Yay! Let's bastardize an entire culture!

[saxist01]

Just ignoring the entire history of Saint Patrick's Day, because most people who "celebrate" this holiday are exactly that: Ignorant, be honest, Saint Patrick's Day has become an even greater abomination every year.

I understand that the very origin of the day was a "day off" from Lent, but there's another point: How many of the people who love today so much were actually participating in Lent? How many even go to Church? How many even believe in any type of faith?

This whole practice sickens me. If I were to dress-up in an Uncle Sam outfit, get drunk on piss-quality red beer with white foam and a blue cup, go parading down Main Street singing "The Stars and Stripes Forever", and basically act like a hooligan, all in the name of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I'd get thrown in the loony bin after getting out of jail.

What mainly pisses me off is the total disrespect for another culture, and it's certainly not just today. The Irish in particular are on top of the list of people who it's apparently alright to openly mock and marginalize, which is painful on a personal level, seeing as I'm a Canadian, another group in the top-list, with immediate Irish heritage. And it's even accepted in media! If I were to come out with a brand of breakfast sausages called "Big Willie's", with a circa 1917 caricature of a German as the mascot, I'd be sued out of business before you could say "Ludendorff".

It's spreading, too. I noticed this past Lunar New Year that there were a few Chinese-centric instances of exploitative practices going on in my local community.



This is a rant, but one I fully stand behind. Maybe if we want to show the world that we people who play Video Games aren't as baseless and immoral as they mock and marginalize us as, we could start a movement of "Absolute Legitimate Equality", and denounce these filthy practices.



Seeing as I'm posting this to a forum, I fully expect a response, and am fully anticipating backlash, so do your worst. Oh, and if on the off-chance you're not here to bash me, here you go:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ocpv5EtokY

Start by demanding something be done about that (yes, this was in part "inspired" by that video).

Have you actually ever been to Ireland? Met an Irishman allow me to re-iterate what happened the last time I spent st pats day in ireland we went out got fucking drunk, pubs were full, everyone there was out of their fucking arse. No one and i repeat no one celebrates fuckign lent in bloody Ireland I can assure you it's a day off work for them and thats it.

Yknow what i do for Burns day, fuck all. Culture is not about sticking to the fucking letter it's ingrained on people if you want to celbrate something in a different way who gives a bloody toss how do you think cultures even came about.

Agreed! I was in Dublin for St. Patrick's Day in '07. You know what I saw? A HALF MILLION drunk people climbing on everything in sight. That's not an overestimation! Climbing on buildings, fences, statues, phone booths! All there to watch the parade completely shit-housed! After the parade, went to the Guiness brewery and had about 4 pints, then I went pub hopping. And It Was Great! Caed mile failte to you all!

 

[Kazturkey]

I'm 100% Irish and I don't mind it, and I didn't wear green today. I didn't get dressed today, even, cos I had a day off.

 

[Fr331anc3r]

It's like participating in christmas when you're not pagan, or playing Japanese "games" when you're not Japanese, or eating tandoori chicken when you're not from the Middle East, or celebrating Chinese New Year when you're not Chinese.

In other words...

It's NOT A PROBLEM AT ALL.

Does your culture exist in this global age? Then we all have a right to it, and for that matter, it's not your culture; you can't own an idea, despite how much some people (for example, those who try to make their software proprietary) wish otherwise.

The problem is, it's not really celebrating St. Patrick's Day as it should, if I start a trend of celebrating the Chinese New Year by screwing a goat and that catches on and people actually start calling it THE way to celebrate the Chinese New Year, some people might be a little ticked.

 

[Tele-screen]

Just ignoring the entire history of Saint Patrick's Day, because most people who "celebrate" this holiday are exactly that: Ignorant, be honest, Saint Patrick's Day has become an even greater abomination every year.

I understand that the very origin of the day was a "day off" from Lent, but there's another point: How many of the people who love today so much were actually participating in Lent? How many even go to Church? How many even believe in any type of faith?

This whole practice sickens me. If I were to dress-up in an Uncle Sam outfit, get drunk on piss-quality red beer with white foam and a blue cup, go parading down Main Street singing "The Stars and Stripes Forever", and basically act like a hooligan, all in the name of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I'd get thrown in the loony bin after getting out of jail.

What mainly pisses me off is the total disrespect for another culture, and it's certainly not just today. The Irish in particular are on top of the list of people who it's apparently alright to openly mock and marginalize, which is painful on a personal level, seeing as I'm a Canadian, another group in the top-list, with immediate Irish heritage. And it's even accepted in media! If I were to come out with a brand of breakfast sausages called "Big Willie's", with a circa 1917 caricature of a German as the mascot, I'd be sued out of business before you could say "Ludendorff".

It's spreading, too. I noticed this past Lunar New Year that there were a few Chinese-centric instances of exploitative practices going on in my local community.



This is a rant, but one I fully stand behind. Maybe if we want to show the world that we people who play Video Games aren't as baseless and immoral as they mock and marginalize us as, we could start a movement of "Absolute Legitimate Equality", and denounce these filthy practices.



Seeing as I'm posting this to a forum, I fully expect a response, and am fully anticipating backlash, so do your worst. Oh, and if on the off-chance you're not here to bash me, here you go:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ocpv5EtokY

Start by demanding something be done about that (yes, this was in part "inspired" by that video).

Sounds like somebody needs a Guinness!

 

[boholikeu]

It's like participating in christmas when you're not pagan, or playing Japanese "games" when you're not Japanese, or eating tandoori chicken when you're not from the Middle East, or celebrating Chinese New Year when you're not Chinese.

In other words...

It's NOT A PROBLEM AT ALL.

Does your culture exist in this global age? Then we all have a right to it, and for that matter, it's not your culture; you can't own an idea, despite how much some people (for example, those who try to make their software proprietary) wish otherwise.

The problem is, it's not really celebrating St. Patrick's Day as it should, if I start a trend of celebrating the Chinese New Year by screwing a goat and that catches on and people actually start calling it THE way to celebrate the Chinese New Year, some people might be a little ticked.

You're fighting straw men here... Of course people are going to be offended if you equate bestiality with their culture's holiday. Meanwhile, St. Patrick's Day was celebrated as a day of feasting since the early 1600s, so it's not that much of a stretch for it to become a drinking holiday.

 

[saxist01]

*overblown call to arms

Hello. My name is Ryan O'Carolan. I'm Irish. The proper sort - one who's lived in Ireland, not one of the Americans who are 1/16th Irish by blood, wear green and only drink Guinness when they're in Eire.

We have a well-known stereotype of being a bunch of raging alcoholics who are constantly drinking at a pub. It's one that dogs us everywhere we go, it's the first thing anyone talks about when they hear our accent, it's a completely socially accepted generalisation of an entire culture and race.

Here's the dirty little secret, though - it's true. Everybody in Ireland has AT LEAST one serious alcoholic in their immediate family. The people who don't drink are mainly those who hit rock bottom and can't touch the stuff anymore. Now, I lived in a small rural village, so my experience may be distinct from the cities, but it's a well-known fact of life in Ireland. I lived in a one-street village. Maybe five hundred metres long. It had three pubs, all of which had great business.

We drink. A lot. It's an integral part of our culture. Now, what is Saint Paddy's Day in Ireland? It's a massive public festival, with Irish dancers, musicians, singers, parades, legions of people walking down the street with the flags of the counties in hand, and, yes, lots of green and giant hats. Because IT'S FUN. We enjoy fun.

Is the modern St. Paddy's Day an accurate representation of it's origin? Well, it was originally a day of celebration to escape Lent for a spell. Now it's a day of celebration to escape work for a spell. Is that really so terrible a bastardization?

Does it accurately reflect our culture? Well, how much CAN a single day of celebration do that? There's drinking, there's Irish dancing, celebration and jubilation. There are displays of national solidarity, leaving the Troubles out of things. I'm not familiar with things like the fourth of July, or whatever you celebrate as your 'America Day', but isn't it the most basic aspects of your culture boiled down and exaggerated? Lots of red, white, and blue, Uncle Sam, fireworks, flags and pledges of allegiance? I could be wrong, but I'm guessing it's not the most nuanced and culturally accurate of celebrations. But that's not the point.

The point is to celebrate. And Saint Patrick's Day does exactly that. In my books, the wild, drunken, stereotyped debauchery is exactly what the day should be.

I'm Irish, and I love Saint Patrick's Day.



(NB: Any fucker tries to pinch me and I'll smash the bastard's face in)

You, I like you. THIS is what I love about the Irish! Brutal honesty, and always ready to fight! Caed mili failte! (sorry, it's the only gaelic I know)

 

[Morbira]

*overblown call to arms

Hello. My name is Ryan O'Carolan. I'm Irish. The proper sort - one who's lived in Ireland, not one of the Americans who are 1/16th Irish by blood, wear green and only drink Guinness when they're in Eire.

We have a well-known stereotype of being a bunch of raging alcoholics who are constantly drinking at a pub. It's one that dogs us everywhere we go, it's the first thing anyone talks about when they hear our accent, it's a completely socially accepted generalisation of an entire culture and race.

Here's the dirty little secret, though - it's true. Everybody in Ireland has AT LEAST one serious alcoholic in their immediate family. The people who don't drink are mainly those who hit rock bottom and can't touch the stuff anymore. Now, I lived in a small rural village, so my experience may be distinct from the cities, but it's a well-known fact of life in Ireland. I lived in a one-street village. Maybe five hundred metres long. It had three pubs, all of which had great business.

We drink. A lot. It's an integral part of our culture. Now, what is Saint Paddy's Day in Ireland? It's a massive public festival, with Irish dancers, musicians, singers, parades, legions of people walking down the street with the flags of the counties in hand, and, yes, lots of green and giant hats. Because IT'S FUN. We enjoy fun.

Is the modern St. Paddy's Day an accurate representation of it's origin? Well, it was originally a day of celebration to escape Lent for a spell. Now it's a day of celebration to escape work for a spell. Is that really so terrible a bastardization?

Does it accurately reflect our culture? Well, how much CAN a single day of celebration do that? There's drinking, there's Irish dancing, celebration and jubilation. There are displays of national solidarity, leaving the Troubles out of things. I'm not familiar with things like the fourth of July, or whatever you celebrate as your 'America Day', but isn't it the most basic aspects of your culture boiled down and exaggerated? Lots of red, white, and blue, Uncle Sam, fireworks, flags and pledges of allegiance? I could be wrong, but I'm guessing it's not the most nuanced and culturally accurate of celebrations. But that's not the point.

The point is to celebrate. And Saint Patrick's Day does exactly that. In my books, the wild, drunken, stereotyped debauchery is exactly what the day should be.

I'm Irish, and I love Saint Patrick's Day.



(NB: Any fucker tries to pinch me and I'll smash the bastard's face in)

Amen, brother.

 

[Klarinette]

:| If I had known Saint Patrick's Day was a day off from Lent, I'd have eaten the biggest steak I could find, sprinkled with bacon crumble and ground beef. Feck! *kicks own ass*

...oh well... only another 13 days or something.

And I don't honestly think you'd be jailed for going uberpatriotic on Martin Luther King Jr Day. I'm inclined to believe you'd have people join you, actually.

 

[The Warden]

The only thing I care about on St.Patricks day is wearing green.
I'd rather not, but if I don't, people are going to act fucking obnoxious all day and keep pinching me over and over again.

 

[Banaticus]

Ok, first understand that every holiday is an invented holiday. Someone, somewhere, at some time, invented it. A holiday (like Christmas) might be enshrined in millennia of tradition, but it's no less an invented holiday than Kwanza. Given that basic holiday truth, does this invented holiday of Saint Patrick's day basically work well or not? Should we embrace it, leave it alone or actively campaign against it?

My standpoint is that, whatever its past connotations, the American tradition of Saint Patrick's Day is a celebration of the Irish and Ireland and as such should be celebrated.

I understand that the very origin of the day was a "day off" from Lent, but there's another point: How many of the people who love today so much were actually participating in Lent? How many even go to Church? How many even believe in any type of faith?

Well, that doesn't really matter. Just like evergreen trees and Christmas, just like any symbol anywhere, it's what we make of it now. Take the 5 pointed star. Throughout the past few millennia, it's referred to both Jesus Christ and Lucifer (as a representation of the Morning and Evening Star or Venus), to paganism, well, go down to Hot Topic and the Gap and see what the 5-pointed star stands for now (Ainotap?). So the holiday was once founded in Lent. That doesn't really matter now because the point of the holiday isn't a reprieve from Lent, it's to celebrate the Irish.

If I were to dress-up in an Uncle Sam outfit, get drunk on piss-quality red beer with white foam and a blue cup, go parading down Main Street singing "The Stars and Stripes Forever", and basically act like a hooligan, all in the name of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I'd get thrown in the loony bin after getting out of jail.

Well, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, probably, but on the 4th of July?

If I were to come out with a brand of breakfast sausages called "Big Willie's", with a circa 1917 caricature of a German as the mascot, I'd be sued out of business before you could say "Ludendorff".

I think a lot of Germans might take pride in being know for having Big Willies? Sure, a lot of people would get angry, but I can't see someone sueing for being stereotypically known for having a Big Willie and not being derided on every TV comedy show and newspaper around.

I noticed this past Lunar New Year that there were a few Chinese-centric instances of exploitative practices going on in my local community.

Such as? Perhaps this is simply your perception -- is trying to be more inclusive of an immigrant group by printing signs or materials in a native language or selling otherwise difficult to acquire native foods exploitive practices, or simply stores trying to appeal to people in a more familiar style?

The YouTube video you linked to was somewhat funny, but getting drunk and puking all over the place isn't what Saint Patrick's Day is (or should be) about. Not to mention, it's not about pinching either.

 

[Tdc2182]

Hey! How I spend Martin Luther King Jr. Day is my business, and my business only!


That being said, I had totally forgotten it was St. Pattys day until I showed up to school. We tried getting the PE teacher to take her top off when we through beads to her. She was not amused.

If she is the streotypical PE teacher, I am guessing thats not a good thing...

OT: No, I agree. I am guessing (stereotypical, of course)that most irish gave up booze, so this is the day when they could all drink booze again.

 

[Lunar Shadow]

I use this day to celebrate my own Irish heritage (1/4 to 1/2, not 100% sure due to not having much gemology on my father's side but there is some Irish there as I am named Ford) How do I do that? I listen to an epic asston of traditional music and get drunk with my friends and family.

 

[Lambchop]

i was surprised yesterday by the amount..or lack of Irish people in the bar that i work at...apparently they all head into the city to the bigger establishments. the other customers said the same thing, it gets worse every year with the amount of drama that happens, which is why people not celebrating the holiday or not Irish go to the small local bars/pubs and that the holiday is slowly becoming a joke. which is kinda sad.

i don't think Ive ever served so much guinness before though, i think we actually ran out. also Irish car bombs is possibly the worse sounding drink ever.

 

[AgDr_ODST]

I never really thought about it beyond looking up who Saint Patrick was. But I empathise with you, even though thiers not a damn thing you or anyone can do to stop it that doesn't make it anyless wrong but just know your by no means the only one who has to put up with it. Everyone to a certain extent regardless of national origin, race or religion(etc) has to put up with it(though some WAY more than others)

 

[slopeslider]

1. Your being intolerant of percieved intolerance!
2. I'm intolerant against your intolerance of percieved intolerance!
3. ???
4. Profit!!

 

[Angryman101]

Why don't you just relax and have some fun, friend?

 

[Jaime_Wolf]

Personally, I would happily salute you if you spent Martin Luther King Day like that. You'd just really be getting into celebrating a great man so far as I can see. Awesome.

That said, that isn't a remotely reasonable comparison. Saint Patrick's day as a "day off of Lent" is such an outdated notion that no one can evern confirm it to have been the case. You're also arguing that things SHOULD be that way because they WERE that way (assuming that this was actually the original purpose). If you had said that it's bad because we're not respecting the ACTUAL REALLY OLD original purpose (the feast day for Saint Patrick), then maybe you could make the claim that he should be honoured on that day. However, you aren't talking about honouring the man, you're talking about honouring it as a day off of Lent. The day off of Lent theory also includes that a traditional part of that day was drinking alcohol, so you can hardly say that this is some great break from tradition. Martin Luther King Day is PRESENTLY celebrated in a particular way and to go against THAT might offend some people.

Also, the "how many believe in any type of faith" bit is insane. Should we cease participating in almost every holiday we currently celebrate because almost every single one originated in some particular faith? That's absurd. The name is the same, but most of these holidays are NOT the same as the original. Should we cease giving gifts at Christmas because we're not Christians? If so, should the CHRISTIANS cease celebrating Christmas because it derives from a pagan holiday? The whole point is just patently absurd.

Be happy that people are celebrating Ireland. Ireland is awesome and it certainly deserves some celebration. (Note that none of this is relating to caricatures of Irish people, which I agree are sadly prevalent. I mean the celebration, not the stupid bullshit some people bring to it.)

 

[inglioti]

calm down, non christians celebrate christmas and easter. i couldn't even be bothered reading the rest of your rant because i could tell it would be self righteous waffle about religious "ownership" of holidays.

 

[Bat Vader]

I celebrated Saint Patrick's Day today by watching The Boondock Saints I and II. I am American but at least 20% of me is Irish with the rest being Scottish, Welsh, Polish, German, and French-Canadian.

 

[Silver_Shade]

You think its bad having irish roots? Try being a fucking german. Half the people want to start shit with you and the other half are extra nice, flashing you false smiles all the time, because they want you to know they dont think of you as a nazi. Really.

Quoted for truth. As half my family is pure German, and the other half is mostly Indian(the Native American brand), plus being female, I've had to develop a pretty tough skin.

Believe me, I sympathize, having your culture mocked is never fun. Besides that, my neighbors on both sides are going to be so trashed tonight that I'll have a hangover in the morning.

But I think you're taking this a bit too personally. Yes, they're openly mocking your culture, and that's hard to ignore, but for the most part they aren't thinking "Haha, stupid Irish, screw them." They're thinking "Woo, PARTY!"

Of course, being called a nazi tends to make me rage, so maybe I'm just a hypocrite.