History question - Did we call the Irish Republican Army "Roman Catholic Terrorists"?

[riderinthestorm]

175. The analogy to the I/P conflict is flawed.

FYI, you're doing the same thing as murial volgelstranger, trying to classify the IRA without context. As many on this thread have explained numerous times, they didn't operate in a vacuum. The Native Irish were persistently targeted by both the British Army and loyalists for centuries as well as during the era of the IRA. That the Irish finally began a tit for tat campaign was just one more campaign in a long series of maneuvers in a centuries old war. Obviously the British didn't like it - but that didn't stop them from CONTINUING to kill Irish, even as they labelled the Irish "terrorists", while the loyalists (and British Army) who were doing the exact same things, were not labelled terrorists.

Let me repeat, the actions of the IRA were in direct response to the British Army and loyalist persecution and murder of Irish civilians. Millions of innocent Irish civilians. The IRA's actions were another maneuver in a centuries old war for independence. You don't think the randomly slaughtered Irish citizens weren't terrorized by the British? Daily? For centuries? Is the entire British Army a terrorist organization too then? Because THAT would be a closer fit to what you're suggesting about the IRA. Or were both sides engaged in a violent war over Irish independence with some eras more especially bloodier than others?

I'm not going down your tangent of the I/P conflict. Its not exactly analogous with both conflicts far too nuanced to be reduced simply to bombs. Its far too facile an analogy and I reject that. The Isreali Army isn't going into the Gaza Strip and West Bank and randomly slaughtering people on a daily basis for centuries - let me repeat - randomly raping, torturing and slaughtering hundreds of thousands of Native Irish like the British Army and loyalists. The British Army and loyalists attacked many pubs and shopping areas and killed LOTS of children - I'm sure they didn't like it one bit when the IRA proceeded down a tit for tat strategy.... The Israeli government hasn't commenced a policy of genocide against the Palestinians at any time during its history. I could go on and on but you get my point.

Your rabid desire to paint the IRA as a terrorist organization means you are ignorant of the nuances of this conflict. Your desire to somehow smear it as analogous to Hamas and Islamic Jihad is outrageous. Hamas won't even recognize the state of Israel for christ's sake - has the IRA ever said the same thing about England?

Shameful.