Why Would you say That??

People all around Ireland must surely be wondering the above when it comes to Catherine Noone today. Anyone with an ounce of human compassion, morality or even a bit of sense will be scratching their heads and wondering how someone could be so callous. Especially if that person was a running mate of the person they commented about in a general election before. At the same time, Fine Gael candidates, ministers and senators would be bewildered as to why the senator would say such sensitive and disrespectful things after such recent FG scandals like last year’s swing incident as well as Verona Murphy’s disparaging remarks regarding immigrants.

I am of course talking about Senator Noone’s comments about our Taoiseach, Leo Varadker. She labeled him, “Autistic”, and that he was on the spectrum. She doubled down on her statements saying she did not mean it literally but that it was used to indicate that he was a bit wooden. She even went as far as to liken the offensive slur to the N-word, a slur used to negatively describe and belittle people of colour, as something that could be taken out of context. It beggars belief that she even continued speaking after digging herself this hole.

Ms. Noone has apologized for her comments and has said she will be making no further comment. Health Minister Simon Harris has denounced the comments, as has his brother Adam Harris, founder of AsIAm, a charity dedicated to helping those with Autism and the people they rely on, in 2013. With the condition affecting one in every 100 people in Ireland, as of April 2018 and when a condition which affects so many people in such a small country, and one which is debilitating and strains the affected person’s life and their loved ones so drastically, why would Ms. Noone say such a thing?

It all boils down to the arrogance that these people possess. They genuinely believe that what they say and do will not bear any consequence in the future. Maria Bailey’s swing and insurance circus; Verona Murphy’s racism; and Catherine Noone’s recent comments. I really don’t want anyone to think that I am focusing on the despicable Fine Gael female candidates here. Eoghan Murphy is the most out of touch politician I have ever seen. He gave a recent interview to Joe.Ie with fantastic journalist Ellen Coyne where he talked about how difficult it was to get a house in Dublin. He was housing minister at the time.
Leo Varadkar recently opened up about his own triumphs and tribulations regarding the housing situation, letting us know how happy he was when he bought his first house at the age of 24. There are only two types of people who can buy a house at 24 in this day and age; the obscenely wealthy or someone who has discovered a time machine and has traveled back to the ’60s.
Shane Ross is another who shows how out of touch he is every chance he gets. After letting John Delaney run the most corrupt ship going since the Black Pearl into the ground, he posted a totally out of touch Christmas post in which he was ‘cooking’ the FAI’s goose. He paid little heed to the plights of the ordinary staff at the FAI who didn’t know whether they would have jobs come the New Year or not.

The bottom line is that the party who are supposed to have our vested interests at heart, who are supposed to be leading this country through a turbulent period, do not give much of a shit about us. Rents are rising, there are people literally dying in the street, crime is going up and public morale is going down. Get these people out of office so that the next time they make a public gaffe and apologize for it the next day we can laugh and rejoice that they aren’t the ruling party. Now, the laughter is that of a people repressed and growing used to it. Let’s make a change on February 8th.