Bit Of A Yession

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This evening.

Outside City Hall, Dame Street, Dublin and The George (pic 2), George’s Street, Dublin

In The George , from top: white-toothed revellers; Denis nemesis Catherine Murphy (centre) with Shirley Temple Bar (top left).

Meanwhile…

vodka

Simon writes:

Vodka shots made in Lucan for Yes party in Dublin 4

Pics: Stephen Roden, Catherine Murphy, Buzz O’Neill (top two), Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland

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53 thoughts on “Bit Of A Yession

  1. More_Bermuda_than_Berlin

    If I’d known there was going to be this sort of love-in, I’d nearly have voted No

    (or caught an early train to Dublin)

  2. Lorcan Nagle

    Guy with the yellow sign has harassed me while campaigning for abortion rights more than once.

        1. Lorcan Nagle

          Don’t think that would go down well at Central Bank, especially with all the teenagers that are around there of a Saturday afternoon

      1. Lorcan Nagle

        Yeah, i’ve also seen him hassling teenage girls for dressing in ways that he feels inappropriate.

  3. Trouble

    Feeling pretty proud to be Irish this evening. Though tempered by a little sadness that our newfound love of equality doesn’t extend to the youth of our country

  4. JD

    Great news “free staters”, you’ve done a Stirling job. Let’s hope it can be replicated up north. Although I’m not holding out much hope given all the dinosaur deniers….!

    1. Lorcan Nagle

      37% of voters, so it’s more like 22% of the country. And yeah, those people are homophobic, but that desn’t mean that all 700,000 of of them are going to be queuing up outside the George to take a pop at somebody. For many of them, being gay is an abstract concept – they don’t know anyone who’s out and as a result it’s a huge unknown, which is understandably scary. This weekend has shown the gay community that as a whole, Ireland does accept them and recognises what many of us already knew – that there is no difference between gay love and straight love except some of the things you can do between the sheets become more or less practical.

      This result means that closeted gay people will feel safer coming out, that we might get less stereotypical depictions of homosexual relationships in Irish media, and that the conversation about those relationships becomes an increasingly normal thing. As a result many of those confirmed homophobes will realise that their opinions were based on fear of the unknown, incorrect or incomplete information and assumption, and they’ll change their minds. It means that the generations of gay Irish people to come will grow up in a country where they don’t need to fear the reaction to their sexuality as much. It’s another nail in the coffin of institutionalised Irish guit.

      Of course, there’s a chunk of them that will never change their minds, but they’ll go to their graves decrying the new Ireland.

    2. ahyeah

      yeah, kind of hate to agree but I’m pretty disappointed with the actual numbers – still delighted with the actual result, but 38%??? So it’s confirmed that more than 1 in every 3 in the country is an a$$hole. Bit severe, no?

      1. Tá Frilly Keane

        Oh stop cribbing
        Take the 62/ 38 *
        And enjoy it

        ProChoice groups
        Would love a slice of that margin

        * your 1 on 3 is off
        You’re using the valid votes cast.
        Those not included the in the turnout are most likely couldn’t give a ûckers. And your spoiled votes are probably the same.

        In reality your probably facing 1 homophone out of every 10
        I fancy our chances
        Don’t you

        1. Joe the Lion

          And as someone else what this referendum has done is show us very clearly who the reactionary bigots are and what they really stand for.

          I’m delighted to know who this shower are and to put them back into their box

        2. ahyeah

          Using the valid votes cast is how it works, I’m afraid.

          Can’t assume that those who didn’t vote are inclined towards a yes vote but just didn’t bother. If anything, the negative portrayal of no voters probably kept more of them at home. And if someone who’s aware of the discrimination, bullying, isolation etc of gay LS in this country just couldn’t be bothered voting. ..that in itself says something.

      2. Bingo

        My Dad voted ‘No’.
        I don’t think he’s an asshole or a homophobe.
        He’s just an old fart.
        He simply just ‘doesn’t get it’.
        Lots of old folk are like this.
        Not all religious nuts, homophobes, etc….

        1. Lorcan Nagle

          Voting no is an inherently homophobic position. It may not be an actively homophobic one, but it’s still right there. Our view of bigotry is largely based on how it’s portrayed in the media, where it’s either violent yahoos or smug manipulators in drama series, or nutbars on talk shows and documentaries like Louis Theroux visiting the Westboro Baptist Church. And that means that it’s harder to see the really harmful stuff that happens every day, what’s come to be termed as ‘micro-aggressions’. Women, LGBT people, ethnic minorities – they all encounter tiny things that white men don’t even notice, but they add up to a major problem over time. (Like my wife, standing outside our local Tesco with our dog a few weeks ago. I had gone in to grab like 3 things, and the whole time I was gone this one guy just stared at her, looking her up and down. It stuck with her for hours afterwards)

          Everyone in the world has some prejudices, sometimes you’re aware of them, often you’re not. Your Dad (and mine for that matter, also voted no) has some level of prejudice against gay people. He may never have thought about it or challenged his preconceptions before, but that’s pretty normal. As I said upthread, homophobia isn’t just about literal gay bashing, and voting against equality definitely falls under the definition of the term.

          It’s not pleasant, and a large part of that is because of the way the discussion of bigotry is framed. I’m of the opinion that the way someone reacts when their prejudices are pointed out to them is a major marker of who they are as people.

      1. Roger

        Somebody has to. The reality is that in certain parts of the county gay people are waking up knowing that 50% of their neighbours hate them.

        1. Joe the Lion

          I’m sure that on the whole they prefer those statistics to previous.
          Give it time.

        2. Lorcan Nagle

          And like Joe said, that’s better than any result of 51% or higher. I’ve no doubt that gay peopel this morning are waking up happy that only half their neighbours hate them (though really, it could be as few as a third given the voter turnout)

          1. ahyeah

            Except you previously said “37% of voters so it’s more like 22% of the country”.

            It’d be nice if true (but, in my opinion, 22% is still sadly high), but that’s simply not how it works.

          2. Lorcan Nagle

            In response to Jonotti saying confirmed homophobes. We can only make assumptions about the attitude of the people who didn’t vote.

    3. Tony

      Wrong.

      Just a mix of confused, fearful, unquestioning Catholic, homophobic and whatnot. Most likely good people, most of them. And most will eventually come around to understanding what it was all really about and accepting it was a good thing. Those who don’t will be replaced by children and grandchildren who do.

      1. Sharon's Boyfriend

        @ Tony;
        Too many adjectives, all meaning the same thing.
        eg; confused, fearful, unquestioning, Catholic, homophobic, although the last one is one you need to be careful with, and the second-last one has now been rendered redundant.

        I teach English.

        1. Sharon's Boyfriend

          PS.
          -I added that comma between ‘unquestioning’ and ‘Catholic’ myself.
          Forgive me, but in my mind it’s like saying two words when you only need to say one.

          Mea Culpa.
          Im laetus Im non vos.

  5. Sharon's Boyfriend

    My Referendum-Day anecdote;

    First of all, I did me voting. (Oh YES, I did!)
    -Then, I got on the Luas (Red line) to head into town.

    I was staring at my wonderful 10″* most of the way, oblivious to what was going on around me.
    *{Samsung Galaxy Tablet)

    Then, due to what seemed like an over-long stop I glanced out the window.
    We were at the junction of Long Mile Road, stuck at traffic-lights.
    To my left there was two lanes of stationary traffic, and then an elderly man standing on an island, waving a large poster on a stick.**
    **It was like two of them posters you see on lamp posts, one on top of the other. (Fnukk, fnukk…)

    It read;
    I’m tired of being bullied. Please vote No (Black letters on an orange background.)

    I looked at the car drivers to gauge their reaction, and noticed one wag was making the Universally-recognised gesture for w*nking. (Make an ‘O’ with your thumb and Index finger, then shake it all about, Hey!
    -Yerman on the island, God love him, he mistook it for a gesture of support, and gave a ‘thumbs-up’ in response.

    I’m still laughing at it now.

  6. Ppads

    My lasting memory will be two gay men standing on Parliament Bridge singing Amhrán na bhFiann. Sums the whole day up really.

    There has been a lot of debate over the years about what homophobia is but much less so about how it manifest itself. Contrary to popular opinion, it is not black and white and it is not just srt8 people who are homophobic.
    A good indication of where you sit on the gradient scale of homophobia is how your initial reactions to this referendum. Think back. I never had any doubt in my mind but Yes which leaves me on a lighter shade of grey but not white as I initially felt a bit anxious about wearing a badge. Then there were those who needed someone to knock on their door and say ‘I am gay please vote for me’. There were those who needed convincing especially with all the lies being told and those who were still uncomfortable with it but voted Yes out of ‘live and let live’. And finally, those who voted No.

    The majority of No voters rightly deserve the label of homophobes because there was not one single credible reason presented as to why. Sorry if that offends because it is someone you care about but they decided that their world view is superior and wanted to force it onto others. I understand that some may come around over time but nobody is going to waste their lives trying to convince them any more.

    1. Sharon's Boyfriend

      @Ppads

      You’ve just expressed what I couldn’t.

      I’m ‘straight’ as an arrow,
      -Yet I cried on Saturday morning, when it became obvious from 10am that sanity would prevail.
      I’ve cried a couple of times since.

      I’ve laughed a couple of times too.

      It’s finally a good time to be PROUD to be Irish.

      1. Joe the Lion

        Well said boyfriend but I’ve always been proud to be who I am and I think the whole national identity thing is overplayed. I know people do put value in it so it’s not a judgement on them but really lots of nations have their skeletons and we need to live in the present and not lumber under the weight of the past

  7. Sharon's Boyfriend

    Yeah but…

    FFS, we just did something ‘RIGHT’…
    …and before anyone else.
    That in itself is a major step forward.

    I’s a new dawn…
    It’s a new day…

      1. Sharon's Boyfriend

        Thanks Ppads.
        I used to know your Dad, MaxiPads. He was big around my area

        I knew it was Nina, but I never knew the name of the nong, sorry, I mean ‘song’..

  8. Sharon's Boyfriend

    It’s no small thing…

    Where we were previously seen as a nation under the yoke of the Catholic church we’re now seen as progressive, independent and forward-thinking.
    -That’s a helluva an achievement in one day.

    Be PROUD.*

    *You don’t have to be gay about it, but f**p it, go on, be Gay about it.
    -You know you want to…

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