Common Sense if you please!

I going to stick my neck out here! I have many friends in the Loyal orders and as an indigenous cultural organisation, i support their right to organise themselves along religious-specific lines.

Even though they do not support my right to organise myself, with others, along ethnic lines. In fact, i have heard spokesmen for the Orange Order state quite clearly, that they are not anti-Catholic they are pro-Protestant. Yet when it comes to the British National Party, they seem to forget the same formula they use for justifying their own existence and openly condemn the BNP as racists. "Your having a laugh mate"

Anyway i digress! Out of 3000 parades held by the Orange Order 3 or 4 are considered to be contentious. In other words they pass near or on top of Irish Nationalists/Republicans areas. Now for the life of me i don't know why the Orange Order doesn't just slightly alter the route of these parades to avoid those on the other side of the fence, that don't want them anywhere near them. Many an Orangeman has said to me 'It's our traditional route', 'We've already given them enough', 'Its our right to march here' etc, etc... You know to a certain degree i agree with them. However, in the interests of common sense and so as we don't have to have a massive, televised, beamed across the world debacle every year, how about giving a little ground and march clear from those areas in Ulster that have an Irish Nationalist/Republican residential presence. Yes it may be construed that the 'Prods' have given in, but lets be honest, how many of us would tolerate an Irish Republican parade marching down the Shankill road? The moral high ground awaits those that can see it.

Unless the dinosaurs that continue to lead our Country begin to accept that there are those that share this Country that have an opposite opinion from their own point of view, then I'm afraid that massive policing bills and adverse publicity will continue to dog this Country for a while yet.

Take the Holy Cross school mess. The true story was that known Republican terrorists that murdered and maimed so many of the Unionist community were strolling through a particular Unionist area apparently taking stock of all that was going on and generally rubbing the noses of the local population in the dirt. NOW, WHAT WAY WAS THAT PORTRAYED ACROSS THE WORLD????? It was beamed across the world that Unionists/Loyalists were attacking school children going to school in the morning. British soldiers and Police were being attacked by their own people. In other words, it was a massive PR disaster for the Unionist community. Here we are again! Will the Orange Order be able to see the wood for the trees? Personally i don't think so but time will tell. How will the people of Ulster ever be able to see the bigger picture when they are standing 2 inches from the painting? 3rd world immigration continues to swamp our Country and what do the Patriots of Ulster do? Throw stones at the Taigs and Prods on the other side!!!! Wakey wakey boys and girls.