Ruair Quinn and his ahem advisors

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

Anyone watching on rte1. The 2 young lads are embarassing and smug.

All young people who are involved in politics are invariably embarrassing and smug.

I think it comes from a sense that by licking the arse of some fat, old politician, that - by association - you are somehow more worthy than everybody else.

The Great Chinholio wrote: »

And from joining Young Fine Gael/Labour/Gimpy gimp. Cults full of brainwashing smug

As a former member of Labour Youth I hereby quote the above for truth. Put it this way, I joined when I was 19 and left when I was 19. Those youth political gatherings are literally political brainwashing camps.

I went to a National Labour Youth conference once and it's comparable to North Koreans praising their glorious leader. We sang the Internationale openly and the Soviet National Anthem on the sly. We talked about achieving a glorious revolution and how to topple capitalism and Zionism. This was all to feed our impressionable young minds, to make us feel like being part of something bigger.

One of the reasons why armies recruit soldiers when their young, say between 17 and 20, is because they're more vulnerable, easily influenced and their concept of death isn't as solid. All their ideas about heroism and glory are still with them and are, for the most part, uncorrupted by the realities of adulthood.

Similarly, political movements target young people who are desperate to fit in and be part of something they believe is bigger than themselves. Quite often the people who join these youth movements previously felt feelings of inadequacy and/or social isolation. In reality, their vulnerability is used as a tool to mold them into foot soldiers for the party, to forward the party's agenda.

The smugness and righteousness of these people often comes from the brainwashing that makes them perceive their "cause" as being paramount to everyone else's and that anyone who is not involved and/or rejects their "cause" is inferior. Ironically, they are often led to believe that they are the only possessors of the "truth" and that everyone else is brainwashed. In short, the fulfillment that results from being part of something one might perceive as being greater than oneself can often lead to a superiority complex.

These "advisors" to Ruairi Quinn are good examples of the by-produces of this political indoctrination process. In a way, it's similar to religious indoctrination. All obedience to the party or else shame and rejection amongst your fellow peer. You become a self-righteous self-entitled being who's fate, you believe, is to forward the cause of the party by whatever means necessary and to achieve the ultimate goal of saving mankind from suffering and damnation. Don't think, just do. Follow the leader who'll pave out the way to glory.

This is why the Nazis (Godwin's law) set up the Hitler Youth, to politically indoctrinate the youth of Germany and to solidify their ideological and moral grip on future generations. Similarly today, political youth movements are there to increase the likelihood of survival of the main parties they are affiliated with in the future, e.g, LY with the Labour Party, YFG with Fine Gael, etc...

Einhard wrote: »

Ah FFS, what a ridiculous post. They were having a few cheap bottles of wine and some biccies before Christmas, like hundreds of thousands of other Irish workers, myself included. It wasn't an indication that they found such cutbacks relaxing or fun, as could be seen from the fact that the cutback were partially reversed. The idea that politicians or their afvisers shouldn't have a few Christmas drinks is nonsense.



Could you point out how exactly you think they are failing at their jobs? I watched the show myself, and while I wasn't overly impressed, I wasn't struck by any particular incompetence.



He had a point. The fact that there are seven schools on the Dingle peninsula is ludicrous and an example of gross ineffiecencies in government spending in Ireland. Try pointing that out however, and you're against rural communities, or hate farmers, or whatever idiotic statement that can be flung by people who are determined to ignore the fact that serious reforms and cutbacks need to be made, not just in education, bit right across the board.

You have missed my point. Did you watch the programme?
I watched some of it and what galled me was the attitude of the people shown in the programme.
From Ruari and his pre-interview rehearsal with his very well paid PR just so that he wouldn't be caught out fecking up live on air.
To yer man "Dingle".
It was HOW they spoke about people to whom they serve as "Public Servants".
It really was a case of "I wish these people would go away and stop bothering us"

For those who didn't witness the disaster, here's a preview: