A Quick note on Joe McCann
I've got to work today. Which normally would normally piss me off but seeing as how more and more guys from other jobs come to ours and how just yesterday they laid off even more people, I'm just glad to have a job to go to. But this song came up on my ipod the other day as I was doing dishes and I was trying to explain to my wife the irony of this song. She didn't really get it. Well she understood what I was saying but when you have a fussy one year old (fuck can you believe it's now been a year and change) who realy cares about this kind of shit? Well me, so I'm throwing this short and fairly obvious observation out there so it's excised from my head. I always felt it was tempting to call codify the differences between the Provisionals and the Officials by the songs, The Ballad of Billy Reid and Joe McCann. Both are essentially narratives of their respectives deaths. But what is really interesting, especially in light of TLR and now that there's some light shed on the Officials is the content of the song on Joe McCann. The introductory verse esablishes his republican credentials through the use of physical force. The second verse which talks about the McCann as a defender of the "Rights of Man" ie traditional Republican doctrine. It is not until the end that anything close to socialism comes in. Even then, it's fairly vanilla and I don't think that without knowing the subject matter you'd be able to ascertain the politics of the Officials. I can see the "holy trinity" for the Provos following this order (the primacy of physical force, traditional Republican doctrine, and lastly socialism), but for this order to be put forward in a song by the Officials always struck me as ironic. Although I wouldn't read too much into it, it always makes me chuckle upon reflection.
5 comments:
Interesting analysis. Can't say I disagree
BTW, you've got work?
It's nothing substanative, but at least it's a post that's not an excuse about not posting.
All in all I've only been laid off for five and half weeks in 2009. Which is great considering some they (the contractors) started laying off mid summer 2008. My last lay off came on 9/11 and lasted a month. I've since survived two more rounds of lay offs. Both of which shook me up because I didn't really see either coming.
The first was in January and we had been on 25 hour weeks all of December but at least we got to keep working. I was running the all terrain forklift for a guy from the General side (ie the General contractor, because I work for the concrete sub-contractor which just happens to the be the same company) and as I was coming back with my load when I saw my whole crew walking out. So I stopped and asked them if we were going home early then and they then informed me that they were all laid off. That was my entire crew.
For the next round I was setting steel I beams by myself for structural deck scaffolding and as the laborers were handing the I beams up to me the superintendent and the laborer foreman came up and handed the guy below me his check as he was handing me up shit.
But I'm working so fuck it.
I think you're right that when engaged in military activity that is what gets focused on. All the more reason of course to dump the military activity as a distraction.
As for the rights of man phrase. My own opinion is that at this point that phrase had extended been extended by the Republican Movement far beyond it's original mostly political meaning to include many of the things we associate with socialism - in light of not only NICRA but the housing, fishing, campaigns, I do think it was seen as encompassing socialism. A bit like Garland's use of the phrase the greatest happiness for the greatest number. It no longer represented utilitarianism, but soicalism. I have to confess I've never heard the Billy Reid song, but I'd be surprised if it refers to the protestant and catholic working man.
So broadly I'd agree, but differ slightly.
I've been thinking about what you said about it being a surprise, and you know, that's been my experience as well, even when I suspected stuff might be coming down the line from bosses. It always sort of knocks one off course - obviously, but just the surprise can sometimes be... surprising...
WBS,
More lay offs last Friday. We've got maybe two more weeks left on this job. As of April 1st, we've no more work so I'll be laid off by my birthday in a few weeks for sure
G,
I haven't forgotten about you. Same with the essay. Up to my eyeballs in shit here and it's always so much more time consuming to argue with someone (at least when you want to present a reasonable argument) I'm sorry
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