Monday, March 30, 2009

James Connolly quote; No 1

A commenter asked for some James Connolly discussion, so I just couldn't help myself. I feel a Kurt Vonnegut quote coming on, something about,

"Thumbing my nose at You Know Who"

Let us free Ireland! Never mind such base, carnal thoughts as concern work and wages, healthy homes, or lives unclouded by poverty.

Let us free Ireland! The rackrenting landlord; is he not also an Irishman, and wherefore should we hate him? Nay, let us not speak harshly of our brother – yea, even when he raises our rent.

Let us free Ireland! The profit-grinding capitalist, who robs us of three-fourths of the fruits of our labour, who sucks the very marrow of our bones when we are young, and then throws us out in the street, like a worn-out tool when we are grown prematurely old in his service, is he not an Irishman, and mayhap a patriot, and wherefore should we think harshly of him?

Let us free Ireland! “The land that bred and bore us.” And the landlord who makes us pay for permission to live upon it. Whoop it up for liberty!

“Let us free Ireland,” says the patriot who won’t touch Socialism. Let us all join together and cr-r-rush the br-r-rutal Saxon. Let us all join together, says he, all classes and creeds. And, says the town worker, after we have crushed the Saxon and freed Ireland, what will we do? Oh, then you can go back to your slums, same as before. Whoop it up for liberty!

And, says the agricultural workers, after we have freed Ireland, what then? Oh, then you can go scraping around for the landlord’s rent or the money-lenders’ interest same as before. Whoop it up for liberty!

After Ireland is free, says the patriot who won’t touch socialism, we will protect all classes, and if you won’t pay your rent you will be evicted same as now. But the evicting party, under command of the sheriff, will wear green uniforms and the Harp without the Crown, and the warrant turning you out on the roadside will be stamped with the arms of the Irish Republic. Now, isn’t that worth fighting for?

And when you cannot find employment, and, giving up the struggle of life in despair, enter the poorhouse, the band of the nearest regiment of the Irish army will escort you to the poorhouse door to the tune of St. Patrick's Day. Oh! It will be nice to live in those days!

“With the Green Flag floating o’er us” and an ever-increasing army of unemployed workers walking about under the Green Flag, wishing they had something to eat. Same as now! Whoop it up for liberty!

Now, my friend, I also am Irish, but I’m a bit more logical. The capitalist, I say, is a parasite on industry; as useless in the present stage of our industrial development as any other parasite in the animal or vegetable world is to the life of the animal or vegetable upon which it feeds.

The working class is the victim of this parasite – this human leech, and it is the duty and interest of the working class to use every means in its power to oust this parasite class from the position which enables it to thus prey upon the vitals of labour.

Therefore, I say, let us organise as a class to meet our masters and destroy their mastership; organise to drive them from their hold upon public life through their political power; organise to wrench from their robber clutch the land and workshops on and in which they enslave us; organise to cleanse our social life from the stain of social cannibalism, from the preying of man upon his fellow man.

Organise for a full, free and happy life FOR ALL OR FOR NONE.


I've got goosebumps.

10 comments:

Fritz said...

sure you've read kurt vonnegut

its the lies i cant stand alan

Anonymous said...

"Therefore, I say, let us organise as a class to meet our masters and destroy their mastership; organise to drive them from their hold upon public life through their political power; organise to wrench from their robber clutch the land and workshops on and in which they enslave us; organise to cleanse our social life from the stain of social cannibalism, from the preying of man upon his fellow man.
Organise for a full, free and happy life FOR ALL OR FOR NONE".

Is this the same arsehole who locked both himself and his followers in a post office to help an even greater arsehole achieve his 'blood sacrifice' for Irish freedom?

belfast samizdat said...

"sure you've read kurt vonnegut...its the lies i cant stand alan"

Such a nonsensical comment is an admission of intellectual defeat.

James said...

you're a nonsensical comment

dumbface!

belfast samizdat said...

I rest my case.

Frankie said...

nice one alan
im sure they were being sincere

way to take a joke

Rebecca said...

I'm a student, I live in the Holylands, I'm not rich, I live in a council house in Derry, I have taken a loan out to maintain my rent in the Holyland. What gives you the right to be carried along in life. How about you do something, get a job or focus your efforts on something more productive than maintaining an idiotic and sadistic blog page. No wonder you are on medication because you are to busy trying to complain. I find it amazing that on all these blogs and rants you have completely generalized and categorised ALL students into one group, yet somehow find the ability to diversify your fellow residents. Grow up and realise there is life beyond the Holylands and do something productive instead of waking up every day trying to complain, you are certain to lead the rest of your life very miserable, angry and lonely you pessimistic degenerate. You are not in a warzone, you are in an area occupied by people. People who have every right to be there just as much as you. Are you special?(Not including special needs)No. You are a lifeless moaner who can't find anything better to do. I actually have a good relationship with my neighbours and they tell me from what they know of you you are an attention seeking moaner who tries to keep up his self-proclaimed image of this one man resistance.(which i must agree with as you consistently deny this, o i am not a one man resistance this, not a one man resistance that) Go do something you loser

belfast samizdat said...

That's a lot of rage. You also seem to have a fixation on me that is, well, a leeeetle creepy.

You do not live in a council house in Derry. There have been none in Northern Ireland since the Housing Executive was established. You really should get your story straight if you're gonna tell lies. It only takes one little thing and it all unravels.

Raoulface said...

you have been unravelled 100 times though

i notice you did not issue with what rebecca actually said about failing to stereotype the residents like you do students as if they are more worthy

you skirted that like you skirt all points you dont like

Rebecca said...

sorry then a former council estate in derry, my point being that i am not rich, my family are not rich, and are far from it. and raoulface is right, you continuously pick apart what you want and criticise those flaws of others, yet seem to ignore ignore your own, and other residents' flaws.

And as regards I have a fixation on you?lmao, nice one..well,maybe before i seen your picture, though I like the effect your going for with the matching t shirt and baseball cap in that completely outrageous and flambuoyant colour, have a look at my url maybe and then I