Jeff Peel's Diary

The Robinson scandal – at its personal, sexual level – is an interesting study in the modus operandi of Christian fundamentalists.  Peter Robinson’s chest-beating soliloquy yesterday made clear he was a husband wronged by a wrong-doing wife. 

Fionola Meredith, writing in the Guardian today, neatly summarises the Pentecostal psyche when she suggests, “Many Ulster evangelicals have an ingrained mistrust of what they see as women’s vicious, conniving, sexual ways. In this view, evangelical women must still enact the story of poor, crazy Eve: weak, in need of male supervision and control, easy prey to temptation and deficient in moral capacity. So Iris seemingly fits in neatly there. Meanwhile, Peter Robinson stands free and clear as the wronged husband, grieved and dignified in his study, alongside a card from his children saying what a great dad he is.”

But there is a consensus emerging within the media that there is a bigger story here than Iris’ lust and physical temptation (although suggestions that Iris’ lover is a young chap is keeping the Twittering classes busy). 

The Times Online is now running the line that the “going public” was precipitated by BBC Spotlight’s Darragh McIntyre getting oh so close to the bone with questioning about financial matters.  The media has taken note – like the rest of us – that Peter made no attempt to clear his wife’s name of financial wrong-doing when given the chance, in front of the media, yesterday.  The BBC bulletins this morning were leading with the fact that many questions were left unresolved following yesterday’s media event. 

Many commentators are using the hubris word.  And there is a sense that the Robinsons, jet-setting around, interior designing, multi-jobbing and moralising had it coming to them.  It’s not just the Jesus stuff…it’s the lavish life-style, employing family members, living it up and generally forgetting their roots – at the tax-payer’s expense.  In short, the Robinsons, in the midst of their fun, have been making waves and enemies.  And, ironically, in the midst of all of this, an affair seems like a very handy smoke-screen.  In the scheme of things it isn’t that big a deal.  There are bigger, more fundamental, fish to fry. 

A suggestion was made on an RTE programme today that the Gay movement was so incensed about Iris’ comments about the vileness of homosexuality that a personality hit-man had been put on the case to take the lady down.  Spotlight has been doing its stuff.  The media has been drawing attention to their expenses (and bloggers have provided a few microscopes).  Then there are the suggestions that Peter was going to make the DUP more secular and more relevant for people turned off by sectarian politics.  However, if anything, he’s been scrambling to make the organisation even more Ulster-Talibanic in response to the TUV’s fundamentalism.

But perhaps I’m being naive but I sense that this is the beginning of the end of the old Northern Ireland.  We might well be on the verge of a great breakthrough.  At last people will be forced to see these people for what they are.  And it’s not just the Robinsons.  There is more to the Adams Brothers story to come out.

Northern Ireland is like anywhere else.  People who put themselves forward as being morally superior, grand-standing on their sacred alters, supported by their castes, are, often, just riding the pig’s back.  

Therefore it’s not just about hubris.  It’s about people being seen for what they are regardless of who they are or how pious they are. 

And God may be summoned to forgive them but he won’t be good for much else.