Goodboyism can be interpreted as Pathological Altruism ,where the natives are willing to suffer their own demise to advance a virtue signalling impression to receive a 'pat on the head'.
It is an addictive and suicidal mental disease, leading to social chaos and destruction.
Ireland appears to be particularly affected, as we have seen with the Covid Hoax, the Russophobic affair and the Palestinian genocide case .
The causes are a population that is parochial in its outlook, innocent ,naive ,trusting of authority, and easily manipulated and exploited by a cynical ,vicious controlled Media, without the availability of alternative opposing views.
I think there's a bit of circular reasoning or begging the question in your grounding goodboyism in our being "small and marginal over here and we have to look after each other"
We're only small and marginal if we begin by seeing ourselves as part of a bigger whole. Answerable to them and judged on their terms.
On the other hand we're a 100% majority of the people who make up the Irish.
Although the term goodboyism is something that I haven’t heard much of before, the snivelling, loathsome obsequious of Irish politicians towards their perceived betters has been remarked upon for generations. Here I’ve often heard the terms, “gold star”, “teachers pet”, “top of the class” used frequently to compare Irish politicians and their schoolboy attitude towards the EU.
So I’m not sure if it’s just the neologism you’re claiming credit for or the idea.
Interesting article but - reading it from the point of view as an Englishman - I felt it emphasised one aspect of Ireland's sense of 'self' - inadequacy and marginality - without mentioning another....Irishness is, arguably, the Western world's stongest and best-loved national brand, especially in the Anglosphere. Englishness on the other hand is aguably the weakest and most reviled. Something I attempted to give expression to in this piece:
"England and the English: how best to characterise them? Well: theirs is a land of poets and dreamers; a land of fiercely independent gritty people who know how to take their drink and dance a jig. And you just can’t help but love to hear them sing. Then there’s the food of course – the marvellous food. And so sexy; with that famous dress sense, such gorgeous specimens of masculinity and femininity the English are overall. If all - or any - of the above was passed through some AI software it would grunt out “Does not compute, does not compute!” Why is this so? If the English are pricked, do they not bleed?...." https://grahamcunningham.substack.com/p/englishness-as-a-brand
(I trust you will easily recognise my reference to the Irish brand buried in the text.)
Goodboyism can be interpreted as Pathological Altruism ,where the natives are willing to suffer their own demise to advance a virtue signalling impression to receive a 'pat on the head'.
It is an addictive and suicidal mental disease, leading to social chaos and destruction.
Ireland appears to be particularly affected, as we have seen with the Covid Hoax, the Russophobic affair and the Palestinian genocide case .
The causes are a population that is parochial in its outlook, innocent ,naive ,trusting of authority, and easily manipulated and exploited by a cynical ,vicious controlled Media, without the availability of alternative opposing views.
That picture is effin' priceless.
Nice piece. It is a little bit of immortality.
I think there's a bit of circular reasoning or begging the question in your grounding goodboyism in our being "small and marginal over here and we have to look after each other"
We're only small and marginal if we begin by seeing ourselves as part of a bigger whole. Answerable to them and judged on their terms.
On the other hand we're a 100% majority of the people who make up the Irish.
Although the term goodboyism is something that I haven’t heard much of before, the snivelling, loathsome obsequious of Irish politicians towards their perceived betters has been remarked upon for generations. Here I’ve often heard the terms, “gold star”, “teachers pet”, “top of the class” used frequently to compare Irish politicians and their schoolboy attitude towards the EU.
So I’m not sure if it’s just the neologism you’re claiming credit for or the idea.
Interesting article but - reading it from the point of view as an Englishman - I felt it emphasised one aspect of Ireland's sense of 'self' - inadequacy and marginality - without mentioning another....Irishness is, arguably, the Western world's stongest and best-loved national brand, especially in the Anglosphere. Englishness on the other hand is aguably the weakest and most reviled. Something I attempted to give expression to in this piece:
"England and the English: how best to characterise them? Well: theirs is a land of poets and dreamers; a land of fiercely independent gritty people who know how to take their drink and dance a jig. And you just can’t help but love to hear them sing. Then there’s the food of course – the marvellous food. And so sexy; with that famous dress sense, such gorgeous specimens of masculinity and femininity the English are overall. If all - or any - of the above was passed through some AI software it would grunt out “Does not compute, does not compute!” Why is this so? If the English are pricked, do they not bleed?...." https://grahamcunningham.substack.com/p/englishness-as-a-brand
(I trust you will easily recognise my reference to the Irish brand buried in the text.)
Thank you Connor. You are a sparkle