PC brigade are stifling proper debate on racism

Sunday Tribune 15 November

It was the image of the week. Alan O'Brien's face contorted with rage as he pierced the air with his finger and berated Pat Kenny on The Frontline. "Six hundred thousand pounds!" he roared, confusing currencies in his condemnation of Kenny's wages.
His outburst was so forceful, unexpected and prolonged that it had a surreal quality to it. At first I thought it was a comedy interlude. It soon became apparent, however, that this was no parody. O'Brien was as stable as the price of trophy houses in south Dublin.
The following day it was revealed that O'Brien was a former psychiatric patient. A "nutter" as the red tops put it. On Wednesday, the headlines screamed that the "nutter" was also a "racist". He was once convicted for incitement to racial hatred after verbally abusing foreigners on Grafton Street.
Commentators justified calling this mentally ill man a "nut" by counterbalancing it with the PC word "racist". You can get away with most things if you call someone a racist.
O'Brien says he's not racist: "I'm a white b****rd myself." He may have a point. The fact that he's a 'nut' weakens the racist tag. Being mad, he's not responsible for what he says, is he? I don't know if he's really a racist, although the words he used on Grafton Street certainly were.
Is the mayor of Limerick a racist? Last week, FG's Kevin Kiely was called one for saying that newly-arrived EU nationals should be deported if they haven't found a job within three months. This would stop them "abusing" the dole. The howls of "racist" were deafening. Is it racist to suggest we stop dole fraud?
Is Judge Aingeal Ní Chondúin a racist? Two weeks ago, comments she made in the Children's Court were criticised for reinforcing racial stereotypes. She said the Roma community seemed to raise their children to steal. At the time she was dealing with a Roma teenager who admitted theft. Is it racist to suggest that Romas raise their children to steal when there is evidence that some do?
There have been no satisfactory answers to any of the above questions, because there has been no debate about them. Just the predictable PC scramble to be heard crying "racist".
The opportunity to engage in a meaningful discussion about these issues has been squandered again. Ní Chondúin's remarks were ill-judged because they were too general. An entire community can't be bred to thievery. A proportion can, though, ie, a majority or minority. Many condemned her, but no one was brave enough to analyse what she said.
Ní Chondúin is an expert on children and crime. No one asked how many Romas she deals with in her court. Are we being overrun by Roma thieves? Or is it just a matter of one or two? Anyone who believes that no Roma children steal is as ignorant as Mayor Kiely.
Like the judge's comments, Kiely's were condemned but not analysed. There's a warped logic to what he believes. Our dole bill is crippling and some non-nationals are scamming the system. Last July, the Department of Social Welfare revealed that from a sample number of non-nationals claiming benefits, 11% were not living here. Kiely is right: cheats, like Roma thieves, do exist.
While the PC brigade branded him a racist, no one attempted to educate Kiely and people like him. To dispassionately point out that the authorities are pursuing dole fraudsters. To allay fears that all foreigners are potential cheats. To explain that the EU is trying to help us deal with unemployment among non-nationals. Last month, it granted us €600,000 a year from the EU Return Fund to help hard-up immigrants return home – if they want to.
When his party colleague, Leo Varadkar, suggested something similar last April he, too, was called a racist.
When you shout the word 'racist' without stopping to examine what's being said, you blur the lines between incitement and honest social commentary. There was a fine example of the 'race' word being used out of context in Joe Duffy's Irish Mail on Sunday column last week, calling a negative description of Ballyfermot, by an author, "racist rubbish". Racist? Are the people of Ballyfermot a new ethnic group?
This kind of kneejerking is dangerous. It stifles debate through fear. Fear breeds resentment. Resentment breeds racism.
Subconsciously, we might also be afraid of debating racism because this would be an admission that some Irish people are racist. We never colonised anyone – the Irish can't be racist, can we?
By making PC noises and not discussing the problems that come with racial integration, we are ignoring a time bomb. The country is boiling with anger: public sector v private, both sectors v the government. Who will the mob turn on next?
The budget is weeks away and the Christmas social-welfare bonus is being axed. It doesn't take a genius to see how this could create further tensions.
It's critical that we discuss all sides of the integration issue. People like Kiely must be made see how their generalisations are wrong. Not just told they're wrong.
Kiely must be made understand that his half-baked notions are far more dangerous than the racist ravings of Alan O'Brien on Grafton Street. People sometimes heed politicians. No one heeds nutcases.
Unless they're ranting about Pat Kenny, of course.

dkenny@tribune.ie

November 15, 2009

Someone in RTE should really talk to Joe

Sunday Tribune 8 November

I did something last week that I'm ashamed of. I emailed a radio show. I don't usually contact talk shows or write strongly-worded letters to the Times, but my irritation got the better of me.
On Wednesday, Joe Duffy unleashed the hounds on Jim Connolly, author of The Culchie's Guide to Dublin – a book which pokes fun at the capital. Unlike most of the people who ranted on Liveline, I have a copy. In it, Connolly describes Ballyfermot as a crime-ridden dump. Joe is from Ballyfermot. He was "outraged" and ripped Connolly asunder. As his listeners fought over Connolly's body parts, Joe wanted to know where he lived, despite this being flagged in the opening pages.
"Where are you from, Jim?"
"South Dublin."
"Where in south Dublin?"
"Dalkey." Dalkey. This was outrageous: a Dalkey snob demeaning the plain people of Ballyfermot. Joe finished him off by quoting the book's favourable description of Dalkey's, apparently, crime-free status. Cue a barrage of stereotyping about 'southsiders' from his listeners.
For the record, I'm from Dalkey and I know Connolly. I'm not defending him. He set out to be politically incorrect and can suffer the consequences. I'm not endorsing his book either – primarily because it's in competition with a similar book I wrote 10 years ago.
However, I will say that I have less of a problem with Connolly's offensive description of Ballyfermot than I do with Liveline's reaction to it. The outcry illustrated how we are being manipulated by people, like Duffy, peddling victimhood.
Siptu's Jack O'Connor is another victim­hood peddlar. On last Monday's Frontline, he accused Pat Kenny of owning a 'trophy' Dalkey home. Whether Kenny is overpaid or not, this was a cheap shot aimed at the union gallery. It was meant to reinforce Siptu's 'them-and-us' philosophy. The hypocrisy behind the jibe is ex­traordinary. O'Connor also earns a handsome salary – €124,000. That's what the state will have to pay to keep 12 of his members on the dole for a year. And that's where he's leading them, by fostering divisions between the public and private sectors.
Instead of behaving in the national interest, Siptu has been promoting a victimhood culture. The public sector feel victimised by the private because they have to take cuts and levies. The private sector feel victimised because they are paying for the public sector. And so it goes on, until we reach the obvious conclusion: a state of economic civil war.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines are people like Duffy, apparently observing but in reality egging the protagonists on, like he did last Wednesday. He accused Connolly of reinforcing stereotypes – and then hypocritically encouraged his listeners to do just that. Connolly was attacked not just for his comments, but also his address. According to Liveline's world view, all Dalkey-southsiders are spoilt, out-of-touch, snobs. Ironically, this is the same portrayal Connolly's book uses. Joe didn't mention this.
The reality is that the majority of Dalkey southsiders are decent, honest people – just like the residents of Ballyfermot. A small number are wealthy like Pat Kenny, but most are levied middle- and lower-in­come earners. Some are losing their houses and some have been made redundant.
Liveline has done a lot of praiseworthy work over the years. This was all about Joe though. His home had been insulted and so two days were spent denouncing something that merited three minutes, but probably should have been ignored.
This wasn't Tommy Tiernanesque. This wasn't the Lonely Planet guide insulting some national institution. This wasn't going to affect tourism in Ballyfermot. This was published in a book called The Culchie's Guide. How could this justify all the national airtime? Answer: ratings.
Duffy – like O'Connor – benefits from dividing society. Duffy wants ratings, so he pits one 'victimised' part of Dublin against an 'affluent' one. O'Connor causes disunity because he needs to justify his salary.
The perpetrators of the economic crime against us are Fianna Fáil and the bankers – not our beleaguered fellow citizens. Our energies should be focused on installing a new government – one which will get us working again – not fighting among ourselves. Unity is the only way out of this mess. We must not be manipulated by people like O'Connor and Duffy.
I mentioned earlier that 10 years ago I wrote a guide to Dublin. It made Connolly's book look PC. ('Summerhill Fair is where Dubs buy back their stolen handbags'/Southsiders are 'limp-wristed nincompoops'). Everything in it was deliberately untrue and, by Joe's standards, grossly offensive.
However, Dubliners got the joke and it became a bestseller. The difference between its reception and Connolly's is easy to explain – we didn't take ourselves so bloody seriously back then. This is what I wrote in my email to Joe. He didn't reply.
I'm sending you a copy of that book, Joe. It's going to annoy you and you might give it two days of free publicity like you did with Connolly's. You can email any complaints to the address below. I promise to respond.
'Talk to Joe' is the catchphrase. Yes, someone in authority in RTE should talk to Joe alright.

dkenny@tribune.ie

November 8, 2009

No piece of cake

Sunday Tribune 8 November

It's reputation as a haven for the elderly is just not fair. Dave Kenny had an action-packed, thrill-seeking holiday in Madeira, and not a zimmer frame in sight
David Kenny in Madeira


Madeira: land of the zimmer frame. God's waiting room, where pensioners sunbathe in their overcoats. Madeira, like the sticky bottle of wine named after it, sweet, old-fashioned, lingering in the back of the cupboard. Why would any youngish person want to spend their winter holiday in a place that shares its name with their granny's favourite cake?
This question troubled me as we touched down in Funchal. Along with "Isn't it strange that 'Mad' and 'Fun' are the first syllables of the island and its capital's names?"
At first view, Funchal looked a bit too built up. As if the buildings, housing 100,000, were designed on a standing-room-only basis. This didn't augur well. We checked in after dark and hoped the morning would show the city in a better light.
It did. As the sun rose, Madeira threw off its house coat and hair net and introduced itself properly. This is a beautiful, vertiginous island of soaring peaks and lush valleys. Of sheer green-thatched cliffs lapped by sapphire waters. For showiness alone, it's easy to see why the Portuguese claimed it 600 years ago.
Over the years it has built up a reputation as a pensioner's paradise – which it certainly is. However, what most don't realise is that it's also an adventure-seeker's playground. Madeira – which is sunny all year round – can be as adrenaline-fuelled as it is sedate. If it was a movie, it would be Cocoon.
Where do you start? The best way to experience Madeira is to alternate lazing by the pool (it's currently 25ºC) with excursions. These range from wine-tasting to clifftop paragliding. A morning whale-watching with a marine biologist costs €45 a head but is worth much more for the thrill of watching dolphins break the surface – like missiles from an underwater bunker – or a whale spouting 200m away from your boat.
How's your head for heights? A trip up to the Funchal parish of Monte – 800m above sea level – is a must. Four to a cable car, we ascended for 15 minutes, passing quietly over terracotta rooftops as the sea receded behind us and a wispy coils of mist beckoned us into the greenery at the summit. The trip costs €10 single or €14 return. Don't buy a return ticket. Instead, walk a few yards from the station – and skitter down the hill in a basket. Seriously, if you're happy to risk being mangled by a passing schoolbus, you have to try this. The basket toboggans seat two and are steered by men dressed as gondoliers who manipulate the wooden running boards with their rubber soles. It takes about 10 minutes of twisting and shrieking to get to the bottom where a hawker will offer you a photo of you displaying your tonsils for a tenner. I captioned mine 'Chicken in a Basket'.
Speaking of food, Madeira is festooned with excellent restaurants, such as Riso (from €30) which specialises in rice dishes and is partly al fresco, overhanging a lido and with great sea views. Espada (Black Scabbardfish) risotto with bananas may sound disgusting, but you'll ask for seconds.
O Jango is a superb fish restaurant in downtown Funchal, where you can choose your dinner date from a wide selection – John Dory, cod, espada etc – on ice near the kitchen. The grilled swordfish was the best I've ever had. Another island speciality is skewered, barbecued beef, hung at the table with a saucer to catch the juices – which are delicious mopped up with sweet potato bread.
Eating great food and fooling around in baskets was all very well, but the highlight of our trip was a 'levada' trek in the picturesque Laurisilva National Park. Back in the 1500s, the locals began constructing aquaducts (levadas) to bring water downhill to the farms. There are 2,170km of them clinging to the sides of towering, laurel-clad mountains. (I'm getting vertigo typing this.) At one point I found myself walking along a crumbly ledge, 25 inches wide, with nothing between me and infinity other than a 'fence' that looked like a washing line. If, like me, you're a gibbering coward, arrange for a walk with a guide through one of the less challenging routes.
In the afternoon, amble about the tiled streets of Funchal. Passing under the shade of the jacaranda trees, head for the market in the old quarter, where there is a vast array of tropical flowers on display.
Contrary to what you may have heard, Madeiran nightlife doesn't end with a cup of Horlicks at 9pm. Party-loving Madeirans let off steam at clubs like Vespa, Marginal, Café do Teatro and Chega de Saudade. The best advice is just to follow the crowd and explore the side of Madeira your granny never told you about.
Madeira is not what I expected. It's quirky, beautiful and good value for money. The Madeirans themselves are one of the best reasons for visiting. They're dignified, warm and – surprisingly, given the tourist demographic – very young. Forty percent of them are under 25.
Madeira/Funchal was Mad/Fun. I will definitely be returning – well before I need a zimmer frame.

Getting there

Topflight has just introduced Madeira to its Winter Sun Programme, in partnership with SATA Airlines, with direct Sunday flights to Funchal.
Dave Kenny stayed at the Tivoli Marina Hotel, which boasts top-class facilities and a courtesy bus into Funchal. www.topflight.ie
Weeks of 22 and 29 November

Dublin-Madeira

4* B&B from €499.50

Includes flights, transfers and seven nights' accommodation. Taxes not included.

The native liquor

A trip to Madeira isn't complete without a tour of a winery. The Old Blandy Wine Lodge is based in the heart of Funchal and runs visits and tastings. The Blandys are the only family of all the founders of the Madeira wine trade to still own their original wine company. They've been at it since 1811 and the lodge reeks of history. Madeira is a fortified wine, brown in colour and is used as an aperitif or, in higher alcohol doses, a digestif. Don't get the two mixed up.
A bottle of Rainwater Dry/Medium will set you back €6.90 while a single vintage 1993 costs €34. Whatever you buy will have to go in your suitcase, so quality over quantity is probably the best policy.
www.blandys.com

November 8, 2009

Ahern's God-damned blasphemy law no use in recession

Sunday Tribune, 1 November

Picture this: you're tottering home from the pub in Ennis, when you're overwhelmed by a call of nature. You run down a sidestreet and relieve yourself. Suddenly there's a loud buzzing, an electrifying flash and your nether regions light up like a Christmas tree. The owner of the shop you're peeing on – in this case Custy's music store – has installed an electric fence to stop people like you interfering with his property.
Conclusion? You won't do that again in a hurry.
It's a basic principle: your actions have consequences. The same applies for inaction too. Justice minister Dermot Ahern is today facing the consequences of his inactions. The latest CSO figures show that aggravated burglaries have increased by 51% this year and that 'ordinary' burglaries rose by 27% between July and September.
Shocking figures aren't they? Well actually, no, they're not. It's another basic principle: recession means that money goes down and crime goes up. Ahern has been expecting these figures.
Here's another figure Ahern is aware of: 25% of all serious crime is committed by people on bail (CSO, 2008). Prison overcrowding leads to more people on bail. This leads to more crime. Ahern admitted as much on 8 April when he told reporters that he couldn't tighten the bail laws because of overcrowding. There wasn't enough room to keep potentially dangerous suspects behind bars.
So what exactly has he done about overcrowding? Has he forced through the construction of Thornton Hall prison? You know the answer to that. In total, €40m has been spent on the project, with the government paying well over the odds for the site. Instead of turning the sod there, Ahern has been planting shrubs. The latest bill for Thornton Hall is €18,000 for gardening. Its maintenance has cost us €440,000 so far. Instead of a prison we have a well-groomed parkland.
Meanwhile, there's a burglar downstairs who should be behind bars. Get angry about it – but not too angry, if you don't want to get sued. Ahern won't amend the laws to allow homeowners to tackle burglars without being liable for injuries they receive. Or shop-owners. How soon before Custy's of Ennis is sued by some crotch-clutching moron?
The most credible long-term attempt by Ahern to deal with overcrowding was the introduction of the Fines Bill 2009. This allows for alternatives to custodial sentences for loan defaulters. In the past year, almost 300 people were jailed over unpaid debts. As more people lose their homes, more will go to court. More overcrowding, more bailings, more crime. Guess what? Like Thornton Hall, the bill is still at the talking stage. Ahern's detestable Blasphemy Bill made it into law before something that will alleviate needless suffering.
Along with these unfortunate prisoners, the jails will also have to accommodate a new brand of criminal – the Recession Burglar. A rising crime rate means more people heading to jail. With the traditional Christmas burglary spree coming, the situation can only worsen, putting more pressure on the system.
The Department of Justice is operating a revolving door which is spinning out of control. Last year, anyone serving under 20 months in Mountjoy's Dóchas unit was released to make space for more serious offenders. During the summer, overcrowding led to a huge increase in the number of offenders on temporary release. On 29 May, 14.65% of the prison population were at temporary liberty, compared to 8.75% in January.
Recidivist criminals have murdered while on bail. Last April, days after Ahern announced his Fines Bill, Gerard Barry was convicted of the rape and murder of Swiss teenager Manuela Riedo. He had been out on bail.
Ahern says that new beds recently provided across the service will deal with current overcrowding. As crime figures rise, they will not be enough.
Thornton Hall will not be ready for years, therefore other solutions are needed. One is the immediate implementation of the Fines Bill. Another is the reopening of the prisons closed by Michael McDowell. Their gates were shut because he expected Thornton Hall to be operational by now.
We must protect society and show compassion to prisoners. This can only be achieved with a functioning system, where custodial sentences are respected and inmates' rights are protected.
Jail must not be hell on earth – but it should be a deterrent. Wrongdoers – as the man urinating against Custy's shop discovered – must know that there are consequences to their actions.
Finally, there might be another way of dealing with Thornton Hall. It's a classic toxic asset, bought for too much money by the state. (See where I'm going with this?) Perhaps Nama has the answer. Maybe it can get it built by giving it away to a developer as a 'bonus buy'. "We'll even throw in this fully landscaped, rural idyll, with permission for a 1,400 bed guest house and several bars… on the windows."
If we continue to just plant flowers on it, we'll reap the whirlwind. In the meantime, Ahern must deliver credible alternatives to deal with the crime upsurge.
On a brighter note, there's one positive revelation in the new CSO figures. There's been no rise in the number of aggravated blasphemies. Nice work there, minister.

dkenny@tribune.ie

November 1, 2009