McDonald's began advertising Shamrock Shakes last week and I felt my blood starting to boil. Those racists! Those bigots! The nerve of people to single out and recognize Irish-American Heritage Month. Don't they know that we're supposed to be ONE COUNTRY with ONE PEOPLE? Aren't we all just Americans? The Irish are separating themselves from the rest of us with their recognition of Irish American history and they are force-feeding us with their heritage. We shouldn't tolerate the lifting up any single group and separating ourselves with hyphenated personal descriptions. Who's with me?
Its not like we don't have to deal with the Irish all year long. Notre Dame athletics are front and center every weekend from August through March, with that damn Leprechaun running up and down the court. Then, the Boston Celtics usually make it well into the playoffs so we have to deal with more Irish stuff well into June. Then there's the damn movies! From Brigadoon to Braveheart (actually it had more to do with the Scots but the Irish were in their too), from The Quiet Man to The Crying Game (there were only two black guys in that movie - one was the transvestite and they killed the other one), from Circle of Friends to Gangs of New York (where they killed almost all the black people), the Irish are all up in our faces. Its unfair damn it! Then there's the Michael Flatley infecting us all with his dancers. We've got Celtic Thunder and Celtic Woman warbling on tour all over the country. They are always in our faces and it's just too much!
Even the President is in on it as if his name is O'Bama! He has issued two - count 'em - TWO proclamations already in recognition of Irish American Heritage Month. He better not issue one for 2011. If he does then he has lost my vote. The nerve of him going out of his way to lift up one group over all of the others - and for a month that lasts a whole 31 days! Congress became part of this debacle 20 years ago when they actually wasted taxpayer time and money in creating legislation (Public Law 101-418) in support of this annual act of ethnic bigotry. Its just disgusting, plain and simple.
I know you guys are with me on this. Especially those of you who so vigorously criticize Black History Month every chance you get. Aren't we furthering the racial divide by allowing recognitions around Irish-American Heritage Month? That's what several Viners said about Black History Month. Where is the venom, vitriol and rage when we need it again? Isn't another group being held up and set apart? Isn't Irish-American Heritage Month utter nonsense? That's what was said about Black History Month so this can't possibly be any different can it? No one born in the USA should be celebrating this. Their family name can be Kelly, O'Farrell, Murphy, Walsh; but if they weren't born in Ireland then they have no business calling themselves Irish-American. Isn't that a consistent view if someone expresses disdain for the term African-American? Clearly someone can't possibly tolerate Irish-American Heritage in light of statements calling Black History Month "ridiculous". Surely they should be shouting from the hills about this current injustice of recognizing Irish-American heritage. For those who refuse to use the term African-American, where is your righteous indignation for the clear travesty occurring this month? I mean how dare a woman named Maura O'Leary call herself Irish-American if she wasn't born in Ireland? Those who were with Morgan Freeman last month I'm sure are with me now on this. We're both black, ya know, and we're saying the exact same thing.
We are one week into March and not a single peep of protest from those who expressed their disdain, frustration, anger and outrage over Black History Month. Could it be.....no, I won't go there. But isn't it strange that....nah, the passion I saw last month could not just evaporate so quickly over the exact same issue. I should ignore this nagging inconsistency. I mean....it couldn't possibly be....
Hypocrisy?
.
Could it?
.
Nah.
