This thread is my way of examining and collecting the opinions of other on a topic which is much publicised and much aggrieved throughout Northern Ireland, Scotland and the Commonwealth including America.
The Orange Institution, which is more commonly known as the Orange Order, was founded in 1795 in Armagh, Ireland was initially set up as a tribute to the King William II of Scotland, William III of England and William III of Ireland. The main aim of the organisation is to raise awareness to the victory of William against the Catholic led rebellion of James II at the Battle of The Boyne in the year 1690. The battle was won by William as the Catholic king James II was defeated after being deposed as king by William in 1688. William led the protestant led army against James’ army, which was made up of mostly new recruits. The Orange Institution now commemorate this win on the 12th of July every year.
The win has gone down in history and is a key part of Ireland’s folklore and rightly so. It has shaped the Irish nation as we see it today and the win made sure that William the Orange would remain as king. With James being defeated, It pretty much meant that William had beaten the Jacobite rising and it meant that the Glorious Revolution would triumph. The win at the Battle of the Boyne was overshadowed at the time but has remained a great day in history for Protestant people to this day. Every 12th of July, Parades are held that celebrate the win. The win itself was a very easy one for William who had 36,000 men under his control for the battle, the majority of which was given to him by Pope Alexander. The Jacobites had around 23,000 men, most of whom were new recruits and had been forced into helping. They were peasants and were poorly trained, poorly equipped and only had farming equipment to fend off the better trained and equipped Williamite Army.
Anyway, that is neither here nor there when it comes to this argument but who doesn’t like history huh? The point is, every year the win is celebrated in many different ways by people of protestant persuasion. It is mainly celebrated by the use of marches that commemorate the win over Catholics and Catholicism in general. I am Catholic by choice and every year, I have to put up with the march and deal with the stigmatism that now comes with the march. However, many people in Scotland do not even know what they are celebrating but continue to celebrate because it has become much more than celebrating a victory of one army against another.
[youtube]28fz2HNC1MA[/youtube]
Now as you can see from that video, people do not care about the victory that was achieved by William. The main march is held in a different location every year and this year it was a small town in Scotland called Airdrie. I live in Airdrie and had to deal with this for a couple of weeks before. Now, I would not be too bothered if it did not mean that I was criticised for being a Catholic. No, this march has become a lot more than celebrating one victory. It has become a way of showing Catholics people that they are very much secluded and looked down upon in a Protestant country. You may also notice that many people in the posted video and the one I am about to post are wearing football tops that represent Rangers FC.
[youtube]3AtzDAw1v_4[/youtube]
The problem I have with this march is that I find the people to be very offensive. People daren’t say anything though in fear of being attacked for their beliefs. In fact in the first video, the comments on Youtube were mostly very sectarian in nature. Ione man actually saying, “FTP” as a comment. For those who do not know what this means, it means Fuck The Pope. It has become common for people who do not know anything about what actually happened to jump on the bandwagon simply because they have protestant connections. In fact, If had not been for the Pope at the time, William may not have even won the Battle of The Boyne. This march, is a breeding ground for idiocy every year. For a great example of this, watch the second video. The man who is filming says, “You’re walking like a proddy”. What the hell does that even mean!? My point is this march has become much more than a celebration. It is a way of showing people that protestants are very much still in charge of a country that is supposedly open to free-religion
Another example of this is football. In Scotland, two temas battle for supremacy every year, Rangers and Celtic. Rangers have ties in Protestantism and Celtic have a mainly Catholis support. When the two teams meet, it becomes about much more than football. It always ends up the same way, people chanting sectarian songs and attacking people for their beliefs. For example:
[youtube]8TLFeEcrTV8[/youtube]
In this video, Rangers fans are singing about Killing Catholics. Many people do not even know how offensive they are being and most honestly could not care less. All they want to show is their superiority over another religion. Needless to say, most of the marches go off without a hitch but some cause trouble and outrage.
So my question is. Why do these walks still occur? I mean, I can see why many do. They are celebrating a famous victory that has shaped both the Emerald Isle and the British nation but why must they continue to be so public about it? Why can’t people in the Orange Halls just be content in celebrating it with their own kinsmen? Why must it be so public, even when many do not know what they are celebrating and if they do know what they are celebrating, why so they feel the need to criticise Catholics for their beliefs.
**Note: My history of this subject is a bit sketchy and some of the things I have said may be offensive to some. If this is the case, I am sorry but I would like to know what you think of this celebration.**
The Orange Institution, which is more commonly known as the Orange Order, was founded in 1795 in Armagh, Ireland was initially set up as a tribute to the King William II of Scotland, William III of England and William III of Ireland. The main aim of the organisation is to raise awareness to the victory of William against the Catholic led rebellion of James II at the Battle of The Boyne in the year 1690. The battle was won by William as the Catholic king James II was defeated after being deposed as king by William in 1688. William led the protestant led army against James’ army, which was made up of mostly new recruits. The Orange Institution now commemorate this win on the 12th of July every year.
The win has gone down in history and is a key part of Ireland’s folklore and rightly so. It has shaped the Irish nation as we see it today and the win made sure that William the Orange would remain as king. With James being defeated, It pretty much meant that William had beaten the Jacobite rising and it meant that the Glorious Revolution would triumph. The win at the Battle of the Boyne was overshadowed at the time but has remained a great day in history for Protestant people to this day. Every 12th of July, Parades are held that celebrate the win. The win itself was a very easy one for William who had 36,000 men under his control for the battle, the majority of which was given to him by Pope Alexander. The Jacobites had around 23,000 men, most of whom were new recruits and had been forced into helping. They were peasants and were poorly trained, poorly equipped and only had farming equipment to fend off the better trained and equipped Williamite Army.
Anyway, that is neither here nor there when it comes to this argument but who doesn’t like history huh? The point is, every year the win is celebrated in many different ways by people of protestant persuasion. It is mainly celebrated by the use of marches that commemorate the win over Catholics and Catholicism in general. I am Catholic by choice and every year, I have to put up with the march and deal with the stigmatism that now comes with the march. However, many people in Scotland do not even know what they are celebrating but continue to celebrate because it has become much more than celebrating a victory of one army against another.
[youtube]28fz2HNC1MA[/youtube]
Now as you can see from that video, people do not care about the victory that was achieved by William. The main march is held in a different location every year and this year it was a small town in Scotland called Airdrie. I live in Airdrie and had to deal with this for a couple of weeks before. Now, I would not be too bothered if it did not mean that I was criticised for being a Catholic. No, this march has become a lot more than celebrating one victory. It has become a way of showing Catholics people that they are very much secluded and looked down upon in a Protestant country. You may also notice that many people in the posted video and the one I am about to post are wearing football tops that represent Rangers FC.
[youtube]3AtzDAw1v_4[/youtube]
The problem I have with this march is that I find the people to be very offensive. People daren’t say anything though in fear of being attacked for their beliefs. In fact in the first video, the comments on Youtube were mostly very sectarian in nature. Ione man actually saying, “FTP” as a comment. For those who do not know what this means, it means Fuck The Pope. It has become common for people who do not know anything about what actually happened to jump on the bandwagon simply because they have protestant connections. In fact, If had not been for the Pope at the time, William may not have even won the Battle of The Boyne. This march, is a breeding ground for idiocy every year. For a great example of this, watch the second video. The man who is filming says, “You’re walking like a proddy”. What the hell does that even mean!? My point is this march has become much more than a celebration. It is a way of showing people that protestants are very much still in charge of a country that is supposedly open to free-religion
Another example of this is football. In Scotland, two temas battle for supremacy every year, Rangers and Celtic. Rangers have ties in Protestantism and Celtic have a mainly Catholis support. When the two teams meet, it becomes about much more than football. It always ends up the same way, people chanting sectarian songs and attacking people for their beliefs. For example:
[youtube]8TLFeEcrTV8[/youtube]
In this video, Rangers fans are singing about Killing Catholics. Many people do not even know how offensive they are being and most honestly could not care less. All they want to show is their superiority over another religion. Needless to say, most of the marches go off without a hitch but some cause trouble and outrage.
So my question is. Why do these walks still occur? I mean, I can see why many do. They are celebrating a famous victory that has shaped both the Emerald Isle and the British nation but why must they continue to be so public about it? Why can’t people in the Orange Halls just be content in celebrating it with their own kinsmen? Why must it be so public, even when many do not know what they are celebrating and if they do know what they are celebrating, why so they feel the need to criticise Catholics for their beliefs.
**Note: My history of this subject is a bit sketchy and some of the things I have said may be offensive to some. If this is the case, I am sorry but I would like to know what you think of this celebration.**
