features
March 14, 2013
El Camino College Union 3
Image courtesy of http://www.instablogs.com/a-history-of-american-prejudice.html
The forgotten history of St. Patrick’s Day Steven Tran and Thomas Schmit Staff Writer and Editor-in-Chief
Chances are, if you think of the Irish, some of the first few thoughts to enter your head will be of alcohol and St. Patrick’s day. While there’s nothing wrong with celebrating a holiday, what was once a celebration of heritage has degenerated into a harmful stereotype. “People believe that the Irish race gets drunk on a daily basis” Roberto Ledesmo, 18, who is receiving a certificate in powerline industry readiness, said. The truth is that the Irish have struggled with persecution and prejudices for hundreds of years. In the 1700s, England colonized Ireland, but because England was a protestant country, and Ireland was a mostly Catholic country, the English viewed the Irish as “Uncivilized savages,” Emily Rader, history professor, said. Even after moving to a new country, many Irish immigrants continued to face prejudices in their new home. “The early 1800s was the first major influx of
Irish immigrants into the U.S., and they were coming because of grave and extensive poverty because of the potato famine in Ireland,” Christina Gold, history professor, said. Once in this country, they continued to experience “a remarkable amount of discrimination,” Gold added. In addition to their status as poor foreigners, the protestant revivals and alcohol prohibitions that characterized the 19th century only contributed toward making the Irish a “target” for discrimination, Gold said. A series of cartoons by illustrator Thomas Nast are characteristic of the views of the Irish at the time, depicting the Irish in a similar way as African Americans were, Gold said. “They did not think of the Irish as a nationality, but as a separate and inferior race of people,” Gold added. Eventually, in areas with a concentrated Irish population, the Irish were able to elect government officials to gain a strong political representation, Rader said. In time, the Irish rose to middle class and became “respectable and accepted as Americans” Rader added.
Photo Illustration by Paula Geerligs
“So in the cities where they were politically strong, St. Patrick’s day celebrations became common,” Rader said. Originally, St. Patrick’s day was a holiday celebrating the conversion of Ireland into Catholicism, Alex Sanford, 19, undeclared major, said. However, “St. Patrick’s Day is a cultural event in the U.S. with just about no religious substance,” Rader said. In effect, it became a celebration of a unique and proud heritage. Unfortunately, as the Irish assimilated in to American culture, the stereotypes that had previously defined the Irish continued to be associated with St. Patrick’s day. The truth is that drinking obscene amounts of booze is not exclusive to the Irish. “Because drinking is traditionally a part of celebrating, almost any culture has that element,” Rader said. “In this country, we sort of find any excuse to drink. It’s a part of our culture”.
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