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> I've yet to see any evidence that this happens in the USofA . If you get the chance you should try going to a St. Patrick's Day parade in any major city some

> I've yet to see any evidence that this happens in the USofA . If you get the chance you should try going to a St. Patrick's Day parade in any major city sometime. You'll see it everywhere. > I've only been exposed to decades of US reporting on gross caricatures of imagined "Irishness", grossly offensive attempts at mock Irish accents, and little actual knowledge of Irish history, the Gaeilge language, literature, etc. gross caricatures of imagined "Irishness" and grossly offensive attempts at mock Irish accents are a big part of how America celebrates Ireland for sure! Many Americans couldn't even point out Ireland on an unlabeled map, they aren't going to learn Irish Gaelic anytime soon, but that doesn't stop them from doing their best with what they have. We don't get a lot of exposure to Irish culture normally, but photos of the parades held in Ireland don't look much different from the parades in NY or Chicago (although I do note fewer flags and more leprechauns). America isn't much better with most other cultures assuming they get any attention at all. I'm sure folks could choose to get offended at our clumsy attempts at celebrating Chinese New Year, the Day of the Dead, or Oktoberfest too, but I really like that we try to incorporate holidays from around the world and give other cultures at least some consideration. I think it's great to see Ireland getting some love at least once a year in the states and while you won't see it being widely reported in the press, I wouldn't be surprised if the annual reminder that Ireland exists doesn't inspire some to take a deeper look at Ireland's people and culture once they've sobered up.

defrost 4y ago
Just to be clear I've seen a few big city USofA St Pat's Day parades (maybe 4 or 5) and it's those that I wouldn't frame as "nice" in the eyes of actual Irish citizens who (in my experience) tend to be polite about them to Americans but hard eye roll about the whole deal elsewhere. We've got several neighbours about who were born, educated, and worked in either the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland before coming out here to Australia (a number former security | police as we (W.Australia) offered assisted passage to migrate for work) and for them it's an odd thing seeing others several generations removed celebrating an imagined Brigadoon (albeit Irish rather than Scottish). Still, as you note, photos of crowds here look much like photos of crowds there so it's hard to see any issue .. still I imagine that celebrating Ireland in Ireland by Irish people must differ in some manner from not that.
- NoZebra120vClip 4y ago
  Hallowe'en is, of course, a very sacred night to Christians, and it also marks the most important turning point in the last 500 years: Martin Luther's protest against Rome. So naturally there is a concerted effort to twist it into a display of demonic influence and immorality. Americans are mostly ignorant of Pope Night, but some have heard of Guy Fawkes. Pope Night was Guy Fawkes Night imported to early America. Anti-Catholics would raise funds, take to the streets, and wreak havoc against anything in their way. George Washington himself finally abolished Pope Night, because he noticed that it annoyed the Canadians quite a bit, and Canada was a valuable ally (not to mention American Catholics as well) so he told all the Brit-Protties to knock it the hell off. So Guy Fawkes stayed in the UK and continues to burn every year, on schedule.
NoZebra120vClip 4y ago
I mean, if White families celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. by stocking up on fried chicken and watermelon, tossed a burning cross on the front lawn, and cranked up Eminem, that would be about the equivalent of some St. "Patty" celebrations I've seen. Anti-Catholicism is frequently referred to as "The Last Acceptable Prejudice", but there are plenty of acceptable prejudices for the politically correct, and a nation full of poor, oppressed white Catholics with funny accents is ripe for the picking. Mexicans get it too, on Cinco de Mayo. Perhaps there is more sensitivity because they're side-by-side with us.
- autoexec 4y ago
  > I mean, if White families celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. by stocking up on fried chicken and watermelon, tossed a burning cross on the front lawn, and cranked up Eminem, that would be about the equivalent of some St. "Patty" celebrations I've seen. It'd be more like white families celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. by reciting the "I have a dream" speech and marching because that's all they know and associate him with, while others object that he's become an offensive caricature because actually he had a complex life and was more than just a civil rights leader and people celebrating ignore that he had many speeches and also spoke out a lot about class issues, not just race issues. There are plenty of offensive stereotypes about Irish people, but we don't bring them out for the holiday. They're largely forgotten in the US.

defrost 4y ago

Just to be clear I've seen a few big city USofA St Pat's Day parades (maybe 4 or 5) and it's those that I wouldn't frame as "nice" in the eyes of actual Irish citizens who (in my experience) tend to be polite about them to Americans but hard eye roll about the whole deal elsewhere. We've got several neighbours about who were born, educated, and worked in either the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland before coming out here to Australia (a number former security | police as we (W.Australia) offered assisted passage to migrate for work) and for them it's an odd thing seeing others several generations removed celebrating an imagined Brigadoon (albeit Irish rather than Scottish). Still, as you note, photos of crowds here look much like photos of crowds there so it's hard to see any issue .. still I imagine that celebrating Ireland in Ireland by Irish people must differ in some manner from not that.

NoZebra120vClip 4y ago
Hallowe'en is, of course, a very sacred night to Christians, and it also marks the most important turning point in the last 500 years: Martin Luther's protest against Rome. So naturally there is a concerted effort to twist it into a display of demonic influence and immorality. Americans are mostly ignorant of Pope Night, but some have heard of Guy Fawkes. Pope Night was Guy Fawkes Night imported to early America. Anti-Catholics would raise funds, take to the streets, and wreak havoc against anything in their way. George Washington himself finally abolished Pope Night, because he noticed that it annoyed the Canadians quite a bit, and Canada was a valuable ally (not to mention American Catholics as well) so he told all the Brit-Protties to knock it the hell off. So Guy Fawkes stayed in the UK and continues to burn every year, on schedule.

NoZebra120vClip 4y ago

I mean, if White families celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. by stocking up on fried chicken and watermelon, tossed a burning cross on the front lawn, and cranked up Eminem, that would be about the equivalent of some St. "Patty" celebrations I've seen. Anti-Catholicism is frequently referred to as "The Last Acceptable Prejudice", but there are plenty of acceptable prejudices for the politically correct, and a nation full of poor, oppressed white Catholics with funny accents is ripe for the picking. Mexicans get it too, on Cinco de Mayo. Perhaps there is more sensitivity because they're side-by-side with us.

autoexec 4y ago
> I mean, if White families celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. by stocking up on fried chicken and watermelon, tossed a burning cross on the front lawn, and cranked up Eminem, that would be about the equivalent of some St. "Patty" celebrations I've seen. It'd be more like white families celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. by reciting the "I have a dream" speech and marching because that's all they know and associate him with, while others object that he's become an offensive caricature because actually he had a complex life and was more than just a civil rights leader and people celebrating ignore that he had many speeches and also spoke out a lot about class issues, not just race issues. There are plenty of offensive stereotypes about Irish people, but we don't bring them out for the holiday. They're largely forgotten in the US.