Perhaps it’s a symptom of depression thrust upon the Irish following the demise of the Celtic Tiger, but it seems to me the nation has become very impatient and intolerant in so many respects.
One could simply be driving along observing the speed limit, whether it be on the city streets or on a country road, only to be horn-blasted by an overtaking ogre, face contorted in rage as he glares across at you, presumably because he’s being slowed up by some namby-pamby twit driving an inferior car.
Recently having survived this potentially dangerous onslaught, head spinning with the suddenness of it and grateful for the central locking which gives some protection, I park up (another area of motoring conflict) and struggle to a café for a strong cup of Barry’s tea in order to gather myself before facing back out into the cauldron which has become the whole of Ireland.
It is an angry place now, sadly, with natives craving instant responses to unreasonable demands.
On finding the oasis of hoped-for peace - the café - I stand in the queue awaiting the assistant to take the money for the tea and scone. Amazed as two Irish customers walk straight up from the back of the line and get served without question. Try to complain to the pleasant Polish girl behind the counter only to be told in a whisper: ”I’ve given up attempting to keep order here – I’ve been verbally abused and even had things thrown at me when asking for manners.”
Sitting at my table I was told through peals of laughter by the jumpees at the next table – two attractive young women – “you should have objected sooner, man, queuing is old fashioned." I smiled benignly at them. Safer.
At an adjacent table in a high chair sits a delightful little baby of about a year old who catches my glance and beams a lovely smile accompanied by squeals of laughter. I smile back and pull a few funny faces much to the amusement of the little one, only to be flattened by the withering scowls of the parents who wheel about in their seats and stare with daggers in the eyes because their baby appears to be having fun.
What is going on with Irish? Surliness has become the norm.
We can’t anymore pick up the phone to inquire why the gas or the multi-channel TV is not working, but to be told of the probable charge for the call by a machine-voice before a series of buttons have to be pushed before one can submit a name and account number.
Then there is the “please be advised that this call is monitored for training purposes” – which actually means ‘watch your tone of voice here or I’ll cut you off pronto’ at even a hint of exasperation’! Get off the phone dissatisfied no nearer to a solution. Try again tomorrow with a new strategy figured out. It used not be like this before the notion of confrontation became a way of life.
We are living in a time when to attempt calm and good behaviour, and to expect even a modicum of reciprocation, is a rapidly fading concept. Ireland has become frantic, in my opinion, rushing headlong in search of…well…the bigger and better everything, convinced this is what brings happiness.
Many have not realised that the dream of grandeur has turned into an economic nightmare. This society has become self-centred to the extent it is a national malaise, with a whole generation trapped in a culture of entitlement.
The result is a people feeling very little responsibility towards others, save the individual self. I try not to be too critical when I see the appalling behaviour and absence of proper guidance from our compliant politicians in their craven compliance to the sinister corporate world at the expense of the people who elected them to govern on our behalf, primarily.
We are touched now with the distasteful arrogance and belligerence associated with bad leadership and the stripping away of the country’s wealth to appease the greed of the world bankers. The concept of rampant materialism is always a destructive path, yet is always persists.
An alarming number of youngsters appear confused and uncertain as to their place and status in society, especially young men, and are increasingly becoming lost in the twilight world of alcohol and drugs, too often leading to suicide when a state of mental distress becomes normal to them.
The poor are blamed for being so, and largely ignored. ’The poor will always be with us’ should not mean it is acceptable for people to have to beg on the streets and show symptoms of being socially inadequate, for them to be the victims of the oft heard fearsome catch-cry, ”something should be done about them. ”What exactly, one wonders. But we are frowned at officially if we criticise the parasitic ‘Troika’ who bleed our country dry of every cent on behalf of our international oppressors.
All is overshadowed by debt and taxes, with an unwillingless to recognise that nothing will improve economically in the coming decade.
I love Ireland, and don’t wish to live elsewhere. There is so much to keep me here in the later years of my life, and my story in this article is just one, albeit important, aspect of today’s Ireland. I grew up here in the grey and hungry fifties when Irish parents often agonised over the problem of putting food on the table.
Those days are gone in our consciousness, and sadly replaced with fear of the future and of those who govern. This is not the way it ought to be. There are no expressions of optimism, only ‘promises’ of more austerity.
Little wonder people are angry. My problem is that such pessimism can quickly can turn to volatility or hate. It is spiralling out of control.
I’d only ask that as a society we’d recognise we’ve lost our way. We can recover on a personal level, while accepting we’re deep in this quagmire of a failed economy entity. While waiting for the miracle to come, I’m not deterred as I sally forth to snatch any bit of fun which might have my name on it.
Join me.
*Robert J. Sullivan is a writer living in Bandon, County Cork
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.Madeliene | Jul 22, 2012, 03:10 PM EDT
What a very sad story. I have waited all my life to be able to go "home" as my parents called it, and walk where they walked when they grew up there. Visit my fathers brother and cousins who still live their. I may never get there, but I will keep thier way of thinking about Ireland in my heart, and not this article. I would so wish to be welcome where my grandmother and grandfather are buried, along with thier parents, and thiers before them. I would live out the rest of my life happily in the home of my mum.
kinvara7 | Jul 20, 2012, 05:59 AM EDT
GD/WK: Ag spreagadh Béarla arís! The ‘context’ you claim in your latest insult towards JamieLM does not exist; I merely applied your own views towards Irish citizenship against you, to demonstrate the hypocrisy of your earlier comments. If you missed that, then perhaps you should improve your own reading comprehension. Being ‘familiar’ with Irish history and culture is all well and good, but it could be said that Ireland is ‘familiar’ with sunshine, however that doesn’t mean we have a great deal of it. Equally, your interest does not make you an expert or justify the arrogance you exhibit towards other posters. You say that ‘unlike [me]’ you speak Irish, yet you know I speak Irish, and indeed I was the only one to use it on this thread. I encourage the Irish Diaspora to learn about and practice Irish culture, and I’m in favour of maximising their role (I’ve written about it at length here before). At the end of the day, it’s not a competition to see who is more Irish. Indeed, if being Irish was associated with the way you act on this site then it is safe to say that few would be rushing to claim it.
VonLiebenitz | Jul 19, 2012, 10:02 PM EDT
A huge banking bailout and 4 years of grinding recession with promises of 20 more to come and all this reporter can focus on are the bad manners of a few people?Wake the f**k up and smell the coffee. Moron.Sorry was i being rude there?Ruder than 4 years of cuts and vilification by the media and government squak boxes(rte *cough)with their endless diatribes of knuckle down sonny or else?F**k you.Sorry there i go again. Being rude and all..
TayandCake | Jul 19, 2012, 05:43 PM EDT
J Suillivan thinks the one brush tars all
ciaradexy | Jul 19, 2012, 04:40 PM EDT
And George, the kids of those migrants will have their place of birth as Ireland on their Irish passports. They'll live and go to school here! That makes them far more Irish than you will ever be!
ciaradexy | Jul 19, 2012, 04:36 PM EDT
So george is more Irish than the actual irish cos he speaks Irish? So are you claiming to be more Irish than youre non-Irish speaking family member who moved to the US back in the day? You're irish in no other part of the world, only in your head! You were slagging off irish people for not calling their kids traditional Irish names a few weeks ago. I dont recall 'George' being an irish name. You're as irish as apple pie! As for those Africans, they have passports just like you so they must be just as Irish as you! Their kids will learn Irish here too! Jamie, Ive met rude people all over the world, the Americans arent any worse but the worst type of American, unfortunately, Ive met on here and he goes by the name of George Dillon/ WoundedKnee and Kev408 on the Irish Independent website! Funny how when posting as Kev408 on that website he didnt tell everyone that he was American! He was going on about 'this' country! This being 'Ireland' and yet hes not even in Ireland! Hes actually mental! Georgia is welcome to him! When I was in Atlanta in 1994, my American cousins friends dad handed me money and told me to give it to 'the Cause and the boys back home'. I reckon that was George!
WoundedKnee | Jul 19, 2012, 01:14 PM EDT
jamielm: Second Grade reading level, right? Definitely a reading deficit on your part, because you utterly failed to see the context in which I said I was more Irish than the poster. I said it because he claimed I was not Irish, that's all. You have about as much feeling for irony as does my cat, have some sense. In any case I certainly don't need you to affirm me, particularly since it appears you are unable to follow an entire exchange of posts. Next time have the good manners to read the entire exchange before you comment. Better still, don't bother commenting, you have no ideas of interest to offer.
kinvara7 | Jul 19, 2012, 01:11 PM EDT
Nach deas an urlabhra í sin agat! Ní féidir liom ciall a bhaint as an bpiosa seo: ‘I am more Irish than you, since, unlike you, I speak the ancient language of Ireland and am familiar with the country's history and culture’. Conas sin? Níl d’fhianaise leis ach d’fhocal féin. Arís: ná cuir thú féin i mbéal an phobail -nuair nach bhfuil srian le do theanga. Fút féin atá sé. Oh, an maith leat mo stíl scríbhneoireachta? Stíl uasal! Oiche mhaith agat.
jamieLM | Jul 19, 2012, 10:25 AM EDT
WoundedKnee, you sound like a 2 yr. old...I'm more Irish than you are, na, na, na, na, na, na. You're ridiculous in your attempts to convince everyone about how "Irish" you are. No one has seen your passport. You can look anything up on the net or in the library. We don't know who you really are and no one cares about how Irish you claim to be. You can't even remember your own posts and you post under WKnee and GeoD. Reread your post on Jul 18 at 1:00 PM...Why don't YOU think before you post??? @kinvara7 - you're right. Everyone knows all about WK/GeoD and his insulting posts.
WoundedKnee | Jul 19, 2012, 08:54 AM EDT
kinvara: I am not only an Irish citizen, I am more Irish than you, since, unlike you, I speak the ancient language of Ireland and am familiar with the country's history and culture. You stick to your British sitcoms.
kinvara7 | Jul 19, 2012, 05:36 AM EDT
Where exactly do you see ‘anger’ in the comments I posted? Your replies are, as usual, disappointing and contradictory. You were rude to JamieLM, where you say that you don’t care if I watch British TV programs and yet it was you who brought that up as a method of insult –about four posts earlier! You say you have ‘reported [my] last crazy harangue‘, before adding: ‘do us a favor, get your prescription filled and resume taking your medication’… you are pretty blind to your ‘crazy harangue(s)’ it would seem. Nevertheless, I won’t go ‘reporting’ you (I have never reported anyone but if someone deserved that honour it would be you). No, sure isn’t it much better to just leave posts that correct and expose your nonsense?
WoundedKnee | Jul 19, 2012, 02:46 AM EDT
jamielem--What you wrote is nonsense. No one gives a damn what this guy watches on TV, what a ridiculous thing for you to say. Think before you post.
WoundedKnee | Jul 19, 2012, 02:44 AM EDT
ciaramurphy: "50,000 African migrants have an irish passport". Finally ciaramurphy gets something right! Ciara, you must have been in the Dublin Passport Office recently.
WoundedKnee | Jul 19, 2012, 02:41 AM EDT
kinvara: You have serious anger issues. I have reported your last crazy harangue. Do us a favor, get your prescription filled and resume taking your medication.
jamieLM | Jul 18, 2012, 06:28 PM EDT
It's no one's business what kinvara7 watches and for how long. So what if he/she enjoys a British comedy? @ciradexy, you're right. There are some very rude Americans, but I've seen plenty of very rude people in other countries, too. People who were not only rude to tourists, but rude to their own countrymen.
kinvara7 | Jul 18, 2012, 05:13 PM EDT
Finally: GeorgeDillon/WoundedKnee lecturing people about good manners? “I don’t believe it!”
kinvara7 | Jul 18, 2012, 05:08 PM EDT
I do like a good British comedy, do you? The funny thing is (again, in this context the word funny means odd/peculiar) I actually believe you knew who Victor Meldrew was! Yep, you see I think you were just waiting for someone to say: ‘Oh he’s a character in a British television program’, then you could jump in with your oh so predictable rant about Irish people watching British television programs… and thereby attempt to change the course of the conversation away from your hypocrisy. Well, am I correct? I think we both know that I am. Furthermore, if you are the one saying that you’ve never heard of Victor Meldrew, how does that make me monocultural? Perhaps it is you who should ‘widen your horizons’ beyond the ‘universal’. You are making yourself look foolish again; as we might say: Ná cuir thú féin i mbéal an phobail. I wonder if you will describe that as ‘Klingon’ or ‘garbage’, just as you have previously described Irish that you couldn’t find in your book or on google translator? If, in your arrogant ignorance, you insult the language in that way, then what does that say about your claim to love Irish? Perhaps you just say that, but in truth your ear does not love the language.
ciaradexy | Jul 18, 2012, 04:22 PM EDT
Kinvara, George/WoundedKnee is posting on the Indo website under the name Kev408 with more of the same sh1t.
kinvara7 | Jul 18, 2012, 04:06 PM EDT
No, the word ‘funny‘, in this context means strange or peculiar. We know you claim to be an Irish citizen (I use the word ‘claim’ because you’re a known liar) however, you believe that Irish citizenship is given too easily, and you don’t accept that citizenship makes a foreigner Irish, so why should it be different for you? Using your own logic, you are still a foreigner. That being the case, I must ask again, why do you think it is wrong for a Polish woman (who could have Irish citizenship; could be married to an Irishman; could have a child born here etc., etc.) to call for good manners from customers where she works -because she is a foreigner; yet, incredibly laudable and correct, when you, also a foreigner, approach a teenager in her home town and remonstrate with her about her dog…This seems to be another example of the hypocrisy you are famed for.
ciaradexy | Jul 18, 2012, 02:48 PM EDT
I watched that film 'Detachment' during the week. Maaan those American school kids are rude! And the language out of their mouths and it was based on a true story! Kids of yours Georgie foreigner??
ciaradexy | Jul 18, 2012, 02:46 PM EDT
George has an irish passport? So have 50,000 African migrants! The difference is, they live here.
WoundedKnee | Jul 18, 2012, 01:00 PM EDT
Thank you, Schon. Kinvara--your reference to Meldrew indicates you spend your time watching British situation comedies. But you make a stupid mistake in thinking that they provide a universal cultural discourse. Don't be so monocultural. Learn a language, travel. Widen your horizons.
WoundedKnee | Jul 18, 2012, 12:57 PM EDT
kinvara--If you think that's funny you're easily amused. Pretty sad, actually. By the way, I have said this elsewhere on this site, but since you're especially obtuse, here's a little secret. I'm an Irish citizen. Are you? Don't bother answering, I really don't care.
Schon | Jul 18, 2012, 12:00 PM EDT
WoundedKnee, Victor Meldrew refers to the main character in a series on British TV, called One Foot in the Grave, about a grouchy English man around retirement age. He is sarcastic and abusive to people but is unable to understand why they return his sarcasm and abuse.
jamieLM | Jul 18, 2012, 11:42 AM EDT
WK/George Dillon, you could've gotten that same response from a girl/boy in the U.S. as you did from the girl in Ireland. Rudeness, inconsideration for others, abusive vulgar language knows no boundaries. Have you ever stood outside a Middle Sch. or h.s. in the U.S.? Just ask teachers what they put up with on a daily basis. Just try to correct some mouthy teen here. Then there's the people who have to deal with the public.... When adults have no manners and model this despicable behavior, it's not surprising that their kids act the same way.
kinvara7 | Jul 18, 2012, 10:08 AM EDT
@WoundedKnee/GeorgeDillon: I think it’s funny that on the one hand, you think it is rude and wrong for a Polish woman to call for good manners from customers where she works -because she is a foreigner; yet, incredibly laudable and correct, when you, also a foreigner, approach a teenager in her home town and remonstrate with her about her dog.
WoundedKnee | Jul 18, 2012, 09:57 AM EDT
If any reader was able to make sense of kinvara7's post maybe they could translate it into English for us. To start with, who's Victor Meldrew?
kinvara7 | Jul 18, 2012, 09:42 AM EDT
@Robert: Do you not understand that the basic refrain of your article: ‘oh, people today… why in my time…’ has been spoken by the old in every part of the world, through every generation since time immemorial! You sound like Victor Meldrew. Who knows why someone blew their car horn at you (as if that didn’t happen prior to the Celtic Tiger -people skipping queues, ditto) The parents might have been enjoying a moment of peace before a stranger decided to encourage their child to make noise again etc., etc… who knows. I think your article exhibits a lack of understanding, patience and hope, and then presumes to berate and accuse an entire nation of lacking those very same things.
Schon | Jul 17, 2012, 04:22 PM EDT
eiriamach that's what religion is, or maybe, was for. To encourage people to be good and suffer in this life... their reward will come in the afterlife. A good way to control the masses. That's what the older people have accepted and lived through only to see young people with impossible expectations cut up stroppy because they are not going to have the easy life they expected. And the older people will suffer too since it's going to hit them in their pensions. For the old there may be little chance of redemption while younger people, with a bit of hard work and application, might recover a better life.
eiriamach | Jul 17, 2012, 01:12 PM EDT
It's self-serving for older generations to blame the young, or immigrants, and it's almost always wrong! Mr. Sullivan complains about "a whole generation trapped in a culture of entitlement" but lacks compassion for their suffering. He writes nothing at all about the need of young people to believe that working at an expensive university degree or a low-paying job will lead to a better situation in the future. They need to believe that they have real choices and that there will be rewards for the sacrifices they're making now. Sullivan thinks the solution to a national problem is personal, something like improved etiquette: "We can recover on a personal level, while accepting we’re deep in this quagmire of a failed economy entity." Why should the young accept it? They should place responsibility where it belongs-- on the corporate execs and the politicians who protected them. Work together to demand responsiveness from elected officials. It's a shared problem? Then the way out lies in collective action, not individual repentance. It's also the way to understand others' suffering and develop compassion for them--something Sullivan seems to lack for anyone under 50.
WoundedKnee | Jul 17, 2012, 09:59 AM EDT
OLoinshig's post reminds me of an incident I witnessed a year or two back in a town in Co Kildare. I was on the main street and just in front of me was a teenage girl walking her dog. The dog stopped and dumped the most enormous turd I've ever seen (now readers can see why I was reminded of this anecdote by OL). The girl waited while the dog defecated, and then recommenced her walk once the dog had finished. I remonstrated with her, appealed to her sense of hygiene, her good citizenship, whatever, anything to ask her to clean up after her dirty mutt. The reply was what you always get from anyone under 50 in Ireland if you engage with them critically--a torrent of vile, vulgar and abusive language that a hooker in Manhattan would blush at.
WoundedKnee | Jul 17, 2012, 09:51 AM EDT
bogsidebunny --"they are sanctimonous and hypocritical and will never back down even though they know they're wrong"... A bit unfair, not every Irishman is an OLoingigh.
bogsidebunny | Jul 17, 2012, 09:13 AM EDT
Mr. Sullivan is correct in certain aspects of his article and inaccurate in others. Having lived in this land several decades I've discovered the Irish have numerous "cultural traits" , which rightfully are repugnant to most Americans. I won't even get into the binge drinking, out-of-wedlock child tsunami and public assaults committed by anyone old enough to walk. They, both youngsters through senior citizens, have NO idea, or really care, about how their actions impact on others (observe parking). They are bullies on the road (tailgaiting is as natural to both male, female and old age pensioner as breathing. Even though you are exceeding the speed limit it's highly likely a car will be hanging on your bumper.It's not just on the roads walking, bicycling and in most other areas of public interaction they are Bullies with a capital "B". In addition they are sanctimonous and hypocritical and will never back down even though they know they're wrong. NOW, Mr Sullivan is incorrect in blaming their crude behaviour on the "Celtic tiger" experience. These obnoxious traits have been ingrained in the society for a long, long time before the Celtic Tiger was a gleam in Bertie Ahern's eye.
DanOLoingsigh | Jul 17, 2012, 04:53 AM EDT
Enjoyed posts from Seanmor and stonethrower...wise words. esp about the 'day after' penalty...hard not get personal with dead knee, given his/her track record...but must try harder...a lot harder....
WoundedKnee | Jul 16, 2012, 11:11 PM EDT
OLonisig, as usual you have nothing that is substantuial or rational to contribute. Abuse is all you have. Doesn't impress anyone.
stonethrower | Jul 16, 2012, 09:52 PM EDT
A sad but pretty accurate depiction of post Celtic-Tiger Ireland,but the breakdown of courtesy & manners started during those heady days when money or the appearance of it was the holy grail to be chased down @ all costs.The soul of the "Cead Mile Failte" Ireland ended up being the price paid.Our forever bungling & cowtowing grovelling,Merkel lackeys are giving away whats left to satisify the debt of the biggest sinners paid for by the innocent taxpayers who carried no actual responsibility for the mess,looking forward to an infinite assembley line of new taxes & tarriffs,while the old therapy room of "The Local" is off limits not simply because of the price but for fear of arrest not just that night but the next day when you try to go to work to pay for it.This soapbox rant could go on forever but the irony of it is i agree with you Robert,we individually need to try to make everyday life brighter & better in any way we can with some humanity & old fashioned Irish wit & charm,fight the battle every day,because the war is going to be a long one.Good Luck.
Seanmor | Jul 16, 2012, 07:34 PM EDT
When vacationing in Ireland during this new century, my wife and I found most people over fifty to be pleansnt, polite, cheerful and very helpful in all rural areas, including 4 of the 6 Northern counties. But Irish people in their 20s and 30s seemed as though they had come from another planet. We simply could not relate to them.
DanOLoingsigh | Jul 16, 2012, 03:24 PM EDT
Woon Dead Knee berates a young woman he's never met...on manners...where are his folks from again???
tony2phones | Jul 16, 2012, 12:58 PM EDT
Do not confuse Dublin and its suburbs with Ireland. We Culchies out here in the West still know how to greet and treat our visitors.
TheNetherlands | Jul 16, 2012, 12:42 PM EDT
The Whole world has turned angry, it's all about the wallet. You think it's bad in Ireland come to Holland, I never met so many nasty stingy people in my life.
YoungPike | Jul 16, 2012, 10:25 AM EDT
Excellent article which I wholeheartedly agree with. The fabled Emerald Isle so beloved of the Diaspora no longer exists and if only I could afford it I would join them in their New World paradise!
WoundedKnee | Jul 16, 2012, 10:13 AM EDT
Courtesy etc are based on social cohesion and solidarity, and the Irish capitalists broke down the social bonds in Ireland when they imported a million foreigners and just shoved them into an ancient and settled society. Now Ireland is just like one giant airport terminal, with everyone busily rushing past everyone else. The Polish girl that guy unthinkingly quoted above is part of the problem, not part of the solution. Ireland never needed Polish people before to "keep order"--what a disgusting remark by a foreigner. Maybe it's she who needs to learn manners first. Why isn't she in her own country, anyway? Colonization is such Bad Manners!