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Originally Posted by Nusselt
since im about as closely linked to NI as someone on the other side of the planet and hence don't know, whats the catholic/protestant schism like presently? do you people live segrageted lives? is politics a taboo subject? were things in the past really that bad (ie when you were at school did you hate one another?)
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I've lived in England for the past few years, so I'm not exactly in the loop anymore, but as I hear it it's neither better nor worse than it was when I left.
The area in which I grew up, Ardoyne, is still almost completely segregated. It's what politicians refer to as an 'interface area' - where the two communities meet. Of course in reality there is little integration; the two communities are separated along a 'peace line' and only venture across it to access amenities (anyone with an interest in affairs will have heard of Holy Cross, a Catholic school in Protestant Glenbryn, while most of the day-to-day shops are in Catholic Lower Ardoyne).
People will generally mask their opinions with certain formalities when talking politics in mixed groups, so to that extent I suppose it is taboo, though you'll always get the few who rush in with their views and little thought any repurcussions. In closed circles, of course, people are more true to themselves and it is in this lack of trust, communication and interaction that the sectarianism breeds. That and if you wish to be involved with your community you have to play their game. There is a certain amount of collusion between prominent community figures and the paramilitaries (if indeed they are separate entities); this is not a cause for shame though.
At school I never hated the Protestants but I was certainly endowed with a lack of trust and respect for them and their traditions, and at times I have considered them my enemy; I don't think you have to hate somebody to consider them an enemy. Certainly groups of us used were involved with antagonising Protestant people and scuffles with other youngsters.