Dear Bertie

Posted in Old blogger by Twenty Major on May 31st, 2006

Dear Bertie,

I was watching the news yesterday with great interest after the ruling which saw a man freed from jail after pleading guilty to and being convicted of plying 12 year old with booze and then raping her when she woke up to be sick.

Like most people in the country I’m pretty much disgusted that this could happen and that more men will be set free. It’s also shocking that men awaiting both charges and sentencing could get away with similar crimes, but that’s not why I’m writing to you.

No doubt more esteemed scribes than I will have plenty to say about it in the opinion columns and there’ll be lots of reaction from other blogs so I’ll leave it up to them.

The point I would like to raise with you though is this. While Fine Gael’s Enda Kenny and Pat Rabbite of the Labour Party rightly tore strips off you and your government you sat there looking down at the desk, maybe even scribbling on a piece of paper. You could, for all intents and purposes, have been playing noughts and crosses with yourself.

Their tirades over it was your turn to speak. This is where I have the biggest problem. You stood there, again not making any eye-contact with the people you were addressing, looking down and with one hand in your pocket told us not to worry.

You stood there, with your hand in your pocket, and refused to entertain the idea of the Dail continuing to sit until suitable legislation was in place.

You stood there, with your fucking hand in your pocket, and said “I am trying to deal with a serious problem in a serious way.”

And here’s the thing, Bertie. I don’t believe you for a second because you looked like you didn’t give a shit. You might as well have been chewing on a piece of gum while you said it. It really did appear that couldn’t care less that a 38 year old who raped a 12 year old was released.

It might as well have been just another one of your party colleagues involved in tax evasion or corruption or dodgy planning applications. You know, the day to day stuff your government has been involved in for years. You were more upset when the Bertiebowl didn’t happen.

You’re supposed to be the leader of the country but you stand in the Dail like some kind of a fucking corner boy or the lad in school who always gets sent to the headmaster but doesn’t give a shit because he knows his parents won’t ever punish him enough for him to be worried. And that’s the thing. You are that boy because no matter what you and your cronies have done for the last 10 years the people of Ireland have pretty much let you away with it.

Our fault entirely but do you think when something like this happens again in the future, and I have no doubt it will sooner rather than later, you could at least pretend to be slightly bothered by it? I don’t mean an Oscar winning performance, no Tom Hanks style drama, but if Colin Farrell can make it in Hollywood, for fuck’s sake, then surely that wouldn’t be beyond you.

Take your hands out of your pockets, look people in the eye and pretend to care. We’d all appreciate it.

cheers,

Twenty Major

ps - you’re a slippery little cunt and no mistake.