Do you remember the Oklahoma Brouhaha? The thirty-year war between Episcopalians and Baptists in Oklahoma. It began in 1970, and thousands of people were killed. The Baptist Republican Army committed terrorist attacks that killed thousands of Episcopalians. The US Army was called in to establish peace, but it was seen as an occupation and only made things worse. People were dying in Oklahoma but also in Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. The Governor of Texas was complaining about all the Oklahoma terrorism and wanted to close the border with Oklahoma.
Oh, you don’t remember? Were you asleep during history class? No don’t worry, it is not a super fact you didn’t know about. The Oklahoma Brouhaha never happened. I made that up.
Yesterday I started talking to my daughter about The Troubles, the war between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland that started in 1968 and lasted for more than 30 years. I don’t remember how the discussion started. My daughter knows history well, much better than most adults I know, but she had still not heard about The Troubles. Her face looked like yours would if you thought I was serious about the Oklahoma Brouhaha. How could this have happened so recently in a peaceful, prosperous and beautiful European country known for its friendly and happy people, great pubs, cute gnomes, and fairy tales?
I can add that an acquaintance of mine survived a bombing of a hotel by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in 1984. He frequently talked about it. Another acquaintance of mine used to be a member of the IRA. Therefore, I have a small personal connection to it.
I on the other hand was flabbergasted that she did not know about The Troubles. But it makes sense. Half my life I was watching the news every day about the war between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland (on Swedish TV), but once peace was achieved, and Gerry Adams and Ian Paisley shook hands, I didn’t hear a peep about it ever again. How could someone in their 20s know about it?
Peace is Boring News
Peace is boring News. Peace is not even news. No news is good news. The same goes for other topics, such as the environment. Environmental disasters and environmental threats are news, and it should be, but an environmental problem that has been solved is no longer news and will be forgotten. One example of that is the super fact post I made yesterday “By 2018 the emissions of ozone-depleting gases had fallen by 99.7 percent”. What else have we forgotten about?
I guess my point is first of all, we forget, and secondly, that it is important to remember that bad news gets attention because it is interesting. Therefore, it is important to remember that there’s a lot of good out there that we forget about.
Below is a youTube video showing Irish comedian David Tynan O’Mahony (born in Dublin), stage name Dave Allen, making fun of Reverend Ian Paisley. Reverend Ian Paisley was a hell and brimstone preacher who agitated against Catholics (it was hate speech), not just in Northern Ireland, but against all Catholics. For example, he called the pope the anti-Christ. I should add that Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams the leader of the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (Sinn Féin) eventually shook hands in 2007 and came to an agreement. The tone was much different then, but that was long after this YouTube video was made.
The video below is not inflammatory, just very funny. I should mention that as Dave Allen is imitating Ian Paisley it sounds like he is saying “naatching of teeth”. That is “gnashing of teeth” in a north Irish accent. The ending is priceless with perfect comedic timing and effect. The video is 2 minutes and 42 seconds long.
I have one more video if you are interested. It is the Cranberries singing “Zombie” a famous song about the war in Northern Ireland. My daughter knew this song. She just didn’t realize that the song was about the war in Northern Ireland.
To see the Super Facts click here
Newstrade
Wonderful post 🎸🙏
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HI Thomas, an interesting way to start a post. I bit like the teacher saying the lesson of the day would be sex to a class of young teens. Haha. Anyhow, what I want to say is that your daughter would have been educated in America and the historical focus would be different from that of Europe. If she’d been educated in the UK she would know about The Troubles. When I first went to the UK in my 20s, there was still concern about IRA attacks on London so it was real and there are plenty of people in living history who where impacted by this terrorism.
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Hi Thomas — I think you’re right about the problem of peace being boring. I was just thinking yesterday in reference to Leipzig, where there is an awful 27-story monument to a horrible Napoleonic battle but right next door, where they had the Messe, a trade fair held almost every year for about a thousand years, which led to the exchange of books and technology all the way from Scandinavia to Rome and Santiago de Compostela to Moscow, there isn’t even a signpost. Best, Ben Bennett Voylesbennettvoyles.de Tel. +49 151 62967276 Winterfeldtstr. 39 10781 Berlin, Germany
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My naive father took us to Belfast on a family holiday in 1976 or 77! His grandmother was from Belfast and he wanted to meet his cousins. It was very scary for a little kid from small town Manitoba, Canada. I think we were the only tourists, and I remember his cousins and their friends didn’t really know what to do with us! 😊 Maggie
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I was thinking that Cranberries song the whole way through the post. So glad you included it. What’s troubling me, is all that has been left by the wayside or forgotten- Before- our attention spans were whittles to two seconds by social media. Today news doesn’t matter tomorrow… very thought provoking post.
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I’m old enough to remember The Troubles, Thomas. It was about that time that I also read Trinity by Leon Uris. I still remember that book; it left quite an impression. You’re right that good news doesn’t get as much press. It’s too bad since all we hear about is the worst of humanity – it get’s depressing! That Ozone chart was rather impressive. Some Good News!
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