September 2011 - Irish American News

September 2011 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” 21Rioting for Nothing“Cynic: a blackguard whose faulty vision seesthings as they are, not as they should be.”“A year: 365 more disappointments.”— the great Ambrose BierceI’ve been thinking a lot this week abouta guy who grew up in the same area that Idid. We didn’t really know each other. Noparticular reason; we just didn’t. I went to theCatholic school and he went to the Protestantone. That didn’t mean a thing to us becauseit wasn’t the kind of area where you foughteach other simply because you supposedlybelieved in different things. Well, not mostof the time, and if we did then it was for adifferent reason.I remember him though as a kind of cheeryindividual and that’s about it.Years later I was on a visit back home and Iheard that he had died for a particularly stupidreason. I thought about that a lot this week.In England, on the week that I am writingthis, people went on the rampage for nothingat all. People died for nothing at all. Homeswere destroyed, both in the physical sense andin the sense that some fools destroyed theirfamilies. I don’t know what is worse. It wasall for nothing at all.For some reason, when I heard from thesafety of Galway how bad things had gottenover in Manchester and London, I thought ofthat guy that grew up in the same area as me,dead these more than three decades; and yetthe stupidity of his death came home to meall over again.Is that how it will be for these fools whowent on a rampage last week? Will they suddenlywake up to themselves in twenty orthirty years time and ask themselves: “Whatthe Christ did I do that for?”Well, why did they do it? Already we havethe sociologists and the psychiatrists andevery other idiot who sees a way to makea greasy shekel out of this, jumping upand begging to be interviewed on whatevertelevision network will take their miserabletwo minutes of time to tell us that WE areto blame. They are telling us that SOCIETYis to blame.What a steaming load of horse manurethat kind of dodging is. The looters and themuggers and the thugs that you saw runningriot were not doing this because “society”had made them outcasts. Christ, you crybabies; in this world that we live in we areall to some extent outcasts. It does not giveyou the right to burn out the cars of yourneighbours; it does not give you the right tosmash in their windows or to remove theirplace of work and income by destroying theplaces that they work in.You unredeemable morons! Some of youhave the cheek tocall yourselvesAnarchists. Youdon’t even knowwhat that means!If it was a legitimategripe whyweren’t you takingit to DowningStreet? No, much easier to burn out yourown neighbourhoods, to take war to yourown people.You are thugs and vermin. You are thatmost despicable of individuals: you are looters.All that you have done is make it evenmore impossible for decent people to live intheir own areas.For what? You ripped off a few DVDplayers and suits of clothes that you willprobably never wear; you stole televisionsthat you will never watch and rings that youwill never put on a finger. In a country thatneeds tourism, as most countries need now,you put the boot into tourism. What you havedone by your selfish thuggish actions has noend in sight.Yet it is the cops to blame for being tooheavy handed, and it is society to blame fornot giving you enough facilities. Well, boohoo hoo! The cops were not heavy handed;you don’t get away with that this time. Societywas not to blame. It was just you, the lootersand the savages. Deprived? Take a look athistory; take a look at where many of us grewup. How is it that we didn’t feel the need todo what you scumbags did last week… toyour own neighbourhoods?As to the parents who allowed their kids often and eleven to be involved in this, I haveno sympathy for you at all. I’m not interestedin your whining about not being allowed toknow where they are at that age.As to the many professional people whoare already in jail for looting: It keeps mewarm at night thinking about what youidiots must be going through. You stolefrom your own people; you think about thatas you snuggle down in your cells. Was itworth it; for a few handfuls of extra cash,was it really worth that adrenalin rush ofexcitement?The poor devils that died in that week ofmadness were not the only ones that died.There are people in jail now who wonderwhat the hell they did that for.Now that is what I call to dying for nothing.International Eucharistic CongressDublin, Ireland, June 10th-17th, 2012By Fr. Jim O’BrienWhile I was on vacation in Ireland at the end ofMay, I received an e-mail request from CardinalGeorge through his secretary Father Dan Flens.Cardinal George was asking if I would be his OfficialChicago Archdiocesan Delegate to the 50thInternational Eucharistic Congress to be held inDublin from June 10th until June 17th of 2012. Iprayed and thought about it and then accepted theCardinal’s invitation.The Eucharistic Congress is held every fouryears at different venues throughout the world. Itwas in Toronto, Canada in 2006. It was then thatPope Benedict announced it would be held inIreland in June of 2012.Much preparation is underway in Ireland tomake this gathering a success, bringing Catholicstogether from all over the world.For my part, I am hosting the Chicago ArchdiocesanOfficial Pilgrimage to Ireland June 6ththrough 19th. Trans World Travel of HighlandPark, Illinois is the Official Tour Operator for us.Father Karl Langsdorf, of the St. Patrick Fatherswhom you all know, has agreed to assist me withthis endeavor. He will be with us on our journey.The dates chosen allow for a few days beforeand after the actual Eucharistic Congress. It providesus with an opportunity to do some sightseeingalong with attending events at the InternationalHallelujah BroadwayHallelujah Broadway is a musical extravaganzaperformed with a 32-piece orchestra that will gladdenhearts andgive audiencessomething tocheer about.The AuditoriumTheatreof RooseveltUniversity(ATRU) willbe filled withAnthony Kearnsthe joyous sounds of Hallelujah Broadway Saturday,Sept. 17, 2011 at 7:30pm.Hallelujah Broadway was featured on PBSspecial programming during July and August2010 and now it makes its Chicago debut at ATRU.Featuring inspired vocal performances from threefeatured soloists, including “Too Hot to Handel”tenor Rodrick Dixon and soprano Alfreda Burkeas well as Anthony Kearns of The Irish Tenors.Hallelujah Broadway includes uplifting songsEucharistic Congress. We will visit Galway, theCliffs of Moher, Knock Shrine, Kylemore Abbey,Kilkenny, Drogheda, Armagh, Belfast, Glendalough,Powerscourt, Clonmacnoise, etc.If you are interested in coming with us on thispilgrimage, please call me at 773-919-0103, orTWT at 847-432-2400 or St. Monica Parish at773-763-1661 for a brochure/itinerary. Copies ofthe itinerary are available for pick up at St. MonicaParish, 5136 N. Nottingham, Chicago 60656.Space is limited so please act soon and cometravel with us to Ireland in June of 2012. We wouldbe delighted to have you.2011 C.I.B. Golf OutingAre you ready to golf, with an hour openbar before t-off? On Saturday, Sept. 24th,the Chicago Irish Brotherhood will hold the2011 C.I.B. Golf Outing at Sugar Creek GolfCourse in Elmhurst. The outing will benefitTerry Egan who is battling Parkinson’s disease.Check-in with an open bar is at 1pm; theT-off for 9-holes is at 2pm with a food buffet,3-hours open bar, awards and fun after golf.The cost is $75 per person for golfers; $35for non-golfers.For more information please call 708-606-6700 or email cib_ceo@yahoo.com.from beloved musicals such as Godspell, Wicked,Rent, West Side Story, Sound of Music and LesMiserables among others.Tickets are available online at ticketmaster.com/auditorium, by calling 800-982-2787 or at theATRU Box Office (50 E. Congress Parkway).