y va marquer wrote:We strive towards a lasting peace on this island, we don't forget the past but we look at ways to move on, not reopen wounds.
I definitely get that, but peace is not the same thing as assimilation. It's built on respect from both parties, and the English columnists I've read seem unable to respect where McClean is coming from in this situation.
If this had been an international game between Northern Ireland and England I can't imagine that McClean would have turned his back against the English flag. But honestly, what did people think would happen when they started to salute him as if he was a servant of England? It taps directly into the heart of the conflict.
If Pulis and West Bromwich had half a braincell between them they would have foreseen this, and either scrapped the ceremony or at least made sure that McClean wasn't on the field if they had a problem with him quietly rotating 180 degrees to his right and lowering his head. Instead they created a situation where they made one of their own players a target for ultranationalists. When McClean refused to wear a poppy seed on his shirt last year hundreds of people sent death threats towards his one year old daughter. I expect the same thing to happen now. Nationalism can bring out a lot of the ugly in people.
