Will there be a united Ireland in your lifetime?

Brexit has had a big impact on the united Ireland question. It definitely won’t be simple but more and more people are seeing a chance for a united Ireland in their lifetime. Of course Northern Ireland Unionists and Protestants who consider themselves British are hugely against the idea of a United Ireland. And there are lots of Catholics in Northern and the Republic of Ireland who have their own reservations, not least due to the financial cost of a union. But when you know that 56% of the Northern Irish voted to stay in the European Union, you can see why Brexit has affected them hard.

Demographics have shifted as well as the Brexit effect. A century ago when British negotiators carved Northern Ireland from the newly independent south it was 65% Protestant, 35% Catholic, which allowed for a strong unionist majority. Now, a century later it is 48% Protestant and 45% Catholic. When this trend continues, you will see a Catholic majority in 20 years time. How things have shifted since the Troubles 1968-1998.

 

Sexism in the Media

What causes people to be prejudice? You might answer with propaganda; family and peers; ignorance; scapegoats; nationalism; fear of outsiders; education; socialisation; and the media.

This is something to keep in mind when looking at the Daily Mail’s headline today about the meeting of Theresa May (British Prime Minister) and Nicola Sturgeon (the Scottish First Minister) where they discussed Brexit and the Scottish desire to have another independence referendum:

Plenty of newspapers have reported outcry at the sexist Daily Mail headline which focused on two female leaders legs rather than the serious political debate. Under the headline, “Never mind Brexit, who won Legs-it!” and alongside a photo of the two leaders sitting down for talks at a Glasgow hotel, the paper wrote: “It wasn’t quite stilettos at dawn…”

Ms Morgan, a former secretary of state for education and minister for women and equalities, tweeted in reaction: “Seriously? Our two most senior female politicians are judged for their legs not what they said #appallingsexism”.

She told BBC Radio 5 live the Mail’s coverage was: “Deliberately provocative, and deliberately demeaning. How the prime minister deals with it is entirely a matter for her,” she said, but added: “You’ve got two very senior female politicians who are discussing weighty issues and this is what a national newspaper thinks is appropriate.”

The BBC reports how the Daily Mail responded to its critics by saying “get a life”. What do you think? Is this sexism in the media and could it influence the public on how we look at females in positions of leadership and power?

Snowflake Generation, Brexit and JOMO

Words which a few years ago would have meant almost nothing have recently been chosen by Collins Dictionary as the 10 Words of the Year.

Brexit which was first coined in 2013 has had a 3,400% rise in its recorded usage and comes in at number one on the list.

Brexit (ˈbrɛɡzɪt) noun: the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union

Other words to feature include ‘mic drop’ – a theatrical gesture in which a person drops a hand-held microphone as the finale to a speech – ‘snowflake generation’ – the collective name for the young adults of the 2010s’ – and ‘JOMO’ which is the joy of missing out.

The mic drop has become quite the thing this year with Bruno Mars showing us how to do it at the end of his BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge performance and Obama dropping the mic at the end of his final ever Correspondents Dinner.

Mr Bennett who advises the Education minister used the term ‘snowflake generation’  when describing how students who demand protection from controversial views are the product of a mollycoddled ‘snowflake generation’. He reckons the problem started at school when too many children were protected from the ‘harsher realities of the world’ and then had trouble coping with challenging ideas at university and adulthood. He reckons the solution to the snowflake generation is for schools to teach children not to feel ‘scared that other people will disagree with them’ and instead encourage discussion and debate.