Thread: Has Northern Ireland left the past behind?

from yahoo

The other answers have stated correctly that to "tar and feather" someone used to mean literally tar and feather them. You'd pour tar all over their bodies and then roll them in feathers or dump feathers onto them. The victims were then dropped off in the middle of town or were actually paraded around town so that they could be seen by all. It was meant as a humiliating punishment, but it also had dire consequences with regard to pain and suffering.

While it wasn't directly fatal, it was indirectly fatal and debilitating. It was certainly more than just humiliating. It irreparably damaged the body. Oftentimes first degree burns were sustained from the initial contact with the tar. Also, you cannot get cooled tar off your skin without taking the skin with it. So when the victims or their families tried to remove the tar or even just the feathers stuck in the tar, it would take a good portion of the skin with it leaving the victim open to shock from the trauma and drastic infections, not to mention the damage to their bodies and skin. Trying to remove the feathers or the tar, if successful, would leave horrible scars. Depending on how "complete" the job was done, there was also a risk of heat stroke as the tar would prevent the body's skin from breathing.

Nowadays, to say you want to "tar and feather" someone or to say "they should be tarred and feathered," means you want to give them a brutal and humiliating punishment for their actions..

So I suppose the pregnant women AND HER BABY deserved it then?

no offence but what would someone from california and a teenage scottish bhoy know about growing up in the troubles in the occupied 6 counties?

tarring and feathering was a necessary evil. the RUC didnt police our communities so the RA did. joyriders, hoods and thieves were publicly disgraced and it soon stopped them from harming their own community again

Originally Posted by Ghod

look at the fuckin state of a lotta republican communities now, fuckin hood ridden shitholes since the decommission. Its proven that the RA were an acceptable to the people, effectively policing the community and the RUC were/are not an acceptable police force.

no doubt mate. look at that greengrocer that got stabbed with a screw driver at the top of the falls by glue bagging hoods, he was a pillar of the community, the wee cunts will get a few years in a juvenille hall somewhere playing the xbox all day. they should have been kneecapped.

Originally Posted by mcfitz

sorry to be the bearer of bad news to yous but you can't help who you fall in love with! She never killed no one, she didn't harass anyone it's the Brit who should have been tarred and feathered

she fell in love with someone who she shouldn't have but havnt we all!! She didn't deserve what she got!

tbh, at that time, and the amount of marraiges between soldiers and those many women, its absolute crap.

She fell in "love" with the soldier was probably because he was the only one her age that she'd met in months that was working and wasn't meeting missing a few teeth and gaunt look and tattered clothes and yes, i'm talking about people as young as their early 30s. People lived in sub-human squaler.


Back on topic- This is where I disagree with the IRA, that was disgusting and was not the type of justice the IRA should have been trying to put in place. They also kneecapped shoplifters and joyriders. Thats what brings the lump to my throat about the provos.

Trust the BBC to post this by the way

how would you suggest dealing with anti social elements within the republican community then RS?

Originally Posted by clagan

how would you suggest dealing with anti social elements within the republican community then RS?

shoplifters in those days stole from loyaist businesses in city centres to sell them to people who couldn't afford those goods whether it be electronics, music etc. so I wouldn't of had a problem with them during the troubles.

During the War of independence, the IRA set up independent courts where people would choose to attend this and ignore the British system, I would like to have seen something modelled on this. You'll see what i'm on about at 6:27
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bka6sst0YE

would have been good to see. with regards shoplifting i'm not aware of people getting knee capped for robbing in town, just on their own doorstep.

you're from andytown originally aren't you? joy rider central and they were a real social pest and, whether they stole cars in dunmurray, and brought them up west they're still being a menace to their own community. if a joyrider gets shot, it lessens the chance of a child or old woman out doing her shopping getting run over, which is fine in my book.

Originally Posted by clagan

would have been good to see. with regards shoplifting i'm not aware of people getting knee capped for robbing in town, just on their own doorstep.

you're from andytown originally aren't you? joy rider central and they were a real social pest and, whether they stole cars in dunmurray, and brought them up west they're still being a menace to their own community. if a joyrider gets shot, it lessens the chance of a child or old woman out doing her shopping getting run over, which is fine in my book.

No mate, i have relations in andytown. My dad is from the lower falls and I was born in Belfast, lived in the upper ormeau, only young when I moved so would have more experience of the falls.
I don't people could have robbed on their doorsteps at the start of the troubles as people already had nothing. My dad use to run the community centre in Divis flats and would give warning to lads who would be shoplifting up town that the IRA were looking to kneecap and would tell them to keep a low profile.

As for th part in bold, that's not justice, we cannot support shooting someone before they've done anything, we've seen that in the case of the Gibraler Three

i'm saying shoot joyriders though, not people suspected of joyriding. everyone knows who they are, they're vermin. and only knee capping, nothing fatal.

this video always bring a smile to my face. justice, falls road style.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ugpZLSK8NI

Originally Posted by clagan

i'm saying shoot joyriders though, not people suspected of joyriding. everyone knows who they are, they're vermin. and only knee capping, nothing fatal.

this video always bring a smile to my face. justice, falls road style.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ugpZLSK8NI

ok, so if they steal £10,000-£15,000 worth of cars(which is a reasonable figure beforet hey get caught) before the IRA catchs them, they're kneecapped and permanently disabled.

Now think of someone born disabled which leaves them with a similar condition to the joyrider. Do you think they would pay £10,000-£15,000 to save this person? ofcourse they would and alot more prob thousands upon thousands more. So I think that £10,000-£15,000 is not worth someones knees

its not the cost of the car, as i said before most cars stolen arent from the local community. they go to dunmurray to do it but then bring them back to the falls/andytown and drive very dangerously around the roads. this puts so many people at risk and if knee capping some little scumbag puts off other hoods and drops the chances of an innocent person getting injured, then its fine by me.

look at the protests on the falls and antrim roads years ago about the people killed by joyriders, truely tragic seeing small children or men with mouths to feed being run down by some tracksuit wearing hood. the cops arent going to catch them, so the RA find out who they are and take care of them.

its barbaric but unfortunately in our communities its the way it is, a very necessary evil.

Originally Posted by clagan

its not the cost of the car, as i said before most cars stolen arent from the local community. they go to dunmurray to do it but then bring them back to the falls/andytown and drive very dangerously around the roads. this puts so many people at risk and if knee capping some little scumbag puts off other hoods and drops the chances of an innocent person getting injured, then its fine by me.

look at the protests on the falls and antrim roads years ago about the people killed by joyriders, truely tragic seeing small children or men with mouths to feed being run down by some tracksuit wearing hood. the cops arent going to catch them, so the RA find out who they are and take care of them.

its barbaric but unfortunately in our communities its the way it is, a very necessary evil.

We need a better system of justice instead of acting like savages though. Mutilating someone isn't justice

i like the idea you proposed earlier tbh. and tbf knee cappings, tarring and feathering etc was a last resort. no one wants to do that, but when your community are coming to you asking whats going to be done, you've told people to stop it and they havent then it then they get what they deserve.

you have to look at the factors that drive people to such actions, dealing with anti social factions was always high on SF's objectives. i lived on an estate in antrim, rathenraw, a rough, rough area and when SF put martin meehan forward as MLA for SE antrim the first thing he did was to, literally, kick all the drug dealers and scumbags out of the estate.

Originally Posted by clagan

i like the idea you proposed earlier tbh. and tbf knee cappings, tarring and feathering etc was a last resort. no one wants to do that, but when your community are coming to you asking whats going to be done, you've told people to stop it and they havent then it then they get what they deserve.

you have to look at the factors that drive people to such actions, dealing with anti social factions was always high on SF's objectives. i lived on an estate in antrim, rathenraw, a rough, rough area and when SF put martin meehan forward as MLA for SE antrim the first thing he did was to, literally, kick all the drug dealers and scumbags out of the estate.

Well you know as well as the rest of us that the IRA have lost badly in a propganda war with the brits and this affects this badly. I'm too tired to think f other alternatives, but as you suggest with Martin Meehan, if you get community united against drugs dealers and joyriders, it can be stronger than any weapon

Originally Posted by RK

How brave of them… attacking an innocent woman.

Do you know why she was attacked? Or would you have even said anything if it was a man?

Originally Posted by Ghod

look at the fuckin state of a lotta republican communities now, fuckin hood ridden shitholes since the decommission. Its proven that the RA were an acceptable to the people, effectively policing the community and the RUC were/are not an acceptable police force.

Also, in the Free State! There were never such criminals as we have today because criminals were afraid of what would happen. It wasn't up to Republicans to police the 26 counties but they did their bit from time to time and stopped gangsters from running their area like their doing today