can be used for oppressive or liberatory purposes. The history of the Catholic church has always been mixed on that, like any other institution in history. It was obviously a powerful, dominant institution for much of the past 2,000 years of European history and the past few hundred years of global history. And that means both good and bad actions over the centuries. I think with regards to Irish history, you really have to put the Church into the larger context of English colonization, and how that shaped the Irish interaction with their faith. For years, of course, Catholic mass was banned, and even when it was not, there was still a sense of the English looking down on Catholicism as a more “Pagan” faith than the Angelican church. I think that anti-Catholic attitude still shapes relations between the two countries to some degree.
TL,DR: it’s complicated!
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But Moggy hates us! Posh English Catholics are the worst Tory fucks!
Sorry this is glib and doesn’t address the deep and abiding anger we are all experiencing at the moment.
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LOL! No, we need some laughs, too. Things are bleak yo!
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The Lamb and Flag is one of the pubs where the Inklings met.
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Lazio ultras and hooligans have strong links to the far-right, and Romano Floriani Mussolini’s mother is just as fascist. Hopefully he doesn’t make the first team, or takes a strong antifascist position before he does.
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Lazio is and always has been a bunch of fascists, hell that Shithead Paolo di Canio gave the fascist salute to fans…
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It feels like every day something happens that makes me regret joining the Labour Party.
I think I am a bit more of a traditionalist when it comes to socialism
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The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
That amazing mashup video you posted a link to the other day becomes ever more on point.
Change your name to New
Forget the fucking Labour
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When I first heard that song I was reading about how Oswald Mosley moved from Labour to being the leader of the British Union of Fascists. The warning really stood out.
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Well that’s off-putting.
This is symptomatic of a strategy which goes chasing votes from groups who already have their own party – the Conservative party,” he said. “You end up with the worst of both worlds losing the support you have already got and not gaining new supporters in sufficient numbers.”
Fucking a
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