I was 18 in 1987 and lived in Central England, not NI so my perspective was not what it is now.
It's not hard to be sympathetic to the Irish Catholic cause. The were being genocided, both murderously and through migration of English hardcore protestants to Northern Ireland and making them the police. Then these guys also became the UVF and UFF etc.
But exploding bombs on the public is not a great way to garner popular support either.
And then there's the psyops - false flag bombing ops by the British etc.
And the only info stream was British TV, newspapers and magazines - all partisan.
So basically "wow, that's crazy, those people are mental"
It depends where you are. I lived in Scotland in the 90s and met many UVF supporters - which was kind of suprising until I learned more about the situation. Imagine being born into the second or third generation of an underground terror war with people 5 miles down the road.
And then add in the gangsterism - drug dealing and robbery all run by the various factions.
Even in Scotland you could get attacked for wearing the wrong football shirt - Glasgow Celtic vs Glasgow Rangers.
You may have seen the "no singing" signs which were on Scottish trains posted here without context (I can't find a picture now).
but here's something from 1998
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1309260.stm
As with many a question, most people know fuck all about fuck all and those who do and are not involved can only come back with "it's complicated"
It's not hard to be sympathetic to the Irish Catholic cause. The were being genocided, both murderously and through migration of English hardcore protestants to Northern Ireland and making them the police. Then these guys also became the UVF and UFF etc.
But exploding bombs on the public is not a great way to garner popular support either.
And then there's the psyops - false flag bombing ops by the British etc.
And the only info stream was British TV, newspapers and magazines - all partisan.
So basically "wow, that's crazy, those people are mental"
It still seems surreal that England had to deal with an insurgency so close to home, and so recently too.
How would you say the UVF and the others are viewed today in England? Brutal as it all was, they did advance the English cause.
Thanks for the response.
And then add in the gangsterism - drug dealing and robbery all run by the various factions.
Even in Scotland you could get attacked for wearing the wrong football shirt - Glasgow Celtic vs Glasgow Rangers.
You may have seen the "no singing" signs which were on Scottish trains posted here without context (I can't find a picture now).
but here's something from 1998
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1309260.stm
As with many a question, most people know fuck all about fuck all and those who do and are not involved can only come back with "it's complicated"