The Triangular Catholics

The Triangular Catholics

Imagine living in a world where people look at you and judge you by the amount of sides you have. Your entire worth is based on weather you are a circle, square, triangle, and so on. Laws and the definition of conduct are determined by the resident within your society who has the most circles, the priest. The real world that we live in is mandated in such a way. We, as a society, have our own type of sides that determines the way society see's us. I some countries you are judged by religious qualities, in others the number of children one has may determine status. Here in the good old U.S.A. we look up to those who know the big shots, we approve those who go with the flow (those with the Tommy Jeans), and being a capitalistic society, those with the most dead presidents have the most sides. In countries other than ours some religions see other religions as having less sides. This even stretches into their societies and affects everything from their children to their economy. Some go as far as putting bombs on buses and shooting one another. In this reaction of Flatlands by Abbott, I will attempt to to apply the events that have unfolded throughout Ireland and how they coincide with Flatlands by Abbott.

Let's start with the aspect of education in Northern Ireland. If an inhabitant of Flatland is born to an isosceles triangle then that is that child's status, the same goes for the education of those in Northern Ireland. Controlled schools in Ireland are predominantly Protestant. When the school is opened members from the protestant church are approached to sit on the management committee (not the Catholic church); when there are vacancies for new students, a list is submitted to the Protestant churches to curtail the enrollment of Catholic students. The same goes for the faculty of the schools. The Protestants feel that Protestant children should be taught by Protestants.

On the other hand the Catholic (maintained schools) are attended mainly by Catholic students and staffed mainly by catholic teachers.

Voluntary schools are mainly long established grammar schools attended by Catholic and Protestant students. Because of geographical location these schools have a very low rate of enrollment.