A 20 year old postman, Daniel McColgan, was shot dead on Saturday morning by Protestant paramilitaries (namely, the UDA, a worthless gaggle of cowards if there ever was one) simply because he was Catholic. In response, the Communication Workers Union called for a suspension of all postal services in the North as a mark of respect, and hopefully to persuade the politicians to stop faffing about and actually get some work done.
It happens all the time, it has been happening for years, I almost felt completely apathetic to the situation since it’s never going to end – well, not in my lifetime – as long as blindly self-righteous attitudes prevail. But this one got to me, I don’t know why.
Maybe it was after reading this in today’s Guardian, a quote from the South Belfast UDA commander (an anonymous coward, obviously, who confirmed that the postman’s death was simply a warning to republicans) following talk of further threats against Catholic postal workers and teachers:
“The UDA is not backing threats against teachers,” he said. “This is in no way a return to war. It’s about the frustration loyalists are feeling.”
Er, excuse me? Frustration? What fucking frustration? I, as someone brought up a Catholic but not religious, have never felt the need to go out and shoot a Protestant. I couldn’t understand how anyone would, and I would certainly never endorse it. But you, Mr. Coward, you would effectlively endorse the shooting (and murder) of a Catholic, out of frustration? More like a blatant attempt to scare the Catholic republican community into total submission.
Ladies and gentlemen, as long as fuckheads like this exist (and there are thousands of them, on both sides), the world will never be a safe place.