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Jump To Comment: 1 2Where readers can appreciate his choice of wallpaper which is a tiled reproduction of a cartoon depicting a man with Frankenstein monster's neck bolt in his neck and a big wooden stake through his heart. The caption over this wallpaper reads "IRA" in little clouds. It really tickles my wonderment that two visual references which are only understandable thanks to seminal 19th century English Feminist (Mary Shelley) and 19th century Irish migrant fiction (Bram Stoker) of the horror genre are the closest this Youtube user appears to get to humour.
But the sublime message is worthy of note. The very same name Captain Johnston, which let's face it is not as familiar to us P O'Neill , & thus needs to be qualified with an address [loyalist west Belfast & shewing us] which somehow engages one less than the Zapatistas' classic ubication - "from the mountains of Chiapas", appears to rant and rant and rant in a way which is sadly bitter.
Almost as if the forces and roots of conflict which brought the IRA back into being in the 1970's and sustained it as a mostly homogenous and unitary armed republican struggle movement until its ceasefire, through its ceasefires, decision to engage in decommissioning and final disbandment - were nothing more than a sacriligous frame of dead body parts assembled by young Dr Frankenstein in his dark sinister castle to be brought to life by the Promethean spark; to then find conscienceness, play the violin, only befriend the blind, seek vengance, stroll the artic wastes & then................ get a tricolour draped open coffin whose wake is adorned by an oak stake befitting the undead.
Oh 'tis all truly 19th century and shockingly ghastly gothic if the cartoons are the only to go by.
http://www.youtube.com/CaptalnWmJohnstonUVF
But they killed one third of all the victims of The Troubles.
We've no number of those who got knee-capped with Black & Deckers instead of sawn-off shotguns.
I really do recommend readers whatever their political take on the national question and the intellectual or moral rigours of the conflict which saw thousands of people killed and hundreds of thousands of others minds and esteem shaped to take the time to compare and contrast the UVF/RHC statement and that which officially ended the IRA armed campaign.
& once they've seen the lack of grace in one nor mere mention of honoured dead of the same cloth nor even vaguely class based nod to working class realities - might they just wonder how below it all the same rank still held its significance. The rank of "captain".
Oddly enough it is a very difficult rank to pin down or pin medals upon. As the hero of Roddy Doyle's novel A star called Henry knew to his ironic and cynical chagrin as he recruited and trained volunteers through the early war of Independence cogadh na Saoirse to take on the Black & Tans first and the Auxiliaries later. To win their respect he awarded himself the rank of "captain". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Star_Called_Henry It's an easy rank to award yourself as long as you're hard and sounds so much better than sergeant. Adjutant or Private Craig could never have founded a city. Sean O'Casey would never have made us laugh at a non-commissioned officer or able seamen Paycock.
Oh who were and are these bleedin captains?
Whisht! ye bairns and langers, don't you worry -
it is not the fighting men and women for your flags, independence, sovreignty, loyalty, republic or honour who have the guns now.
for we are at peace & anyone who likes can speak Ulster Scots in a land where no Romanian Gypsy tongue is heard
What damns them in the end is their lack of humour. Hell truly isn't a funny place at all.
Whilst this fan fair by the national & international media circus over the loyalist parmailitary announcement is all well and good, it's nothing to write home about!! The largest loyalist group, the UDA, is still in the act of discussion on disarming their weapons with the IICD. However, not during any of the loyalist paramilitary statements on their "momentus" decision was there an apology, acknowledge or ounce of remorse shown to the near 1,000 sectarian killings they perpetrated upon the Catholic people!! So I suppose thats all well and good then in the name of progress.....