One question that got me thinking in class today was whether there was anyone to blame for the violence that occurred in Derry, and what role did the different groups involved in it play? I think the conclusion was that no one definite could really be blamed because there were smaller events leading up to the big displays of violence, and all of the groups were involved in that so we couldn’t necessarily point the finger at one particular group. I found it interesting that Eamonn McCann, though, quite blatantly seemed to blame those who were in higher positions for the massacre of Bloody Sunday. The soldiers who got blamed and did the time for it claimed that they were just following orders that were given to them by people who were higher up, but I wonder how far these orders can be traced back? Will they be able to find who, in the end, was the one sole person to give the direct order? Was there one sole person, or was it a group decision? I find that it is growing more and more difficult to find exact people to blame in today’s movements and displays of violence, because no one is in charge. This can also go back to our talk about movements having a central leader, and whether that is important or not when making a movement. I myself am not entirely sure of a leader’s importance in a movement, but a leader is very important for the opposing side, mainly because then there is someone to blame, whether it is right or wrong to blame them.
How are we supposed to assign blame to anybody in movements today or back in the movements, protests, revolutions of 1968 and beyond? I don’t think it is entirely possible in either case. If the Civil Rights movement under Dr. King had become incredibly violent against his wishes and many people had been hurt or killed, would he still have been to blame? He was the leader, so it seems that that is the obvious answer, but we all know it is not. The people who did the violent acts should have been blamed and punished, but is it the same for the Black Panthers, whose leader preached violence? Because they were violent in the name of Malcolm X, should he have been blamed and punished for every crime committed? How about the soldiers in Derry who were just following orders? Should the people they say ordered them to do it be blamed and punished? I think the idea of blame in this context can get a bit blurry. Should it still be that the people who committed the violent acts are the ones that get punished? Is there a sort of primary and secondary blame that should be observed? The soldiers were just doing what they were told, but could they have chosen not to pull the triggers, not to further the violence? It seems to me that the primary blame should be placed on those that give the orders for violence, but a secondary blame should still be placed on those that committed the acts, because we all have the free will to choose not to do something we know isn’t right, so there is still a conscious choice on our part to commit the violent act. Blame is a tricky thing to assign to people, but people always want to do it.
You are very right that assigning blame is an incredibly delicate and tricky issue to navigate. However, I think that there is more to think about than just purely contrasting who pulled the trigger and who gave the order, because these two people do not stand on the same ground per se. In the case of Bloody Sunday, the soldiers became a scapegoat to avert pooling commanding officers at the time, who then became even more powerful military officials at the time of the second inquiry, from being lumped in with the events of that day. I agree with that assigning blame is a tough task. However, in the situation of Bloody Sunday, I don’t think any thought was taken with respect to the issues discussed in your blog. The more important point in that inquiry was purely to minimize fallout for the British military above all else.
Figuring out who is to blame for triggering violence that was the result of centuries-long tension is very difficult, if not beside the point. Depending on who you ask, you’re going to get a different answer for who’s to blame, so is it even worth it? Why not concentrate the efforts on figuring out the solution? Eamonn was quite quick to blame authority. He said that the authorities in the UK and Northern Ireland government tolerated and even encouraged the use of lethal force and then proceeded to cover up and defend the events of Bloody Sunday. While it’s great to have an idea of who’s to blame, how do you stop the feelings of resentment for each other that are instilled in Protestants and Catholics from the moment they’re born? How do you fix the incredibly tense environment that these people were born into? While there are obvious merits to being able to trace back to the roots of Bloody Sunday, I feel as if figuring out who is to blame is almost a waste of effort when those involved have already formed such strong convictions and feelings of resentment.