Modern Americans on Acceptance.A sample of public statements and interview responses.

Those are quotes from the website "Tangled Roots" with a difference of opinion?I will appreciate if you can read them and comment on what you think.

1. "When my uncle gave his name (Irish) during a job interview, the first thing out of the interviewer's mouth was, " Do you drink?" [Irish American religious, retired] (See DeLa Salle Christian Brothers Interview)
2. "My father looked as if he was anything but a "Negro". We stopped together at a restaurant to eat. They wanted to serve him, but not me." [African - Irish American writer ] (See James McGowan Interview)
3. "You worked with different kinds but returned to your own at night. Each culture had its own club. You were taught to stick to your own kind and I did and so did my husband." [Irish American, born in Ireland. Retired.] (See The Corcorans Interview)
4. "Freedom still embraces subtleties of attitude which make one suspect about attitudes of people." [African American School Superintendent, retired]
5. "The Irish always took care of their own through organizations like the Knights of Columbus and did not bother with other groups." [Irish American, born in Ireland. Retired]
6. "Irish Americans seldom invite African Americans into their personal lives. I attended the funeral of a prominent Connecticut Irish American politician and was the only black person there. [Jamaican American Minister] (See Hopeton Scott Interview)
   "If you needed anything and we had it, you got it. We kept our word; we looked for you to keep yours." [Harry Payne, African American construction worker, retired] (See Harry Payne Interview)
7. "Sensitivity to color is a socially imposed filter because I can not be certain of acceptance. One example is institutionalized racism in language. [ African American College Administrator] (See Larri Mazon Interview)
8. "Irish Americans who write stories about the Irish being dirty or ignorant aren't telling the truth. I don't believe that Irish immigrants ever fought against African Americans. Not my Irish." [Irish American Teacher]
9. "There is a tendency on the part of some African Americans to feel proprietary about their history and experience. Sometimes, we (African Americans) are just not ready to hear about anybody else's pain." [African American Magazine Editor]
10. It's evident that Irish and Blacks shared discrimination. They were both trying to raise themselves up. Irish and Blacks took similar steps. Starting at bottom. Proving their worth. They were side by side. Both were discriminated against There are low and high Irish and low and high of every group. Who you know depends on what group you are in—low or high. [African-Irish American author, retired] (See Warren Harper Interview)
11. "The use of hyphenated identity perpetuates the myth of other than American and lessens our chances for a shared community. No book has been written about "How the Blacks became White. " [African American Minister and Professor] (See Frederick J. Streets Interview)
12. "When I came here was I was lonesome. But I knew if I wanted to go back my father would say, 'you wanted to go...'. But the leaving home was worst thing. And the water. That was the worst of it. I was glad to land here." ( See Conversation with Mary Walsh)

Irish Ferries or International Ferries ,does it Matter?

I had followed up the arguements about staffing the Irish ferries with the pros and cons of "Irish staff" versus "International staff AKA East European staff-EUS" and I don't want to express my views about it.I wanted to share an interesting experience I had during one of my trips by The Irish Ferry.It was a windy day and the ferry was "dancing" to the waves, anice lady from the travelling community in Ireland landed on my seat as she had stuff in her hand and couldn't walk so she needed help.She called a nice girl from the staff (NB EUS) and asked her to help her to carry her stuff.This nice girl kept looking at the poor lady without helping her ,so I figured out that she didn't understand the call for help and so volunteered to explain that this poor lady needs help to carry her stuff and she did.

Will The Irish Become Black Again?

An interesting Title is a book by Noel Ignatiev “How the Irish Became White” (Routledge 1996). ( The characteristics that distinguished the Irish from other “white” Americans include their language, religion, manner of dress, and their lowly economic status. Most Irish did not speak English, instead they spoke Irish. They were also mostly Catholic, which later in this discussion will prove to be extremely important. Further, it was noted in the time that Irish had a distinctive manner of dress that allowed for easy identification. Finally, they were poor, as most recent immigrants are, and were therefore looked down upon by the mainstream “whites.” “White” Americans in the early 1800s equated the Irish to black slaves, and in some instances held them in lower regard, since they were not as valuable as slaves.
The Irish that first immigrated to the U.S. were empathetic to the plight of African slaves. The Irish had a long history of anti-slavery sentiment in Ireland. They are proud of their opposition to slavery. When they came to the U.S., they initially continued their moral opposition to slavery. Many were active abolitionists, ardent in their anti-slavery convictions. They initially joined the Republican Party, traditionally against slavery, and held to their convictions. They were active in the press as well. The periodical, the Liberator, was an Irish publication that took a strong stand against slavery.
Ignatiev fills his book with biographical accounts of Irish immigrants. The personal accounts are interesting, but make the book seem choppy. Individuals’ stories have to be compressed and inserted into chapters where they best fit. They do not follow the chronological flow of the overall text. They are used, though, to provide more emphasis on particular aspects of the author’s generalizations in each phase of Irish assimilation. They give interesting historical accounts of the Irish’s determination to move into the mainstream of American society.
The chronological orientation the book takes the reader from the days of Irish anguish under the control of Great Britain to their acceptance as “white” in America. Their plight in Ireland gave them the motivation to seek a better life in America. Originally, in Ireland, as mentioned earlier, the Irish had been under a system that prohibited slavery. This was one belief that would cost them dearly in their move to the U.S.
The Irish’s closeness to black Americans was another factor that contributed to their being equated to blacks by “white” America. Their economic status forced them to live in the poorest locations in the cities, and they had to take any jobs they could to survive. This close proximity inevitably led to intermarriage and in turn to family ties between blacks and Irish. In the beginning, “white” Americans saw this as an indication that the Irish should occupy the same social status as blacks, which was very low. “Whites” commonly called the Irish white Negroes, and the blacks, smoked Irish.
Their low economic status led to another phenomenon. As most know the rate of incarceration among the lower economic strata is higher than the rate among the wealthy. The consequence was that prisons became one of the first truly racially integrated institutions in the U.S. The Irish in prisons further acknowledged their equity with blacks by not segregating themselves socially. The author places particular emphasis on this integration because prior to becoming “white”, the Irish themselves did not see substantive differences between themselves and black Americans. Their commonalties such as social status and economic stature were more important than the difference in skin pigmentation) .

You Can read an interview with Noel Ignatiev Here

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