Many years ago I met an elderly man from Catalonia who regularly left his home to spray political graffiti in favour of Catalan Independence on house walls in the town he lived. He was a nice man, but a nutcase at the same time. He did a good few other rebellious things as well. Nothing too big, but still his own bit of civil disobedience.
At the time I read some information about Catalan Independence and it just didn’t make sense to me. In an age where working together is 100 times better than working against each other, it doesn’t make sense to declare independence in one small part of a big country even if that part at the time is relatively wealthy. It doesn’t make sense in Belgium, not in Germany (Bavaria would love to be independent) or in Catalonia and it certainly also extends to the nonsensical Brexit. We don’t have to agree with the status quo, the current rules of engagement and we should improve these rules, but the only future the internationally extremely small countries in Europe have is if they will work together.
So, Catalan independence doesn’t make sense, BUT I think their current rules of engagement with the rest of Spain has to be looked at and should be improved. They called the referendum some weeks ago and it would have been really interesting to see a democratic result of that referendum not the skewed result that it had. But I was SHOCKED when I saw some of the pictures and videos about how the Spanish police acted against their own PEACEFUL Spanish neighbours. An absolutely unacceptable case of unjustifiable brutality. The Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has proven that he is a totally incompetent politician and suddenly I had some sympathy for the Catalan fight for independence. I still think it is ludicrous, but if that is the treatment you get from the central government, then you just HAVE to rebel to a degree.
It is nonsense to jail Catalan politicians and to accuse them of rebellion. A dialogue and a compromise has to happen! It can’t be that the rest of Spain will milk Catalonia, but it also doesn’t make sense for Catalonia to split from the rest. Madness on both sides!!!
But now the madness has reached us in Dublin!
John Lyons and Tina McVeigh from People Before Profit have put a motion forward in Dublin City Council to raise the Catalan flag on top of City Hall for a month to show Dublin’s solidarity with Catalonia. And a protocol meeting of Dublin City Councillors voted in favour of this suggestion with 7:5 votes. On Monday 04 December the whole council will now vote about the Catalan flag in City Hall.
Without a doubt the Spanish government is shivering in their boots with fear. Imagine if Dublin raises the Catalan flag, it might mean that Spain will have to give Catalonia the independence they want, because Dublin says so!! TOTAL nonsense!
But if councillors will vote for it, we will have to ask WHY only one month?! Maybe we could replace the Dublin flag with the Catalan flag for good? And why only the Catalan flag, I am sure there are other parts of the world where people are oppressed. The Palestinian flag was already flying over City Hall. But there are more countries or parts of countries that should get our support. Next John Lyons will suggest to fly the Cork flag over City Hall to support Cork’s quest for independence? Odd people in the City Council! :-O
