This is your regular reminder that functioning human brains are capable of accommodating several ideas at the same time.
Yes, the referendums were rushed, unforgivably.
Yes, the wording was irredeemably fudged. Yes, many people with disabilities and many friends felt patronised and voiceless and flipped a middle finger at the effort. Yes, there was a crazy arrogance in how the whole affair was handled by politicians on all sides. Yes, the attorney general’s advice should have been published at the outset; there was something in it for every side to fear and cheer about.
In short the Government made a hames of it and no one disputes that. Two million of the 3.5 million electorate stayed away. Read that again: two million.
Nonetheless, we were left to ponder legendary voter-whisperers such as Willie O’Dea crawling out of the old wood pile on Sunday morning to say he’d been – yes! – a No No all along. Students of Trumpworld will recognise the technique: just say that’s what you did, keep saying it, brazen it out and people will “remember” your version of what you did.
But it’s how O’Dea explained it and the great whooping welcome for it from the No side that calls attention to a significant element of the campaign. His tweet invoked the whole deck: the “playing to the woke gallery” (whatever he thinks that means), “the out-of-touch Greens and NGOs” (rich coming from a serial minister of governments that led us into the economic crash), “abandon the Hate Speech Bill etc” (and do what instead?), “start listening to the people” (which he does, famously, which made him a Yes until he was a No – after the event).
The full deck may be distilled in the astonishing assortment of men suddenly turning purple at the very idea of the words “woman” or “mothers” being excised from the Constitution. Senator Rónán Mullen said it was the “single biggest thing” that came across from the people he met on Saturday. Conservative activist Laoise de Brún said it was very clear that what people care about is “mothering and motherhood”. Michael McDowell was pictured holding Mother’s Day balloons.
No wonder the far-right regard the vote as a big breakthrough. They’ve broken through. The same groups who are amplifying racism and division, inciting mobs on- and offline, are taking energy from this. That surely should give pause to any responsible politician
There are few more irritating phrases in the language than “As a mother, I...” issuing from any woman’s lips. As a mother I am acutely aware of the luck of timing that – unlike my mother’s generation and the women before her – I had a choice about becoming a mother. I chose to have children and was then lucky enough to have them.
In 2024 it’s hard to see why such a choice should elevate me over say, a woman with no partner or child by choice or unwanted fate, or a beloved single aunt, or sister. Is it because mothers (especially the married kind) are perpetually seen as sainted, overworked, weary poor creatures – and if so, why would that be? Might it be related to a dearth of emotional or practical support from the fathers of the children or that childcare routinely floats around the bottom of polls about people’s concerns?
So of course it would have been infinitely more practical – ie “of or concerned with the actual doing or use of something rather than with theory and ideas” – if the Men for Mothers brigade had stepped up and humbly pledged to fulfil their share of the cleaning and caring duties within the home. But that would have entailed an acceptance of the gender-neutral language in the proposed amendment which set their hair on fire.
For some at least, the vacuous “mother” argument offered a ratty camouflage for the war against transgenderism and gender identity, providing a mainstream(ish) umbrella to project pent-up hatred of the so-called “woke gallery”.
The far-right parties and “patriots” live-streaming from Dublin Castle on Saturday with their triumphant spiels, harassing TDs and holding massive banners saying “Woke is dead” and “There are only 2 genders male and female” (wrong), have obviously inspired some politicians to, eh, play to the gallery. Have a look at the Twitter response to Willie O’Dea for a sample of his latest fan base.
The charmers of Hermann Kelly’s Irish Freedom Party hailed the No vote as “just the beginning of a Nationalist comeback. It’s a clear statement that we’ve had enough of weirdo Transsexual indoctrination of our kids, mass immigration into our country and Uniparty instruction. We will not have mothers and sex-based rights removed from our Constitution...”
No wonder the far-right regard the vote as a big breakthrough. They’ve broken through. The same groups who are amplifying racism and division, inciting mobs on- and offline, are taking energy from this. That surely should give pause to any responsible politician.
Yes, the Government missed an open goal. But let those who shared common cause with those groups then failed to detach themselves visibly and volubly – or worse, copied their homework – also acknowledge their role in what lies ahead.