Niamh Walsh’s Manifesto
We can’t let ill-informed radicals rule the day
MAHATMA GANDHI once said: ‘An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind’.
And his words have never before carried so much weight or meaning. The global unrest of the scale that we are witnessing lately has seen the disenfranchised, disadvantaged and disillusioned unite in marches and protests demanding change of historical proportions.
And while the winds of change are blowing, this should not mean the total destruction of the past as we have seen with tearing down of monuments – many arbitrarily. Of course, there are strong cases to be made for the removal of the most offensive statues, but this must come by way of civilised conversation and not by mob justice.
There has been in recent weeks an attempt to rewrite the past to suit a particular narrative of some self-interested group as happened in England’s East Midlands last week.
A petition to remove a statue of man-of-peace Mahatma Gandhi in Leicester was signed by more than 6,000 people buoyed by the public mood and riding on the coattails of credible groups with real grievances.
The idiotic, ill-informed radicals campaigned for the removal of Gandhi’s grand statue, claiming that the learned Indian lawyer, political ethicist, pacifist and anticolonial non-violent nationalist was ‘a fascist, racist and sexual predator’.
Absolutely no supporting evidence was proffered to prop up these assertions, but if recent history has taught us anything it’s that evidence is irrelevant in the echo chambers of a self-righteous mob.
Gandhi’s legacy of peace and equality is evident every day and his ‘eye for an eye’ quote has proven prophetic.
The world will not only go blind but also deaf and dumb if it lets the idiots rule the day.
A look inside the royal rift
POOR Prince Harry, his only desire in life is to live out his happy ending in peace away from the prying eyes of the paparazzi.
But it seems a week never passes without Harry and Meghan finding themselves at the centre of royal rumblings. This time it’s a distant cousin causing the prince strife.
Lady Colin Campbell is set to release her book Meghan And
Harry: The Real Story later this month, and already there have been salacious stories of Buckingham Palace brouhaha.
A snippet from the book leaked this week suggested that the Sussexes’ royal fallout began just days after their wedding at Prince Charles’s 70th birthday garden party. It should also be said that the unverified claims must be taken with the proverbial pinch of salt as Lady Colin Campbell has never even met Harry or Meghan.
But the pinch of salt quickly turned into a kernel of truth as a Twitter investigator unearthed a video that on the surface did seem to support the Sussexes being shown the garden gate.
With Lady Campbell’s book due out this month and Harry and Meghan’s unofficial autobiography out in September, there are lots of royal rumblings in store.
Depp’s marriage to Amber laid bare
THE rather unsavoury but totally salacious revelations about actor Johnny Depp’s marriage and divorce from actress Amber Heard has been a source of distraction in this corona-saturated news era. Pirates Of The Caribbean star Depp has come out with swords, daggers and dirty misdeeds in his armoury as he prepares for a swashbuckling showbiz courtroom showdown.
The week past saw leaked – and again it must be said as yet unverified and vehemently denied – reports of a threesome tryst between the openly bisexual Amber Heard, her equally open bisexual supermodel friend Cara Delevingne and Silicon Valley eccentric billionaire Elon Musk. The halls of London’s solemn and unsexy High Court is sure to blush with righteous indignation as the Hollywood hanky-panky plays out.
But before the case has even begun, I think the biggest shock is that Elon Musk – nicknamed Rocketman – must be the first playboy to deny having a threesome with two such stunning women.
Greens need to put animal welfare f irst
THE historic coalition of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party is now signed, sealed and delivered to a somewhat disillusioned electorate.
Much trust and high hopes have been placed in the Greens to demonstrate it is a party of principle.
And the party now has an historic opportunity to effect a real, meaningful and decisive shift for Irish animals that have been abandoned by each and every previous government.
The past years have exposed the savagery and cruelty meted out to defenceless greyhounds forced to run for their lives for the profit and enjoyment of the racing industry. Puppy farmers have acted with impunity as they churn out pups from breeding dogs locked in cages purely for their profit. And the ‘sport’ of hare coursing, which the Greens promised to oppose, must finally be banished.
Animal cruelty has no place in Irish life and this is Eamon Ryan’s time to prove it.
Sexy Klopp is in a league of his own
LIVERPOOL’S lifting of this year’s Premiership title proved a universal cause for celebration given the unprecedented nature of the season.
And while I am aware that in today’s world it is frowned upon to objectify men as much as it is women, I would happily risk the wrath of the righteous to objectify to my columnist heart’s content soccer’s sexiest man-of-the-moment Jürgen Klopp.
The stern German manager exuded serious sexiness from the sidelines as he led Liverpool to victory.
And while he won the Premier League he also won over a legion of female fans.
In fact, as a non-partisan follower of football, Klopp could easily entice me into being a devout red any day.