Comments on: Irish-Americans, Racism, and the Pursuit of Whiteness http://www.racismreview.com/blog/2010/03/17/irish-americans-racism-and-the-pursuit-of-whiteness/ Thu, 09 Sep 2010 22:05:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Will http://www.racismreview.com/blog/2010/03/17/irish-americans-racism-and-the-pursuit-of-whiteness/comment-page-1/#comment-12808 Will Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:16:20 +0000 http://www.racismreview.com/blog/?p=4777#comment-12808 It was a shame they went through the racism here and in Europe. Yet, when it's all said and done, Irish Americans have the same privileges as anyone with pale skin has. Still, this is something that needs to be exposed especially on a day such as St. Patrick's Day as the stereotypes of Irish people persist, and much of the celebration is reduced to wearing green and parties. It was a shame they went through the racism here and in Europe. Yet, when it’s all said and done, Irish Americans have the same privileges as anyone with pale skin has. Still, this is something that needs to be exposed especially on a day such as St. Patrick’s Day as the stereotypes of Irish people persist, and much of the celebration is reduced to wearing green and parties.

]]> By: uberVU - social comments http://www.racismreview.com/blog/2010/03/17/irish-americans-racism-and-the-pursuit-of-whiteness/comment-page-1/#comment-12807 uberVU - social comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:55:24 +0000 http://www.racismreview.com/blog/?p=4777#comment-12807 <strong>Social comments and analytics for this post...</strong> This post was mentioned on Twitter by JessieNYC: Racism Review: Irish-Americans, Racism, and the Pursuit of Whiteness: From the archive (originally posted 03-17-20... http://bit.ly/cdATgy... Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by JessieNYC: Racism Review: Irish-Americans, Racism, and the Pursuit of Whiteness: From the archive (originally posted 03-17-20… http://bit.ly/cdATgy...

]]> By: marandaNJ http://www.racismreview.com/blog/2010/03/17/irish-americans-racism-and-the-pursuit-of-whiteness/comment-page-1/#comment-12806 marandaNJ Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:12:24 +0000 http://www.racismreview.com/blog/?p=4777#comment-12806 Thanks for posting this. It's too true,unfortunately. I know that the Polish people and Italians in America had a terrible time with being accepted into the mainstream also. My grandmother was Polish and I always cringed when I heard children I grew up with tell 'Pollack' jokes. I may have mentioned before that I grew up in the south. I'm not claiming the south is the sole culprit of racism in America. I will say that because the south was a mainly agrarian culture before and after the Civil War, and far behind the north in the industrial revolution, southerners previously had a tendency to be more homogeneous than northerners. In other words, they lived in small rural communities where they seldom saw anyone they hadn't known for 80 years. Immigrants Did Not exactly flock to the southern states. Maybe because they heard on the grapevine that they were even more unwelcome in the south than in the north in the US. When immigrant groups came to the US, they tended to live in little neighborhoods or ghettos together for very needed psychological support. In the 1800's and first half of the 1900's the WASP was seen as unjust and cruel by many European immigrants. And every single one of those terms were necessary for full acceptance in American mainstream: 1. white 2.anglo-saxon [this specifically meant from northern Europe even though the Irish are an exception to this] and 3. Protestant. When John Kennedy was elected president in 1960 it was a Big Milestone that 'one of those Catholics' was actually elected to be president. Newspapers wrote volumes about it. Anyway, the point is, I have definitely noticed how the villified groups have changed over time. The longer an ethnic group stays in America, the more accepted they are by the mainstream. And America chooses New Immigrants to demean and degrade. My grandmother lived in upstate New York. My family moved to the south when I was six. Even at that age, I noticed more of a closed society in the south than in the north. That's why my being Catholic was such a sore thumb in the Bible Belt [what an ironic name for such intolerant people]. I remember just 10 years ago going to dinner with another couple. The woman was of Italian descent. Her date was old money south. Well, the discussion got around to families of origin. And I distinctly remember her date saying,'Yeah, but you're Still white anglo-saxon.' This was the First Time I had ever heard Italians refered to as Anglo-Saxon. So, what can we conclude ladies and gents? That the Italians have finally made it to this anglo-saxon status now? Previously, no southern European was allowed in the anglo-saxon box. Neither were people from Slavic countries. Who still remains in the 'them' box now? The African Americans, Native Americans, and Latinos from what I personally can observe. The Asians have gained status by their academic achievements, and are not as demeaned as they were once. Plus, if you are of Spanish descent and from South America, you are not as villified as if you are from South American-Native American descent. So, yes, the labeling of which race you belong to itself is fluid! And it's a social construct and not based on actual overt physical features. Thanks for posting this. It’s too true,unfortunately. I know that the Polish people and Italians in America had a terrible time with being accepted into the mainstream also. My grandmother was Polish and I always cringed when I heard children I grew up with tell ‘Pollack’ jokes.
I may have mentioned before that I grew up in the south. I’m not claiming the south is the sole culprit of racism in America. I will say that because the south was a mainly agrarian culture before and after the Civil War, and far behind the north in the industrial revolution, southerners previously had a tendency to be more homogeneous than northerners.
In other words, they lived in small rural communities where they seldom saw anyone they hadn’t known for 80 years. Immigrants Did Not exactly flock to the southern states. Maybe because they heard on the grapevine that they were even more unwelcome in the south than in the north in the US. When immigrant groups came to the US, they tended to live in little neighborhoods or ghettos together for very needed psychological support. In the 1800′s and first half of the 1900′s the WASP was seen as unjust and cruel by many European immigrants. And every single one of those terms were necessary for full acceptance in American mainstream: 1. white 2.anglo-saxon [this specifically meant from northern Europe even though the Irish are an exception to this] and 3. Protestant. When John Kennedy was elected president in 1960 it was a Big Milestone that ‘one of those Catholics’ was actually elected to be president. Newspapers wrote volumes about it.
Anyway, the point is, I have definitely noticed how the villified groups have changed over time. The longer an ethnic group stays in America, the more accepted they are by the mainstream. And America chooses New Immigrants to demean and degrade.
My grandmother lived in upstate New York. My family moved to the south when I was six. Even at that age, I noticed more of a closed society in the south than in the north. That’s why my being Catholic was such a sore thumb in the Bible Belt [what an ironic name for such intolerant people].
I remember just 10 years ago going to dinner with another couple. The woman was of Italian descent. Her date was old money south. Well, the discussion got around to families of origin. And I distinctly remember her date saying,’Yeah, but you’re Still white anglo-saxon.’ This was the First Time I had ever heard Italians refered to as Anglo-Saxon. So, what can we conclude ladies and gents? That the Italians have finally made it to this anglo-saxon status now? Previously, no southern European was allowed in the anglo-saxon box. Neither were people from Slavic countries.
Who still remains in the ‘them’ box now? The African Americans, Native Americans, and Latinos from what I personally can observe. The Asians have gained status by their academic achievements, and are not as demeaned as they were once. Plus, if you are of Spanish descent and from South America, you are not as villified as if you are from South American-Native American descent.
So, yes, the labeling of which race you belong to itself is fluid! And it’s a social construct and not based on actual overt physical features.

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