Omagh election candidate - I'd recriminalize homosexuality

Another closet case.

I am delighted that there was so little support in Northern Ireland for such right wing views but I am frightened by the huge gains won by far right or fascist parties across Europe particularly in France. These are the people we have seen rioting over gay marriage some with skin head nazi attire, remember.

I know we dont have much of a history of far right support but Irish society is also very different now than it has been in its history and I think there is a leadership void as well as an anger and dissatisfaction that could be ground for some kind of nationalist charasmatic conservative answer to all our problems that would hate us along with foreigners feminists intellectuals and others hell bent on destroying and organised society. F**k Im scared, maybe a bit ahead of my time and maybe for no reason at all. Someone tell me its all going to be all right.

I think all the economic reasoning about the far right is exactly what Im afraid of. I dont think I really have a handle on it but its my understanding that thats how fascism starts with it all being reasonable. Remember the reasonable arguments recently about how nobody was homophobic. Thats how fascism can start too perfectly reasonably not against anyone but for growth, for us all to stick together and get out of the **** we are in and get back to a better time when we were stronger, had more pride and a sense of identity and got rid of those who have caused this economic and social collapse.
Thats whats being said now.

You know the way people have been talking about the importance of us looking at how all discriminations are interconnected so that we dont just look at one issue in isolation I think all that idea is probably even more important now.
I think it is important for LGBT people to recognise how fascism grows, how it starts, what kind of things happen in order for it to take some foothold.
I dont really understand how it works but a lot of whats going on politically seems to me to be foundations for a rise in fascism from my limited understanding and like I say I may be over anxious about this I dont know . Ireland has had a fairly homogenous society up to now as Aard says and some of us have paid the price of not fitting into that sense of what Irish people should be like already.
Fascists are working now on economic issues and they may be blaming immigrants, the EU etc for the moment, and we may find some of that understandable, but we really really need to understand that we LGBT people are also on their list of who to blame for destroying the economic and the moral basis of the society they are working towards. Weve seen this in the anti gay marriage protests and riots in France where they were marching to support "traditional values" thats where we fit in they think we erode the moral fabric of society with non traditional values. We need to learn to argue against the arguments not just against us but the other groups they are against too before they get to us, I think.

My fears are kind of influenced by the novel The Wave and the German 2008 movie Die Welle. I cant find a full english version of this online to post here,just this clip of the last part but thats scary enough.
Id imagine many of you are familiar with it or the book, I think it is studied in some schools now. Anyway the wave is kind of about how fascism is easy to perpetuate given the right conditions, with people searching for a purpose, something to believe in and be a part of and lead by someone who has the answers. Being part of a successful group on the rise like that, can make it difficult to say you dont believe in everything the group believes in without seeming like a traitor. Thats when really nasty things can happen when people who feel part of the group, the nation, us not them, feel they cant or wont speak out against the things happening to those who are blamed or who go against the groups ideals. Maybe a little paranoia ahead of time, even if it never happens is no harm. The arguments in the clip below are frighteningly similar to some of the political arguments at the moment.

lottpaul wrote: »

Down to 41 this time -- which is both good and sad. Great that the electors of West Tyrone are not swayed by her particular view of the world -- and somehow sad that there are even 40 who are.... I'm presuming she voted for herself!

It's a great result to have someone with those views stand and be so completely rejected. One of the highlights of the day for me.

I presume that her family and friends and maybe a few mistakes accounted for her votes.