Why is cultural appropriation okay during St. Patrick's Day?

[Voltron]

Again, St. Pat's was played up in the US as a day to celebrate Irish immigrants. We suffered a great deal of racism in our history, and we needed something to rally around.

Since it was mostly an Irish Catholic problem, and the Irish supported and were largely supported by their parishes, the logical answer was to make St. Patrick's Day a day of remembrance.

There's a bit of a joke that there's no such thing as an Irish stereotype. Everyone I know of Irish descent loves a good party, we all like potatoes, and green's as nice a color as any. They're also incredibly quick tempered and prone to unmeasured responses to perceived slights.

Perhaps the overtly racist things are let go because they don't really do any significant harm. If you call me a leprechaun, that suggests I'm magic, rich, and spend most of my time having a party by myself.

If you call me a potato person, then that's not really an insult, either. I love potatoes. They're delicious.

If you call me a stupid mick bastard, that's probably spot on, too. I've done at least two stupid things since waking up this morning, and it isn't even noon.

I watch Lucky Charms commercials on TV all the time. It's a 30 second short about a dumb ass leprechaun constantly being mugged by children. I'm sure some Irish people were integral of the making of those commercials, too.

Hell, we don't even care that Notre Dame, the Shangri La of Irishness in the United States has a French name.

And again, the Irish are famous for their sense of humor and larger-than-life personalities. We're just a fun bunch of people all around, so why let some stupid joke bring us down? It's either this, or we get hung from the nearest tree for being anti-crown papists.

In the end, I guess "cultural appropriation" in this case is ok, because we Irish either let it slide or actively push it ourselves. And, again, if that's the case, are you really going to be that wiener sitting in the corner killing the buzz with complaints about how you can't wear black face without getting your ass kicked and losing your job? Just drink some Tully, go to the middle of the bar and pretend you can step dance.

[Leo656]

Voltron nailed it. Nice job, brother.

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

(All I bothered with was wearing a TMNT shirt because green.)

Haha, me too. Only green shirt I own.

Although I also had several pints of Guinness, of course, because Guinness is Life. That's the only "beer" I can drink like a dozen of and still feel great and not get a hangover or even gut-rot. And it's smooooooth and refreshing. Ohhhhh baby.

CKD: Sadly, you're correct. We Irish have a saying: "If your drinks are fruity, then so are you."

...By "We Irish", I specifically mean "We Irish living in this house right here," but it probably goes way back, like all Provably True things.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Although I also had several pints of Guinness, of course, because Guinness is Life. That's the only "beer" I can drink like a dozen of and still feel great and not get a hangover or even gut-rot. And it's smooooooth and refreshing. Ohhhhh baby.

CKD: Sadly, you're correct. We Irish have a saying: "If your drinks are fruity, then so are you."

...By "We Irish", I specifically mean "We Irish living in this house right here," but it probably goes way back, like all Provably True things.

The saying is targeted at me, but damned if I don't like it anyway.

Man, I tried Guinness awhile back because it promised me undertones of coffee or whatever. Yeah right.

[Leo656]

How odd, that's not a very good descriptive representation at all. Someone was ribbin' you, my son.

I mostly grew up (literally, actually; beer was never verboten in my house so I've been a life-long "fan" of brew, which may be why I've never binged or developed a problem) on Budweiser, Heineken, and stuff like that, so the first couple Guinness I had were definitely an adjustment. I really do think it's an acquired taste, though; it was admittedly kind of bitter at first, but fast forward to now and the flavor is actually very subtle for me. So is the buzz, which is another reason I enjoy it. I can pound a six and still go to work in the morning, if I so choose.

Chilled in the freezer, it has no flavor pushback at all; goes down like water, almost no bitter taste at all. It began as a holiday thing, but now it's my legit favorite.

I'd never describe it as having "an undertone of coffee"; maybe they just meant "It's kinda bitter"? I would and have, however, described Guinness as "The beer that eats like a meal", because that's supremely accurate.

Either way, Guinness is like kisses; your very first one will always be memorable, but it will never be the best one you'll ever have.

[IndigoErth]

Fruity?? Nah-ah, am not... I just find things that taste like horse piss (or so I'm told) or jet fuel to be really unappealing. No use in drinking things that taste gross.

[Leo656]

I'm genuinely amazed that some of you have managed to live this long.

[IndigoErth]

By not having some of the bad habits of some prior relatives.

[Leo656]

Let's not make it a game of whose family contains more degenerates, lass. Pretty sure a few of my relatives have their own felonies named after 'em.

Why it skipped over me, I'll never know. I'm the only one who even puts on a reasonable pretense of being a responsible adult. And even that's only bout 4 hours per day because it's all I can manage.

[Voltron]

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

Man, I tried Guinness awhile back because it promised me undertones of coffee or whatever. Yeah right.

Originally Posted by Leo656

How odd, that's not a very good descriptive representation at all. Someone was ribbin' you, my son.

See, I do taste coffee and chocolate in Guinness. It's something I love about it. That and it's just such a warm and gentle experience. I get giddy just thinking about it.

To the point where I get upset when an establishment does not have Guinness, or worse if they pour it like some kind of half-brained dope. Have some respect for the beverage!