Dazed In The Life

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=61052337940

The above is the link to one of at least 3 Facebook groups calling for the Gardaí and Irish Government to leave Conor Casby alone. Casby is the guerilla artist who, last week, placed unofficial nude caricatures of the Taoiseach, Brian Cowen on the walls of the National Gallery of Ireland and the RHA. The goverment forced RTE to apologise for their coverage of the story – and the opposition parties were then prevented from raising the issue in the Dáil - while the Gardaí were directed to find the artist responsible, leading them to demand his contact details from Today FM’s Ray Darcy Show – he had been in contact with the show and Gardaí questioned the station over its coverage of the issue. Casby presented himself voluntarily to Pearse Street Garda Station and, it seems, he is unlikely to be charged. His alleged crimes, apparently, the source of all this furore, are criminal damage, indecency and incitement to hatred.

Criminal Damage?! Hammering a nail into a wall?! Indecency?! In an art gallery chock full of nudes, in a modern world where Victoria’s Secret and Wonderbra can advertise freely?! Incitement to hatred?! In the name of all that is sacred, what the shitting bollocks tit is that supposed to mean?!?! Apologies for the profanity, but this story has really made me very angry (Oh really Barry? says you). One of the great gifts Irish people have is a great sense of humour and the country has a fine tradition of political satire. From Hall’s Pictorial Weekly to Scrap Saturday, Bull Island to Newstalk’s The Emergency, Irish people have laughed at our politicians for decades. I imagine Mr. Cowen would raise a belly-laugh rather than a witch-hunt were he in opposition and Enda Kenny was the focus of ridicule. What is more, Martyn Turner daily publishes caricatures poking fun at the political life of this country, yet there is no sign of a police investigation. If Conor Casby’s actions are incitement to hatred, then Martyn Turner has been getting away with it for years.

The world economy is in a slump, Irish people are losing their jobs at a level not seen for a long time, the outlook for the next twelve months is grim and the upcoming emergency budget is set to be a harsh one. The government are bound to be unpopular, sorry, but it’s a reality you face in times like these. What could have been a funny footnote in our Sunday papers has been allowed to snowball. When it would have been best – and, perhaps, most endearing - of Fianna Fáil and Brian Cowen to laugh along with the joke (you know, some witty joke about it being the only time he would be caught with his pants down), they flew off the handle. Michael Kennedy called upon Cathal Goan, Director General of RTE, to consider his position. Fianna Fáil ordered an apology. John O’Donohue, the Ceann Comhairle (speaker of the house), refused to let the issue be discussed when the opposition wanted to raise it. The Gardaí raided an independent radio station. Honestly, as someone pointed out on Facebook, if they had been this swift to knock on the doors of the banks, perhaps we would be in a better mood as a country. As it is, this is a funny story and the government has really had a sense of humour failure. If they can’t laugh at themselves, I can only imagine how frowny they get when they look at our national finances.

For God’s sake, lighten up. Even I find this particular piece of toilet humour funny.

PS: The Times Online tells me no nails were used. So, one less crime committed. They might commute his sentence from the death penalty to life in prison so.