postyesterdayman
|
Re: Blasphemy made illegal in Ireland
Jul 27, 2009, 03:26
|
|
I rarely say this anymore: thank (deity deleted) I live in (nation deleted, for sensitivity purposes). Fuck me!
|
postyesterdayman
|
Re: Blasphemy made illegal in Ireland
Jul 27, 2009, 03:27
|
|
No, not draconian, just socially retarded.
|
postyesterdayman
|
Re: Blasphemy made illegal in Ireland
Jul 27, 2009, 03:31
|
|
Hey deepinder, you're in the wrong fucking place if that's how you feel. Do you really think we are all going to 'hooray' you for implying the Irish are peasants? Go fuck yourself. I can identify, when someone assumes all Americans are capitalist, superficial assholes.
|
postyesterdayman
|
Re: Blasphemy made illegal in Ireland
Jul 27, 2009, 03:34
|
|
And don't think I am in the Cheema boat, I just get irritated when rational answers get lost amongst the middle ground of politics. The Irish deserve better than their politicians....don't we all.
|
sanshee
|
Re: Blasphemy made illegal in Ireland
Jul 30, 2009, 07:33
|
So no more 'kicking Bishop Brennan up the arse' then.
Or did they ever get to see it in the first place?
x
|
CraigR
|
Re: Blasphemy made illegal in Ireland
Jul 30, 2009, 11:34
|
I am under the impression that you are of Asian origin. This may be completely wide of the mark.
But tell me; how would you feel if this was said about India, Pakistan, Bangladesh etc?
I, and many others it would seem, find your comments very offensive. My wife is born of Irish parents, we have large Irish connections.
Please consider the undertones of your comments.
|
grufty jim
|
Edited Jul 30, 2009, 11:44
Re: Blasphemy made illegal in Ireland
Jul 30, 2009, 11:40
|
|
sanshee wrote: So no more 'kicking Bishop Brennan up the arse' then.
Or did they ever get to see it in the first place?
x
Father Ted was one of the most popular shows ever broadcast in Ireland and is given regular repeats. Although produced by a British company it was filmed in Ireland, the writers were Irish as was almost the entire cast.
To be honest, I'd question whether or not there was ever anything truly blasphemous in the show. But if there was, then it quite clearly passes the tests laid down by the new legislation in that a reasonable person could see artistic merit in Father Ted.
You want an example of genuine restrictions on free speech? Then check out what happened to a Spanish satirical magazine when they lampooned the royal family (the entire print run of the magazine was seized and pulped).
Once again let me reiterate, this law is written in such a way as to be essentially unenforceable. If there is even a single conviction under this legislation I will be astounded.
|
sanshee
|
Re: Blasphemy made illegal in Ireland
Jul 30, 2009, 13:33
|
|
grufty ji wrote:
Father Ted was one of the most popular shows ever broadcast in Ireland and is given regular repeats. Although produced by a British company it was filmed in Ireland, the writers were Irish as was almost the entire cast.
Yes, did straight away notice how *Irish* it all is:-)
Anyway, my comment was not meant to be taken quite so seriously and I'm aware that had Ted been such a huge thought crime in Ireland it wouldn't have been allowed to air at all.
Father Jack did more or less shove a newly classed relic up some other Bishop's ass and the other Bishop in that episode did say that it (religion) was all shite, basically.
Blasphemous? If not then feck knows what Blasphemy is.
To others of course it can even appear in the form of a cartoon, or wearing trousers if yer a lady.
Crazy.
x
|
grufty jim
|
Edited Jul 30, 2009, 14:39
Re: Blasphemy made illegal in Ireland
Jul 30, 2009, 14:05
|
Certainly one view is that anything that criticises or lampoons religion or religious figures is blasphemous. But while that may have been the way it was interpreted in the Middle Ages, and while it may be the way religious people wish it was interpreted today, I think most countries (i.e. not theocracies) have a far narrower view of blasphemy.
I'd argue that Father Ted does no more than poke mild fun at the Catholic clergy and some of the more absurd aspects of religion (seeing the face of God in stains on the skirting board, or as actually happened recently, the image of Mary in a tree stump). It's worth noting, for instance, that the Catholic Church have completely dismissed this latest "miracle" despite the 24 hour vigils and pilgrimages being made.
Right now Ireland's relationship with Catholicism is entering a new phase. The Ryan Report into institutional abuse has revealed horrors that have shocked and surprised even the most cynical among us. Churches are half-empty on Sundays and those who do still attend are -- generally -- the older generation for whom Sunday mass is as much a socio-cultural habit as it is a spiritual observance.
While throwing off the shackles of a religious cult is doubtlessly a positive step for the Irish, it's not universally positive. What worries me is that liberal secularism -- almost everywhere it has gained ground against religion -- has completely failed to offer people substitutes for those good things that the church provides.
Social inclusion, community cohesion, the importance of charity and of individual sacrifice for a greater good... these are all functions that Catholicism has fulfilled in Ireland for generations. We can certainly find other ways of fulfilling those functions, but by-and-large we don't. Modern secularism too often goes hand-in-hand with selfish consumerism and the atomisation of communities. The removal of the Church is a necessary step for the Irish to take, but to just allow the vacuum that remains to be filled with lonely materialism is dangerous in the extreme.
This is not a uniquely Irish problem, but it's one that we're encountering a little while after most other places. And instead of learning from the mistakes of others we seem doomed to repeat them.
|
Stevo
|
Edited Jul 31, 2009, 08:06
Re: Blasphemy made illegal in Ireland
Jul 31, 2009, 07:42
|
I'm just wondering how the Flipper t-shirt of the icon of the Virgin Mary holding a Flipper fish fares with this law. was feeling a bit iffy about a deeply religious local/friend to the Solidarity Camp copping onto what the shirt actually meant and being offended by it, which she hadn't on first seeing it but probably would when she saw the full picture.Her first reaction was to say 'You've gone religious today'.
Hope it's ok cos its a favourite shirt. Was looking for a website picture of the thing but can't find one. & I know that tshirts of similar innocuity have got people arrested in the UK in the past, or at least heard stories of such. Especially during the punk era.
|
