Nobody is crying "stop".

Soon after the Christmas I met a friend in two minds as to which pub he would go to for his first pint in a long time.He was doing the Dunderry version of the twelve pubs of Christmas,which as I understand it means hitting twelve pubs on the one evening.This is a relatively new invention hereabouts.Unfortunately it didn't exist in my heyday.But hey,you can't have everything.
As there are but two pubs in Dunderry ,no public transport and no footpaths for walking home after a few pints,anyone having a few must keep some of the meagre few bob they might have to get a taxi home,we have but a mini version here .Two is better than  none I suppose.
He made a point with which  I can readily empathise.He stated that he was at so many funerals over the Christmas that he had only time for a cup of tay,a sandwich and a smoke for over a week .His stomach was crying out for a decent dinner and he was taking a rest as he was suffering from funeral fatigue.
I was a bit the same myself ,but had the benefit of the dinners.
And more funerals followed.It struck me that in that two  week period three people known to me or whose people I knew had died by their own hand.They were all men and spanned all ages.Young and old.They joined the six men I am aware of that died similarly around here these last few years.
While nobody knows for definitive why a person resorts to this desperate measure I would be fairly sure that the organs of the State or the banks have a major input into these tragic deaths.
I have read somewhere that there are over three hundred organisations of various hues dealing with the fall out from suicide in the country.
There is no doubt in my mind that as the economy has nosedived so has the rate of suicide risen.And there is also no doubt in my mind that many many people have lost hope completely in their futures in this country.
Those who can get out are getting out and I have not heard of even one suicide by the recent emigrants.Which tells its own story.They are so glad to be away from the morass of misery here that they can't believe their luck.
The Spanish government have banned all repossessions and evictions from the family home for over two years because two people committed suicide because of eviction.Here the Government grants the banks who fucked this country a right of veto over the humility of bankruptcy ,the Central Bank, which did nothing to avert the bankrupcy of the country ,demands the destruction of those who invested in property to let and a coterie of mostly female journalists screech approvingly on the sidelines.
And rural Ireland continues to be screwed and depopulated.Small business continues to be overburdened with bureaucratic and impossible regulation,the powers of State quangos and agencies increase by the new time and "our"banks are tighter than a duck's arrse with "our money".
All State and Financial institutions are in competition to name ,shame ,humiliate ,threaten ,deprive of credit,bring to Court,refer to debt collectors,send to the grippers and otherwise persecute those who fall on hard times.And if one of the persecuted takes his life,they just shrug their shoulders and move on to the next victim.
In this they take their lead from the Government who are little more than political capos for a revived Germany who rule Europe with a fist Hitler could never achieve.I mean what could be more Hitlerean than demanding treatment fees from half dead cancer sufferers for the treatment they must have to stay alive.
After Christmas I saw the future.Both pubs had shut one evening as a mark of respect to a deceased.The Church was closed because of vandalism.(No surprise because of long  standing oral attack  by atheist Government spokesmen and their buddies in the electronic and printed  media) and nobody had a penny to go to the local shop ,which was the only business open in the village.It was freezing cold and a bitter wind swept through the village.
All we were short of was the tumbleweeds .
And believe me these clowns who steer our destiny will make it worse.