Somehow, we have forgotten he was a human being. The murder of Brian Stewart
has been reported from a purely political and security angle.
Are we on the brink of another loyalist feud? When will the LVF strike back? Who could be the next target? How long will it last? These are all
perfectly valid questions.
There's nothing wrong with responsibly considering how the situation could
unfold. Except we must remember it's more than just a "situation".
A 34-year-old man has lost his life. He was somebody's son. Stewart worked
as a driver for a plumbing company in east Belfast. We know that because he
was shot dead outside the premises.
He died in his car. One of his black shoes lay beside the vehicle - a
silent, accusatory reminder that the living, breathing man previously
attached to it was no more.
I don't know if he was somebody's brother or husband because, at the time of
writing (24 hours after his murder), such facts still remained elusive.
Maybe he had children, maybe he didn't. Police, press, and politicians -
no-one seemed to know. Would his killers have to film their deed and put it
on the internet to arouse our interest?
The lack of personal details about Stewart has effectively made him into a
non-person. It's as though he was just a pawn on the paramilitary board to
be wiped out. The audience's attention is directly solely at the next move
in the game.
In recent times we've forgotten the names of the dead very quickly. But in
this case it seems the victim's name didn't even registered with us in the
first place.
"Brian Stewart?" asked a friend to whom I mentioned the name hours after the
killing. "Who's he?" Maybe it's thought that because Stewart had
paramilitary connections, his death doesn't really count as murder.
Such people are only the 'sweepings' of society. Let them kill each other.
If loyalists or republicans choose to engage in some internal
'house-keeping', so be it.
But that's hardly in keeping with the spirit of the peace process. It sits
uneasily with the image of a society in which all human life is valued
equally.
On the nationalist side, the disappearance of Gareth O'Connor, and his
family's ongoing torment, shouldn't be disregarded simply because he
belonged to a republican organisation or, according to some, was an
informer.
Normally, you'd need a barring order to keep PUP representatives off our
television screens. After the Stewart murder, they were nowhere to be seen.
At least, we were spared a stream of lies.
Sinn Féin politicians, in similar situations, are masters of looking
straight into the camera and stating, 'It's nothing to do with us'. Another
loyalist paramilitary feud will be a source of amusement in working-class
nationalist districts.
That might seem harsh but it's reality. It was exactly the same for
loyalists during the INLA feuds. They rejoiced when chief-of-staff Gino
Gallagher was shot dead by former comrades in 1996.
The INLA hasn't had any internal battles since but loyalist paramilitaries
seem to be going at each other hammer-and-tongs almost every year. They
really need to wise up.
The last UDA feud saw a variety of funerals. Those of the foot-soldiers
were low-key. Those of the upper echelons were imposing events with lorry
loads of wreaths and rows of men in black.
Ultimately, it was all so pointless. There might have been a change of
personnel at the top in some quarters but the drug-dealing, corruption, and
racketeering still goes on. Life remains cheap and now we don't even listen
to the names.
