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Well the Irish are not constantly complaining about this and that done to their ancestors 3 or 4 or more generations removed and we see the bros. on the tv news committing most of crime and still wanting more freebies without contributing jack so there it is. Then of course is reinterpreting the past to make themselves feel good. Black Athena you there? King Tut-Bro you there? etc.etc. Maybe them long dead Confederates were right all along. Devil's Children and all that stuff.
Actually the Irish are constantly whining about what was done to their ancestors.
They can say that the Irish were worse off than blacks but we know that is a lie.
The Irish did not have to worry about being lynched.
The Irish were NOT slaves.
The Irish could not be raped at any time.
The Irish did not have to march in the 60's,and have another amendment so they could vote.
Basically this.
But I will say I enjoy St. Patrick's Day and I do admire Irish culture and literature especially. I actually think the treatment of the Irish in Ireland was VERY similar to the treatment of blacks here in America where they were slaves and raped at any time and killed frequently, which is the primary reason so many Irish came to America - they were heavily discriminated against.
But here in America, they can just be white, not Irish castoffs in the UK. So they can enjoy the privilege of being white in America and people can just have fun on St. Paddy 's Day due to that and not complain about it being Irish. Including black people I might add.
And FWIW, black people usually do have very large celebrations for Dr. King's birthday. And I remember hearing a comedian once say, they should have made June black history month. Then we could have had parades and barbecues all summer lol. FWIW, that would be fun.
Luckily where I live they do a lot to celebrate black history month. Even though mostly black people celebrate it, some whites come out to the events as well.
FWIW, I don't think they are "whining" but they do speak of the oppression and discrimination they faced in both countries.
I don't think anyone that speaks on their people's history is "whining".
Are Jews "whining" when they talk about the Holocaust? No, it should be something never forgotten and that is how many Jews treat the subject, and rightfully so.
Why should it be any different for blacks and slavery, Irish and their oppression/colonization or anyone else?
Some people in this country just don't like to be reminded of negative aspects of American history, but will have no problem speaking on other nations.
I don't think anyone that speaks on their people's history is "whining".
Are Jews "whining" when they talk about the Holocaust? No, it should be something never forgotten and that is how many Jews treat the subject, and rightfully so.
Why should it be any different for blacks and slavery, Irish and their oppression/colonization or anyone else?
Some people in this country just don't like to be reminded of negative aspects of American history, but will have no problem speaking on other nations.
It is an interesting dichotomy.
People that have no issue with reinforcing the philosophy of "never forget" with regards to the Holocaust also have no qualms about telling Blacks that they need to move on.
The reactions from mainstream whites regarding any attempts by Blacks or American Indians to recapture some semblance of their own histories and autonomy are too often typified by ridicule, anger, dismissal and worse (think Selma and Wounded Knee).
I've little doubt that deep at the base of these reactions is the belief that a) they had it coming, b) why don't/didn't they understand that we know/knew what's best for them, and c) they aren't really people anyway so whatever.
To the OP's point, the fact remains that while St. Patrick's Day and Columbus Day are the best-known examples, there are hundreds of these sorts of celebrations all around the country - Sweden is celebrated in Minnesota, Germany in Fredericksburg, TX and so on.
Sadly, Blacks don't have the opportunity for similar celebrations because we don't know where we came from other than from "Africa."
I honestly do believe that someone without this heritage can never understand what it means to have no "homeland," no traditions, no oral history passed down from one generation to the next.
While I think that some little attempt at empathy would be nice, I do understand that it is likely very hard to conceptualize and internalize something that is so foreign from one's own experience.
Suffice it to say that I think a good analogy would be people that decide to search for their birth parents after adoption because they have a desperate need to know where they come from.
A few other random thoughts:
St. Patrick was not Irish by birth. He was kidnapped by slavers and taken to Ireland as a teenager to tend sheep.
Location: NYC based - Used to Live in Philly - Transplant from Miami
2,307 posts, read 2,766,054 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by texan2yankee
Everyone wants to be a little bit Irish on St. Patrick's Day.
no you get it wrong.
it should be "Everybody is Irish on St. Patrick's Day" ;D
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