Garda Rape 'Jokes' and the Abuse of Power: An open Letter to Media and Dail Eireann

 A Chara,

I wrote about the pervasive abuse of power in November 2009, in a letter published in the Irish Times.

This is part of what I wrote:

“the problem is best described as the abuse of power, in all its forms, from the personal to the institutional, for control or profit. Resolving this will protect children, and much more, in the future. It is linked in essence to all struggles for liberty, and must be at the heart of and visibly resolved in any decent, healthy society that dares to call itself decent.”

That call remains as clear today as it was when it was published.

The recent reports of Gardai ‘joking’ about raping a protestor are yet another warning sign.

Time and time again, we are seeing people in positions of Power and Responsibility engage in behaviour that fundamentally undermines their right to that position of power, that denies the meaning of the word ‘responsible’, that breaks asunder the sacred trusts inherent in positions of responsibility, that indicates that the issues this ‘incident’ highlights are still largely unresolved, and furthermore, that places all of Irelands people at risk.

Ireland cannot call itself a decent Society, until the denial stops, until the work of honesty, integrity and of restorative justice is underway. This is a matter of duty of care.

This the people of Ireland must recognise, and if those in positions of power and responsibility will not act, then the people have to. Or we too lose all credibility amongst the children of Ireland.

Yours sincerely

Corneilius Crowley

etc etc..

Do what you love, it's Your Gift to Universe


Bookmark and Share

No comments: