Cost of a United Ireland and the GFA

You posted a fact that SF are organising meetings. Nobody disputes that fact.

You claimed that fact meant that there are political parties selling a united Ireland. That is only an opinion, and based on general comment, not a widely supported opinion.

The claim that no political party is selling a united Ireland remains a valid and widely held opinion. Minority opinions that challenge that are unsupported by evidence. All of the evidence points to declining support for a united Ireland (albeit mirrored by greater declines in support for the union with the UK) with the rise in the middle challenging both of the belligerent partisans on either side.

The more that SF organises meetings and shouts about a united Ireland, the more people will get nervous about it. Yes, they will discuss it, but the support for a united Ireland diminishes. You know this, hence your eagerness to try and get the government on board.

It is not a fact that a political party is selling a UI, it is an opinion.

If I claimed it was a fact that the Green Party were solving the housing crisis, you would challenge that narrative. I could point to the record number of houses being built and you would respond that it is not enough to solve the housing crisis.

In this case, you can point to the FACT that SF are holding meetings about a UI, but those meetings are in the OPINION of most who have expressed an opinion, damaging a UI.

The poster has offered an opinion that no political party is selling a UI. That opinion appears to be me to be well-founded based on the evidence available. The fact of meetings among the fanatical devotees doesn't change that opinion. All those meetings appear to be doing is giving a false sense of achievement to the devoted good republicans.

The reason that discussions get protracted with you is that you continuously present your opinions as facts, when they are not.

If, as you appear to believe, SF are selling a united Ireland, can you give me an example of some political personality, politician, commentator etc. who has bought this SF schtick? Is there someone out there who has woken up with a Eureka moment, or paused on the road to Damascus and said "Wow, SF have just sold the idea of a united Ireland to me"?

Nope, don't think there is any such person. Hence, you can continue to hold the opinion, unsupported by any evidence, that SF are selling a united Ireland.

Selling requires a buyer. So, to be accurate, as you appear to claim to be, you can state as fact that SF are advertising a united Ireland for sale, but that nobody is buying, and other than their relatives coming around for family chats, nobody is showing any interest in what they are advertising.

Were there any buyers?

In my opinion anyone who ‘bought’ that idea at this juncture either has nothing to lose or is slightly challenged.

The first part of your factual sentence is fact, the second part is opinion.

For instance, I could rephrase the sentence as:

"SF have been holding public meetings trying to reassure themselves that it is 'Time For Unity', while turning people off the idea."

The first part of that sentence is fact, and is identical to the first part of your sentence, the second part is my opinion, which just happens to differ from your opinion, hence the two sentences diverge once we move from fact to opinion.

I am going to leave it there, as it appears from your posts that facts and opinion are being confused.

Pretty much this.

A few politicians from the South pay lip service and put forward some rational arguments, but for the most part it is Tiocfaidh lads spouting off. It would turn you off a united Ireland if you went and listened.

Off to the pub afterwards for the RA songs.

So SF are not organizing meetings to sell the idea that the time is right for unity because of your ‘interpretation’ of what happens at these meetings?

Why the absolute fear here to admit that these meetings happened and are happening, that’s all I said.

I disagree. It is a peculiar fear manifesting itself and you are not alone.

This attempt to deny fact is prevalent elsewhere. Anyone promoting even a conversation about a UI is attacked and vilified. The PSNI even had to inform the Ireland Future organizer of death threats against him and his university had to take security measures. Senior Unionist politicians even attempted to get him sacked.

Nobody is being forced to talk or discuss yet you have huge denial and anger that the conversation is happening. Bizarre behavior really from people who reputedly stand over the GFA which legitimized the aspiration. Was there a clause that said ‘you can only talk about it when we say?’

What bizarre nonsense.

All I have said is that it is opinion rather than fact that Sinn Fein are "selling" a united Ireland.

The rest of your post is invented hyperbole to hide your embarrassment.

They can hold all the meetings they want but only ‘Super Republicans’ seem to think that this ideal has any traction anywhere right now.

Those who can see the big picture rather than vacuous ideals and pie in the sky can see that this issue is dead in the water right now.

The ‘Super Republicans’ operating from their back room on a laptop of course won’t be around when the realisation that this ideal was flawed and premature right now.

But of course they still plough on……

As a nation that loves a good singsong, not sure a lyric-less anthem is a runner.

We have plenty of time to figure that out……decades even 😯😯

Most sensible folk wouldn’t expect this particular situation to “turn around” any time soon.