Air show funding raises ideological questions

galway | anti-war / imperialism | opinion/analysis

Friday July 02, 2004 16:32

by Douglas McDonnell

Sitting here in Galway today reading the newswire, i can hear military jets (presumably US) flying overhead in preparation for the Salthill Airshow. For some people in certain parts of our world that sound means imminent and indiscriminate injury or death. For us its just a fun day out down in Salthill, naked militarism? no its just Entertainment!.
Once more we are faced with the stark contrast between Reality and the life that we actually lead here ...in cloud cuckoo land.

Use the airshow to
imagine the terror

what follows is an article bty declan Varley of the galway advertiser:
and a related piece concerning Galway city councils continued funding of that event to the tune of €15,000 this year.

Not many of us have ever been in a war zone.Few of us have ever been chased down and hounded by a tank or a plane. Have never had to buy vegetables at the market with the fear we would be cut down by a sniper's bullet or have gone to bed worrying about the menacing rumble of military hardware. However as our city and country becomes a home for many cultures and races, the percentage of people who have experienced such conditions increases.
In Galway at the moment are people who have fled horrendous conditions and who have opted for a probable life of ill-treatment and racism in our country
instead of staying at home for certain death and terror. There are people for whom the vroom of a low flying plane has a different meaning and it is their feelings
that must be considered when we hear of protests against the Salthill air show. Next Sunday the show takes place again, providing a marvellous spectacle for the tens of thousands who view it from some angle or other on both sides of Galway Bay.

Much of the opposition towards it is pushed aside as the mindless rambling of the accented opposition. The so called Alliance against Everything. But this would be to simplify the matter. The concerns expressed by these people and by many others are indeed very valid, and are certain to be dealt with next year when the Galway City Council is to review its funding for the project. Indeed, the feeling from last week’s meeting of the council was that were it not for the relative newness of the council, the decision to fund the show to the tune of €15,000 might well have been reversed. The withdrawal of this funding would probably result in the cancellation of the event and result in aloss of revenue for the city at the height of the tourist season.
However would that be punishing the aviation fan of whom there are thousands in the region? Nobody who goes along to watch these shows does so with any sense of menace in his/her heart. There is none of the coarseness of coursing or cockfighting.

This is merely a spectacle in a country where showpiece aviation is not as frequent as in others. For many of us the sight of planes is a joy. We will sit and watch in awe next Sunday at the airstreams of these jets as they make pretty patterns above our city. To see them performing in this manner is a rare thrill indeed, even if they are the preserve of the air forces of the great warring nations of the earth.

However next Sunday when you are enjoying the show and wondering at the great noise being generated by these flying machines, spare a thought and imagine what it would feel like if these planes were hunting you down. Imagine if we lived in a city that was under attack from these weapons of war.
As we wonder at the spectacle of these highpowered instruments of engineering, imagine what it is like for the people for whom this noise represents nothing but terror. As a country we have not been terrified for almost a century, so we do not fully grasp the concept. We do not know what it is like to hear these planes in an aggressive mood. But on Sunday their performance is a sort of mechanical art. It is not the planes that are the problem, but the people and armies who control them.

We can learn from these shows. And by learning we can try to change hearts and minds. Banning planes and preventing air forces from participating will do nothing but push the problem under the mat. We should use the experience to imagine the terror, and for a short while, let us empathise with the nations in which the same noise represents a world far from the entertainment we will have on Sunday.

Use the airshow to imagine the terror

Air show funding raises ideological objections from councillors:

http://www.galwayadvertiser.ie/dws/story.tpl?inc=2004/07/01/news/48076.html

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Comments (9 of 9)

zooooooooom

by pc

Fri Jul 02, 2004 18:45

www.salthillairshow.com

for line up

US?

by Jane uhine

Sat Jul 03, 2004 02:15

Lots of americans on that schedule for sure!

Get militarism out of aviation

by C170

Sat Jul 03, 2004 15:58

The article does make some very good points, and of course the journalist has a point when they say that the people who go to these things do not have "menace in their heart", but it is precisely that kind of public disregard (of the end results of the use of these weapons) that allows the militarists off the hook. So it is appropriate for what the journalist calls "the Alliance against Everything" to seek to remind people about those results, and about the costs, both fiscal and human that results from even the existence, let alone use of the military hardware.

The journalist also indulges in a little forgetfulness when they say:
"As a country we have not been terrified for almost a century"

Not even on the 17th May 1974?
Or not even Bloody Sunday?
The scale of those particular events may be small compared to the prolonged and largely un-noticed onslaught on indigenous people worldwide, but the fact that some of our journalists can forget or disregard these little 'details of history' shows how easy it is for the militarists to escape being accountable for their actions.

It is unfortunate too that the presence of what are referred to as 'Warbirds' takes away from the appreciation of sport flying or 'General Aviation' and the developments taking place there. So how about a 'civilian aircraft only' airshow? - A kind of 'Fun Without The Blood'.

Planes are boring.

by little boy. - summer high jinks

Sun Jul 04, 2004 15:01

I'm into boats. I and my pals are going to make boats from recycled material and sail them across 800 meters of fine mediterranean sea and into the port entrance of the UNICEF forum of cultures.
Boats are wonderful. Galway people should do the same. Forget about the militarists trying to give you little boy thrills [& little girl thrills as well] with their war machines, go see videos like "master and Commander" (very little boy) or "pirates of the Carribean".
Then watch anything with planes in. "Topgun" Don't you understand?
Planes are gay.

Air show sucess

by Pat

Sun Jul 04, 2004 19:25

over 100,000 people disagreed with you and they turned out for the "militeristic" air show today which was a great sucess, but less that 1,000 turned up at shannon in what was a pathetic show of support for demonstrations for the arrival of Bush, Brendan O Conner in the Sun indo today hit the nail on the head, Anti this and that protestors are getting far to much air time, the public are not responding to you, why did so many protest in dublin over ayear ago and where have they gone since, they might be sick of the war in iraq and bush like all of us but they are equally sick of the self importance and violence of the Anti war protestors who showed their real side during the mayday 2004 march. The shows over in Salthill but also for the Anti this and thats and it your own fault

watch out!

by John

Mon Jul 05, 2004 00:59

Careful now. Dont want to disagree with the IAWM. You're not intelligent enough to understand. I wonder how long before your comments of dissent are removed?

yea john

by anne bonny

Wed Jul 07, 2004 00:27

we're all REAL big fans of IAWM here. Idiot. At least try and make your trolling relevant

and by the way Pat

Wed Jul 07, 2004 00:30

the Galway ADVERTISER is hardly a radical zine. It's not published by the antiwar movement, so why the fuck are you directing your criticism of their journo at us?

Sitting here in Galway today reading the newswire, i can hear military jets (presumably US)

by cath

Mon Sep 13, 2004 01:02

How do you know they are military jets?

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Air show funding raises ideological questions

Comments (9 of 9)