An Online Revolution
A new political consciousness is developing in the bedrooms of Ireland. Angry, tech savvy and disillusioned with the situation they find themselves in economically and politically, these people are mad as hell and they're not going to take it anymore.
Or they are, but they're at the very least going to post some videos on Facebook. They might even go on that march, as long as it’s not too cold.
One man taking control of his own destiny is Jim Corr. The folk-pop star, always outshone by his brighter sisters, was assumed to be taking an early retirement somewhere nice, if anyone cared to wonder. It turned out he was spending his extra time online, googling 9/11 and conspiracies. He broke cover during the Lisbon Treaty campaign, offering his two cents, which were anti-treaty, overly zealous, and with a strong hint of crackpot. Corr made the headlines, was roundly mocked, and slunk off back to his bedroom. Now he has returned and is going viral, sounding off online about the situation of the country, using the GPO and an Irish flag as his background, urging people to take part in the ICTU march on Saturday 27 November - without mentioning the trade union organisers even once in his ten minutes of bleating.
Perhaps you enjoyed the music of the Corrs, and even thought one of the sisters was quite good looking. Perhaps you could take Jim Corr seriously. Many people are, sending his video to each other, posting it on their Facebook walls, tweeting it. Admittedly, in his current video he seems almost sane.
As does Eric Cantona. The French footballer, known for his philosophical outlook on life, his amazing flying kicks and his acting skills, is now expounding on the banking crisis. Le Eric speaks quickly in French, so quickly that the English subtitles have trouble keeping up with him. But he is speaking of serious matters, as he reclines in his chair. He is talking about revolution. Eric says that revolution is easy these days, as we do not need to use violence. All we need to do to topple the banks and the capitalist system is to march on the branches, en mass, and take our money out. They won't be able to pay, so the whole house of cards falls. I would just make sure you get into a good position in that protest - it wouldn't do to be at the back of the queue. You might not get your money.
Difficult times make for strange bedfellows. You know that we are in trouble when perfectly normal, educated, liberal minded Irish people start sending you UKIP videos. Initially I was not sure what to make of this. Was it a comment on my own politics? Am I suspected of supporting UKIP? In more normal times I would assume we were watching just to have a laugh at the UKIP loonies, but these days you just don't know. And sure enough, the answer was surprising. My friend sent it approvingly, as he agreed with the sentiments expressed by this UKIP MEP. Naturally, this friend sent it was a caveat - 'I just thought it was interesting that I now agree with a lot of the points UKIP are making'. Clearly, we’ve fallen in with a bad lot.