Small world, small country, big conflicts – why familiarity is killing the Irish public spirit
There was a tweet recently on Twitter that I thought was very telling on how Ireland operates. From @bohoe:
In Ireland, complaining about a service is to disturb a friend of a friend. Elsewhere, as a way to improve everyone’s lifes.
We’re afraid to complain because we’re afraid someone we know will eventually find out. We all know people in Ireland who’d have this kind of conversation:
“Can you believe Johnny sent back the steak in the restaurant last week?”
“Really, I didn’t think Johnny would’ve had the cash to even be in a restaurant, never mind be posh enough to send it back”.
This familiarity is also the reason why many of us Irish always shop in the same shops, drink in the same pub, buy petrol in the same garages and so on and so forth.
Familiarity increases tolerance, wrongly in some cases
But it’s also the reason why we’ll put up with shoddy service and quality in many stores simply because we know the people who own those businesses, and we’re afraid of confronting these acquaintances by pointing out where problems might exist. But also, this fear of the familiar is also the reason why we’re afraid to shop elsewhere because we’re afraid of what might be said about us by those acquaintances.
But this familiarity extends to more professional levels as well, and I believe that it’s one of the key reasons why Ireland doesn’t have a whistleblowing culture, nor is the government inclined to even attempt to foster one.
Why no whistleblowing?
Just think about how much shady, underhanded, immoral and somewhat downright illegal activities once one could/can get away with when one knows one is very unlikely to be discovered by any effectual regulators, but more importantly one will never be exposed by ones colleagues who have a financial benefit in ones success in such activities rather than ones downfall because of such activities.
If you think of all the misdeeds carried out in Ireland in the past few years, remember that (with the exception of Eugene McErlean in the AIB) there hasn’t been a single person “on the inside” who’s stood up (metaphorically obviously) and exposed the wrongdoings (legal, or moral) that were going on.
We’re too selfish to really care?
Was this wall of silence and frantic looking the other way all because of what was intimated on the RTE Frontline recently by Eamon Delaney, editor of Magill, that Ireland is essentially a selfish society – we’re out only to make sure we’re personally looked after and not willing to rock the boat in any way to put that at risk?
In addition to this societal selfishness, I think that our government has also been somewhat to blame in the fostering of this wall of silence – look at the reaction to public personalities who raised issues in the run-up to the collapse – witness Bertie Aherns “let them commit suicide” comment for example. When you see, as an example, the fallout from the journalistic exposure of the unreasonably large expenses incurred by our politicians, you can see why “looking the other way” can be of benefit to the politicians as well.
Caring isn’t being a crank
If you do highlight something you see as wrong in Ireland these days, you’re seen as a crank rather than being a publicly spirited person who might see something wrong with what’s being done. If you try to expose the wrongdoings of others and do so in the vain home that such exposure might bring these wrongdoings to an end, you’re seen as someone with an axe to grind rather than trying to do some good. Though you’re intentions may be purely honourable in an attempt stand up to the wrongs and to improve the cesspit of a country that we’re living in, you’re portrayed as being destructive rather than positive, and like quicksand, you’re dragged back into mire.
Sad, sad, sad!
