By Sammy McNally
When the Orange Order are finished giving the board of EasyJet a good tongue lashing they may also need to consider popping into Fleet street to give the British press a piece of their mind.
… and they might also need to have a word with the tourist body Visit Belfast.
In commenting on the EasyJet furore in their on-line edition, the Daily Mail stated that (using language somewhat more akin to Sinn Fein)
“Thousands of Pro-British Protestants hold marches every July 12 in the British ruled 
province to mark a 1690 victory by King William of Orange that sealed Protestant domination, a tradition Catholic Irish nationalists consider provocative”
Clearly no airline can be recommending a ‘cultural’ event which more than 40% of the indigenous population find ‘provocative’ (Without providing the appropriate context).
The Independent stated that:
“In the case of this year’s parades, the disruptions included a major outbreak of violence in north Belfast in which a 16-year-old girl was injured after being dragged underneath an out-of-control car”
Closer to home, Visit Belfast, the tourist body tasked with promoting events in Ireland’s second city responded to the query:
“Can you confirm what the official policy of Visit Belfast is in relation to encouraging tourists to attend 12th July celebrations in Belfast?”
with this unconvincing reply:
“With any major event planned for the city, such as and including the 12th of July parades/celebrations, Visit Belfast provides comprehensive information for visitors and residents, on its website, blogs, consumer and industry e-zines, literature. This also includes information about OrangeFest in Belfast, parade timings and routes, visitors attraction and shop opening hours, street entertainment and up to date information on bus and rail transport.”
Visit Belfast have yet to respond to a further query as to whether their reply above means that they “promote Orangefest to tourists?”
The problem for the Orange Order is that support for their position, apart from that coming from the usual suspects (Unionist politicians) and those associated with the organisation, is thin on the ground.
The DUP’s William Humphrey stated that “The decision by EasyJet to remove an article which highlights and promotes the tourist potential of 12th July parades is an outrageous overreaction to one complaint from a blogger”.
What the Orange Order and the DUP don’t seem to realise is that EasyJet are entitled to review the suitability of events they recommend in their in-flight magazine – and that the number of people who suggested to them that they do such a review – is completely irrelevant.
Have any British politicians rushed to the defence of the Orange Order which according to Senior Orange man Dr David Hume has now suffered “demonization”?
It doesn’t seem so.
It can’t of course be ruled out that someone from the Tories or UKIP (or perhaps Kate Hoey from the Labour Party) will give some moral backing to the Orange Order in their struggle with EasyJet – but David Cameron and Nigel Farage probably wouldn’t approve.
…ironically, the people who are probably most disconcerted by the Orange Order’s leaders’ decision to do battle with EasyJet are the ordinary, decent, sensible members of the organisation who now have to witness their leadership start another campaign – like the right to march at Drumcree or the abolition of the Parades Commission – which they simply cannot win.
"We in coming days may be" 
With any luck the Orange Order will move the Twaddle Camp to the Easyjet HQ in Luton Airport and let them deal with the lunatics.
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Sionn,
LOLs (to use what must be a much over used pun in relation to the OO).
Without wishing to seriously suggest such a thing… there are some excellent marching surfaces (runways) to be availed of in the area.
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You’re a very naughty boy, Sammy…
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Reblogged this on Jude Collins – writer and broadcaster and commented:
An interesting follow-up to the OO-Easyjet unhappiness…
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jude,
…and a fine job you did on Talkback – putting the case.
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Not all Nationalists find Orange Parades offensive…
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Gadzooks,
perhaps…
but that is not what the Daily Mail is claiming when they make the following unqualified statement about Orange parades….
“a tradition Catholic Irish nationalists consider provocative”
so using the logic of The Daily Mail, given that over 40% of the population are ‘Catholic Irish nationalists'(based on the 2011 census results and the average of the Nationalist % vote in the last 2 assembly elections)- then the Daily Mail is implicitly suggesting that
more than 40% of the indigenous population find Orange marches ‘provocative’.
…a rather unexpected position from perhaps the British newspaper least sympathetic to Irish Nationalism – and a newspaper that might have been considered more likely to push the Unionist line – that (Northern) ‘Catholic Irish nationalists’ really look forward to the 12th of July every year.
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Said the man from the Daily Mail.
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Political Tourist,
Its not often the Daily Mail takes the SF/Republican/Nationalist perspective on these matters.
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dare I put up the video of the song? Yes here we go!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_0WXSpmS-w&list=RDa_0WXSpmS-w&index=1
PS Bangordub feel free to take it down if you feel it might offend some of your readers/posters/lurkers!!!
best to all
Ben
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The Stormont Culture Arts and Leisure Committee passed a motion (last Thursday) to write to easyJet to ask them to reconsider their position on their apology – the split of the committee is 6 to 5 Unionists to Nats.
http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/assembly-business/committees/culture-arts-and-leisure/membership/
One Nat was absent and the vote was 6 (Unionists) favour in favour and 4(Nats) against.(Figures based on viewing the committee meeting – last few minutes)
Link to the meeting.
http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/assembly-business/committees/culture-arts-and-leisure/meetings/13-august-2015/
Are Easyjet likely to know that the letter does not recognise the views of all the committee – or indeed any of the Nats – and that those who voted in favour are(mostly) in the Orange Order…
I guess not, but they really need to be informed.
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Funny enough, I’d a chat with a taxi driver last night. He was a nice fella but had that real ex-prisoner look about him. I can’t recall how we started to talk about it but he was telling me that he comes from an Orange family but decided to look in to the history of the Orange Order and he didn’t like what he saw, in particular, what the Peeps did and their direct relation to the OO. Consequently, he and his father left.
I haven’t been to the new museum, nor would I ever give it my patronage but I wonder if they admit to their long history of sectarian terrorism over the years or is it like their website and not mention it.
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Paul,
re. “their long history of sectarian terrorism ”
I think it is a fair guess they don’t touch on it. lol
Personally speaking I intend to visit the museum – I think it is a positive development – and like all versions of history – has to be taken in context. The positive elements of the OO deserve to be highlighted (in terms of their role especially within rural communities) and sooner or later the OO will realise they need to move away from their confrontational approach.
Until then – they need to be outed for their sectarianism.
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Well, I was an advocate of the Belfast Vs the rural lodges debate but that was until the Spotlight about them stopping Catholics acquiring property.
Against that, I recall bands from rural lodges being abused in east Belfast, during the 1912 commemorations, for adhering to the Pardaes Commision ruling. Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t like pissing on other’s parade or judging thins that I don’t get but the impose themselves on us whilst refusing to be accountable to us or the state, that they claim to love (aye, right(.
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here’s some info about the orange order property acquisition policy https://eurofree3.wordpress.com/2013/09/24/no-pope-here-never-ever-ever/
bangordub may well have done a post on it – might be worthwhile searching the archives if you need more info
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The Stormont Culture Arts and Leisure Committee passed a motion (last Thursday) to write to easyJet to ask them to reconsider their position on their apology – the split of the committee is 6 Unionists(including Basil McCrae) to 5 Nationalists.
One Nationalist was absent and the vote was 6* (Unionists) in favour and 4(Nationalists) against. Figures based on viewing the committee meeting on-line(last few minutes).
Are Easyjet likely to know that the letter they receive does not recognise the views of all of the committee – or indeed of any of the Nationalists– and that those who voted in favour are(mostly) in the Orange Order?
I guess not, but they really need to be informed…
*some lack of clarity on the way that Basil McCrae voted.
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Do you remember on Who Do You Think You Are when David Tennant was disgusted to leanr of his links to the OO? Now, David ain’t no Londoner, he’s from Bathgate, knows the craic.
Then there was the episode of QI when they were talking about a Scots judge who was punished by the OO for attending a funeral.
See, that’s how normal people in a normal society react to such groups, how they react to the EDL or Britain First or the BNP or National Action? Imagine if the OO were formed today?
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