raining on the parade is a St. Patrick’s Day tradition, too.

Topic: raining on the parade is a St. Patrick’s Day tradition, too. (Read 1766 times) previous topic - next topic

raining on the parade is a St. Patrick’s Day tradition, too.

March 16, 2006, 12:22:32 PM

New York Times

Sorry, I must rain on your St. Patrick's Day parade
by Dominic Gates

Today on St. Patrick’s Day, I’ll avoid conversation with strangers. I’ll try hard to keep my Irish eyes smiling by gritting my teeth and nodding at comments on my “lovely” accent.

I’ll give my usual brusque affirmation in reply to the daily telephone question, “Are you from Ireland?”

Yes, I am from Ireland, but I’ll have to bite my tongue to stop myself from berating some naïve American with how I hate your ed ignorant, fake and racist St. Patrick’s Day.

A secretary once asked me, “Could you hang around the office all day and just talk?”

Usually I’m content with this easy power to please. It is always women who comment on the accent, so it’s a light-hearted boost to my male ego.

But I’ll not be playing the game on St. Patrick’s Day, darlin’. I refuse to be boyish, roguish and charmin’. Ah shure, you know where you can stuff your paddy whackery.

Does that seem a little over the top? Let me calm down, and try to explain why your lovable holiday is so appalling.

First realized that your charming images of Ireland, replete with Aran sweaters and tweeds, are 50 or 60 years out of date, based on Hollywood romanticizations like John Ford’s “The Quiet Man”.

That’s the 1952 movie where Irish American John Wayne returns to live in his ancestral village, woos the fiery redhead Maureen O’Hara, wins her over and proves his mettle to the menfolk by beating her stingy brother, McLaglen, in a brawl that is such fun every man in the village joins in. Both the argumentative courtship and the brawl are good naturedly comic, of course, just like the Irish.

O’Hara falls in love with Wayne, and McLaglen buys him a drink after their day-long fight. Shure, and how could you not love the passion of the Irish?

Let’s stay with images a while. Part of the pervasive iconography of American St. Patrick’s Day is a variation on the University of Notre Dame’s mascot – the “Fightin’ Irish” figure.

You’ll see it everywhere on the 17th of March, from Hallmark stores to T-shirts to street banners: a diminutive man with buckles on his shiny shoes and another on his billypen 15 hat, his snub nose, heavy brow, and mustacheless beard accentuating a simian quality to his features: he has a pugnacious scowl on his face, his fists are clenched.

That image goes further back than Hollywood; its source is English anti-Irish bigotry from the 19th century.

The English Victorian satirical magazine “Punch” specialized in savage “humorous” cartoons that created an infamous Irish stereotype, on dospoogeented in the 1870s by Perry Curtis in “Apes & Angels: The Irishman in Victorian Caricature”, and more recently by the eminent Irish historian Roy Foster in “Paddy and Mr. Punch”.

Punch derided the Irish as stupid, fornicateless, drunken and lazy; the apelike cartoon image portrayed the Irishman as subhuman.

It is almost incredible that this racist image could survive, but one only has to look at a few of those Victorian cartoons to recognize that the “Fightin’ Irish” figure is nothing but a shallow Disneyland version of Punch’s subhuman.

You’ll have to excuse my killjoy failure to be charmed by the caricature. It may have lost its meaning to you, but I know where it came from.

Try promoting African Americans as thick, ugly, violent alcoholics, quick to anger, not very bright, but good for a song or a story, great entertainers in their place – try that, and let’s see how charming they find it.

How can it be that in today’s politically correct America this racism is not merely tolerated, but celebrated as good clean fun? The unfortunate truth is that many Irish Americans are as ignorant as anyone else about the realities of Ireland.

Though my blood boils at the perverse holiday stereotypes, Irish Americans join in with gusto. St. Patrick’s Day is their special day. What else can they do? How about trying to learn about the real Ireland? Find out why the shamrock is a national Irish symbol, and the four-leaf clover is not.

Discover that, happily, no one in Ireland wears bowler hats, except the Protestant Orangemen of Northern Ireland celebrating the Twelfth of July.

For a flavor of modern Dublin, try reading Roddy Doyle. Rent the movie version of his book, “The Commitments”. Notice the absence of Aran sweaters and tweed jackets.

Educate yourself about politics, too. There is a complicated political peace process going on in Belfast; try to discard the old knee-jerk, anti-Brit reactions and make sense of it, including the fears of unionists.

Listen to Van Morrison playing with the Chieftains, and note that he is a Belfast Protestant.

Find out about the enormous Scotch-Irish contribution to the making of America, and include that in your picture of Irishness.

Go visit Ireland, Belfast as well as Dublin; avoid stage-Irish tourist traps like Killarney.

Read Swift, Shaw, Wilde and Yeats. Read Seamus Heaney and John McGahern. Read Joyce.

Or ignore my railing. Step out on St. Patrick’s night, wearing something green, and enjoy your ignorance. Get drunk and hit somebody; but kiss then afterwards, sing a sentimental song and buy another round of green drinks.

Keep the stereotype alive. But realize it has little to do with Ireland.

Sorry to open your eyes; but shure, raining on the parade is a St. Patrick’s Day tradition, too.
~
Dominic Gates is a Seattle writer who emigrated from County Tyrone in Norther Ireland. Copyright The New York Times.

raining on the parade is a St. Patrick’s Day tradition, too.

Reply #1 – March 16, 2006, 01:02:28 PM

Wow. Some people just ain't happy unless they're complaining about something, are they?

Quote

Step out on St. Patrick’s night, wearing something green, and enjoy your ignorance. Get drunk and hit somebody; but kiss then afterwards, sing a sentimental song and buy another round of green drinks.

Sounds like a plan to me!

raining on the parade is a St. Patrick’s Day tradition, too.

Reply #2 – March 16, 2006, 01:45:19 PM

Quote from: jkirchman

Wow. Some people just ain't happy unless they're complaining about something, are they?

Sounds like a plan to me!

Way to miss the point. I think, as an Irish man, he has a better clue about Irish culture, and where stereotypes come from. In Ireland, most pubs close for St. Patty's, as it's a holy day, not an excuse to get obliterated and start fights. But continue to perpetuate ignorance, if you want.

Personally, I'll buy a few Kilkenny's and sip them at home.

Can you at least see the day from his perspective? This isn't the first article of its kind I've read, either.

raining on the parade is a St. Patrick’s Day tradition, too.

Reply #3 – March 16, 2006, 02:18:02 PM

I'm part Irish, German, English, French, and Ukranian. There's a WHOLE lot of stereotype jokes in there and I hear them all the time. Guess what? I laugh. You know why? They are usually told to me by friends in a joking manner with no malice intended.

America is (and has been for quite some time) a media society in that what we see, hear or read in some form or another we take as truth--for the most part. There are the few who would gain interest in a subject that is brought to light by a movie/T.V show/radio broadcast/Newspaper article that would go out of their way to further investigate about that subject, but for most this is not the case. That's also not to say that the people who do not investigate it are bad or unintelligent. Most just don't have the time.

If a big budget Hollywood movie was made today in Ireland AND it did well chances are it would show what life is like in Ireland today and people would see that it is somewhat different than it was in the John Wayne flick. As far as how St. Patrick's day is celebrated on this side of the Pond......well to each his own. And again I don't believe that when we as Americans celebrate it as we do that there is malice intended. I'm sure Jehova's Witnesses see flaws with how most of the rest of the Cristians celebrate Chistmas.

raining on the parade is a St. Patrick’s Day tradition, too.

Reply #4 – March 16, 2006, 02:30:17 PM

well easter ain't celebrating jesus' resurrection either, it was a nod by the christian church to bring in nothern europe pagans and the solstice celebration.

either way, we all like easter bastkets and we all like green beer and irish drinking songs. I know it is racist and a bit wrong, but it is still fun.

raining on the parade is a St. Patrick’s Day tradition, too.

Reply #5 – March 16, 2006, 03:19:50 PM

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I think, as an Irish man, he has a better clue about Irish culture, and where stereotypes come from. In Ireland, most pubs close for St. Patty's, as it's a holy day, not an excuse to get obliterated and start fights. But continue to perpetuate ignorance, if you want.

It doesn't have anything to do with ignorance. It has to do with American culture. We do St. Patrick's Day different over here than they do in Ireland. It's not meant to be a "learn all about the Irish" day.

Americans are stereotyped all over the world as being fat, lazy, loud, and having some sort of superiority complex. Of course any intelligent person could deduce that all Americans are not that way. Just like anyone could make the same deduction about the Irish stereotype of a red headed drunk dude who likes to fight. Or any other stereotype for that matter.

Just because a few Irish people that live here whine about how we don't do St. Patrick's the same as they do it in Ireland doesn't mean we should change it. Actually maybe it does. Enough things have already been changed in the name of political correctness. Why should St. Patrick's day be any different? Don't offend the Irishman! Take off that green bowler! Hide the fighting Irishman Hallmark cards!! Dump out that green beer before an Irishman sees it!

:rolleyes:

raining on the parade is a St. Patrick’s Day tradition, too.

Reply #6 – March 16, 2006, 03:20:11 PM

Quote from: Funky Cricket

well easter ain't celebrating jesus' resurrection either, it was a nod by the christian church to bring in nothern europe pagans and the solstice celebration.

either way, we all like easter bastkets and we all like green beer and irish drinking songs. I know it is racist and a bit wrong, but it is still fun.

Vernal Equinox, not Solstice.

I think the only thing racist is the continual use of the inhuman 'fightin Irish' character, and some of the stigma that goes along with it. Otherwise, his only other complaint is the extremelly outdated view of Irish society.

raining on the parade is a St. Patrick’s Day tradition, too.

Reply #7 – March 16, 2006, 03:53:26 PM

both sides of my family are irish.

I think I am 75% irish, about 20% german, and 5 % dutch.

raining on the parade is a St. Patrick’s Day tradition, too.

Reply #8 – March 16, 2006, 04:48:13 PM

Quote from: oldraven

Vernal Equinox, not Solstice.

thanks for the correction. I knew it wasn't solstice, but for the life of me my brain would only come up with that word! stupid work, using all my processing power. hehe.

raining on the parade is a St. Patrick’s Day tradition, too.

Reply #9 – March 17, 2006, 12:39:00 PM

Well I always though of St. Pattys day as being for Irish-Americans...not for the country of Ireland. That guy seems to be a little self centered to me. Hey you are in America and have a wierd accent...guess what that is going to draw attention so get used to it. People like that really bother me. By the way I'm of Scottish heritage...wheres my holiday boo-hoo :D .

raining on the parade is a St. Patrick’s Day tradition, too.

Reply #10 – March 17, 2006, 12:49:43 PM

Quote from: 50tbrd88

By the way I'm of Scottish heritage...wheres my holiday boo-hoo :D .

I guess this would be the scottish equivelant of St. Patty's Day!

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Although St Andrew has been the patron saint of Scotland since a Pictish victory in a battle in 747AD, 30 November is not a public holiday in Scotland. Indeed, St Andrew's night is celebrated more by expatriate Scots around the world.

The only question now is, how are you going to get a tartan pattern in your beer? :hick:

raining on the parade is a St. Patrick’s Day tradition, too.

Reply #11 – March 17, 2006, 01:40:26 PM

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By the way I'm of Scottish heritage...wheres my holiday boo-hoo .

You don't get a holiday 'cause you get to wear a kilt, making it real easy to show the ladies your junk!:rollin: