Dear Editor:
I am a naturalized US citizen who emigrated to the US in 1981 from Northern Ireland. Recently my 18 year old US citizen son was arrested for his antiwar activity during a peaceful rally in Pittsburgh. From my perspective, it was interesting to see the local police acting like the old B-Specials/Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) in Northern Ireland during the civil rights demonstrations in the 1960s-1970s. I wonder how many of the local police with an Irish background had contributed to the Irish Republican Army (IRA)/Sinn Fein (SF) coffers to fight the activities of the B-Specials/RUC in Northern Ireland? Isn't it interesting that civil rights activities abroad that are interrupted by the civil authorities are perceived as police state tactics while similar actions by the civilian police force in the US are seen as punishments against anti-American sentiments? Given present circumstances, I am thinking of returning to the normalcy of Northern Ireland where such police activities have been basically eradicated.
Patrick J. Corr
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