Liberty carries a custard pie
9 May 2002
During the 2002 General Election campaign in Ireland, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Opposition leader John Bruton were 'pied', when protestors threw custard pies in their faces during 'walkabouts'. This article was written as a response to critics of 'pieing'.
In a democracy, the first fundamental is the right to free speech. This is all the more important when he only thing left to say is an inarticulate cry of rage or disgust.
This is why I think pie-throwing is the most democratic thing you can do in the next week. It is a non-violent act of civil disoberience, a chance, just for a moment, to wrest control of the campaign away from media handlers and spin doctors and ack where it belngs, in the hands of the people.
Be honest. Who was able to follow the accusations and counter-accusations in the overlong "debate" over whose manifesto figures were most trustworthy? Did you even bother trying to follow the argument? Did you really need a committee of indepedent economists to tell you that all the parties were making calculatons based on "fuzzy maths"?
When politics is reduced to such irrelevancies for the benefit of a few economics correspondents, is it any wonder the electorate responds with somehing as simple as a custard pie?
The howls of laughter in every pub and living room in the country are proof that the pie throwers got it right.
On top of that, the series of suspiciously identical columns spun into several newspapers worrying about the next pie thrower putting acid in the pie speaks volumes about the self-importance of our leaders. When no danger exists, create a "what-if" to give a sense of danger. Spin at its finest and most pompous.
In Ireland, the country is often personified as the Seá Bhean Bhocht. The Seá Bhean Bhocht is seen as a won old woman, struggling ondespite setbacks. In France, the country is personified as Liberty. Marianne, the woman behind the statue of Liberty, famously grabbed a torch and charged against armed soldiers to inspire her comrades during the French Revolution.
Her statue was a gift to the American people to mark the centerary of their own revolution.
There's no revolution on the streets of Ballinasloe, and the Donegal Diamond isn't a focus of fervent radialism, but people are fed up being worn down. A pie in the face is a welcome slap of reality.
The people on the streets and doorsteps aren't just background colour for today's photo opportunity, they're thinking voters. Fair play to them for taking whatever steps necessary to get the politicians to listen.