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I have already posted about my youthful dalliance with the extreme right and so hesitate to post anything that might reek of a softly softly approach-but having worked within the territory of attitudinal change in Northern Ireland (and with some experience of working with international groups in a similiar field) I also think that additional approaches need to happen (where at all possible) than driving them off the streets as understandable a reaction as that might be.

My attitudes were changed by brilliant people talking to me and by engagement. I recognise however that is not always possible.

The above should not be interpreted as some passive, insipid approach. The response should be multi-faceted and robust and legislative responses, protest etc should be part of that.

Always good to adder new forumite.

I haven't been on here in a while largely reflecting my malaise with the prog. I haven't bought the prog in a few weeks now but I have to say I assumed it was me and am genuinely astounded to read this thread today.

Nothing to add on top of what better informed folk than me have already said. I would like to say though that 2000AD has been brilliant and perhaps set impossible standards for itself.

Spare a thought for socialist Christians who read 2000AD, who believe faith is a personal thing, have no desire to batter anyone with what they believe

I have no problem with any of that. For me, the last bit is the most important. I have a kid who will start school soon. My options in the local area are Christian schools. That's it. I see no place for worship inside of a school, but there's no escape from it. Similarly, any notion any level of government should be directed by 'god' is anathema to me.

I recall Baroness Warsi arguing a while back that any religion was better than no religion. That's just bullshit. If you have faith in a religion, that's fine. But that doesn't make you 'better' than someone who does not. (By the same token, secularists should dial down on the ridicule of people who are religious, because there's no place in a liberal society for that either.)

This.

I was about to say 'some of my best friends are Christians!', but then I realised that ALL my closest friends are Christians, in various flavours and strengths. By default they put up with my evangelical atheism and I reciprocate. Although now I suspect I'm some kind of charitable/missionary outreach project. There may be a spiritual bounty posted in an ecclesiastical Doghouse* somewhere.


*The Godhouse?

The "Godhouse"-genuine LOL and some bizarre mental imagery of such a place.

It pains me that the overwhelming impression of anything carrying the label "Christian" is that of a right wing Christian jihadist steeped in self righteousness and bent on the establishment of a theocracy or at least the flirting with secular power. It pains me because you do not have to go far to see it borne out either historically or in the modern day.

Spare a thought for socialist Christians who read 2000AD, who believe faith is a personal thing, have no desire to batter anyone with what they believe ,who genuinely despise any notion of a theocracy as a poison and are all too aware of atheists and others who often make me feel like a moral pygmy.

And I'm not the only one out there who feels like this.

I have just realised that my last post might read as a "republicans started it" analysis. That was not my intent.

Military occupation has a more contentious meaning.

Hmm, I don't have the lived-there experience of these nordie bastards, but as a Souther I can tell you that my experience of crossing that unmissed 'hard frontier' felt exactly like you were entering an area of this island that was under military occupation.  Kids barely old enough to shave pointing automatic weapons at you, and forcibly enquiring after your business in essentially foreign scouse/manc/estuary accents, watchtowers and sniper observation posts everywhere, RUC stations looking like the Lord Humungous' summer palace, and armed helicopters buzzing you when you went hillwalking...

It would have been hard to see the distinction between 'operation' and 'occupation', and that's speaking as someone whose family was largely Protestant.
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I can see how that was the genuine impression TB. Through my work I went to live in a republican area of north Belfast for years where that would have been the overwhelming experience and interpretation  of events. I knew what it was to be frightened by an assault (or maybe worse) from the British army for example and readily attest to the reality of what you allude to.

As a prod growing up in a largely proddie town I also have experience of the flip side- 1 ton semtex bombs blowing up that town and countless deaths leading to ever-increasing militarisation, oppression, collusion etc etc etc-a horrible circular little equation of utter chaos.

Horrible times all round.

Good grief that's unbelievably good.

[numbered]

Hardback (& signed bookplate and art print) edition now available to order through 2000AD!

*It's just a numbered bookplate, as sadly Tom Tully, Mike Western, and Eric Bradbury are no longer with us.

When I came back to the 2000AD fold a few years back after years in the spandex wilderness, I engaged in a glut of old and new Brit-Cit comics. I was quite amazed that when I started to explore what happened to my favourite writers of yester-year that I could find very little biographical information on Tom Tully's latter years (and couldn't even ascertain whether he was alive or otherwise for a time).

When I came back to 2000Ad his work on 10 Seconders enthralled me.

RIP fella.

I hope this doesn't sound like meaningless gush, but this forum has been a fantastic fringe benefit in all sorts of ways for this old duffer when he picked up a copy of 2000AD a few years back.

A quality, quality place this.

Oh feck this, I'm in. If I can't get to Enniskillen, I may as well spend some of the OT on something as nice-looking as this. Ordered!

A last minute no-go on Enniskillen and how I wish I had made the same choice as you now TB.

Looking forward to reading this though I must confess a moral lapse since I had already pre-ordered it on Amazon. I cancelled that this morning and bought it from Tharg.

I feel cleaner now.

JB once again I wish I had magic words but I don't. All I can do is to show solidarity and wish you well as you wade through the trenches.

Please know that you are not alone and you are genuinely being thought of mate (if you are still going to Enniskillen I will buy you one there).