Ask The Consumerists: Why Is It Cool To Make Fun Of "Drunk" Irish People?
Reader Kyran sent this photo of a hat sold by Walmart and asked the following question:
"Why are the Irish the last group you can still make fun of in retail?"
Despite our extreme Irishness, we don't really have a good answer for this question. Maybe it's because most Irish people don't really care if you make fun of them on ridiculous tacky baseball caps? Then again, maybe Walmart is secretly part of the Know Nothing Party?
Discuss.
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Comments:
married an irish girl. One of my good friends is irish and dating an irish girl (well, all of these are irish american). They know it's kinda true :)
Probably because the Irish don't really get their panties in a knot over this stuff
Because in my experience, people of Irish heritage (myself included) don't mind the stereotype. We generally think it's just something that's funny. I think we're fairly good at being self deprecating.
Because if you make fun of a drunk Irishman, he'll knock you out! I think it all balances out at that point.
Now, if you said the Irish were gay, then you would have a problem on your hands.
(Gay Irishman here)
If I was Irish. I would be waving the racist flag. It's amazing how one race doesn't tolerate it while the Irish are either too blind or too drunk(pun intended) to relize that they are being stepped on.
It's because everyone claims they have some amount of Irish.
Most of the Irish I know enjoy being referred to in some capacity of drunk and pride themselves on their abilities to consume mass quantities of booze!
Also to add - it's been a fairly long time since the Irish were really persecuted in the US, unlike African Americans for example. And making fun of the Irish is usually in good fun, not mean spirited, nowadays.
Besides that, deep down inside, everyone wants to be Irish.
@privatejoker75: I don't know. For some reason, whenever there's a discussion about racism on the Internet, a bunch of people pile on and complain about how horribly persecuted the Irish are because something happened to their great-grandfather once. I can see those people getting shirty about a drinking hat.
Then again, I'm not sure one really qualifies as "Irish" if one is four generations removed from County Cork.
My guess would be that the rest of the world universally pities a folk who seem to be continually blighted with bad weather, bad potatoes, and ginger complexions.
When truly all the Irish have left are inedible shamrocks and really good whiskey, its really okay with us if you overindulge in the latter. We're not laughing at you, we're kinda cryin' with you.
Its like making fun of white people for being white.
What is funny is how many people who aren't Irish, like to pretend they are Irish for St. Patrick's Day. With "Kiss me I'm Irish" pins, and wearin green, and drinking...you don't see anything like that for Black History Month.
Duke's Assistant: The polls show you're not doing well with women.
Duke: Do they vote?
Alice: Yes, we do.
Duke: How about the Irish?
Alice: Them, too.
Duke: Uh oh, better change these posters!
(poster shows Duke kicking a leprechaun, saying "Irish suck!")
I find it cute how the only person here horribly offended by this isn't Irish.
@CumaeanSibyl: Yes, I'm indignant about a drinking hat because my great great uncle was hung by the state of pennsylvania in the 1800's under the pressure of the coal mining companies for a crime he didn't commit just because he was Irish and associated with the Molly McGuires, and finally was pardoned in 1979.
:p
My personal interpretation as an Irish-American:
One aspect of Irish culture is self-deprecating humor, including not freaking out when others make fun of us. Mc's [and thats not an offensive slur, it appears twice in my full name] roll with the punches. We're a resilient people with a sense of humor. I'd probably find this hat more offensive if it read, "Drunk Mexican" and I'm not the least bit Mexican.
Chances are, 95% of these hats are purchased by Irish-Americans.
@BayStateDarren: You're right, if the hat did say "mexican" instead of Irish, I'd probably think it's offensive to Mexicans.
As one of Irish descent, I enjoy that we don't get riled up over nothing. I'd say things like this are definitely not worrying about. None of my Irish friends get concerned about this sort of "racism" either. Tacky shit is offensive, I don't care who you're aiming it toward. Frankly, better this than some mustard-stained Big Johnson shirt.
@CumaeanSibyl:
I think that's what it comes down to. After a while you just become "white". I think if there were more first and second generation Irish it would perhaps be more of an issue.
For those worried about the racism of this hat, I'm pretty sure Irish isn't a race.
Maybe we've got our mouths so stuffed with potatoes and beer (right? an Irish Seven Course Meal?) we can't be heard complaining.
I think the real reason is Irish people realize there's no real harm in calling us drunk. It's like shooting blanks. We can laugh it off and even make jokes about it ourselves... or even MAKE IT TRUE. Ultimately the words don't really have an effect on people.
The same people who market Sopranos shit and make reference to all Italians loving pasta and being in the mafia.
This is definitely from Wal-Mart's Halloween section because of the Rubie's logo on it and not something that is typically sold...that is why.
Because it's true? ;-)
It reminds me of a bit on Conan that my wife and I saw a few years ago. Conan was making fun of Irish people for doing different things. My wife and I were eating dinner and my wife nearly spit out her mashed potatoes laughing, proclaiming, "It's true!" Then Conan says, "You know the Irish people are at home eating their potatoes saying: 'It's true!'"
As an actual bona-fide Irish person (not Irish-American, or any of that nonsense), well, I hate to say it, but it's sorta true. We have one of the worst rates of binge-drinking in Europe.
As we've said ourselves. "The only thing standing between the Irish and Greatness is Whiskey". That and we really don't care what you say. If you're not Irish then your opinion doesn't matter.
@AlteredBeast: I think if I wore a pin that said 'Kiss me, I'm part-African', I'd get beat up.
(Given we likely originated in Africa, this wouldn't be an untrue statement)
Because, in my experience, every single person in America (except me) is of 'Irish Heritage', and very, very vocal about it. So who's going to be offended?
IMHO, what makes it "cool" or acceptable to make fun of the Irish versus other minorities is that there isn't any significant intolerance towards us in this country anymore. Like I sais earlier, this hat could be about Mexicans and actually be offensive, but thats because there is racism against Mexicans and many other groups. Somebody trying to do that to the Irish in this country would get laughed out of the room. It is just a joke when it's toward our heritage, not anything more.
@travis: LOL! Ya, been there. My wife came back from the buffet one time with 3 kinds of potatoes... It was hard to stop making fun of her for that.
It's because Irishmen have such huge man-junk. We don't care *what* you tossers have to say - we can drink your men under the table, then please your women on top!
The drunk-irish stereotype honestly bothers me less than the great potato famine jokes. Specifically the ones that go something like "Wouldn't you like some corn? Oh no thank you, I'd prefer a potato." or something along those lines.
If you think they are funny, you are a stupid, stupid person. If you make those jokes, you are a stupid, stupid person.
It's because bigotry is only occasionally wrong.
Because we're jealous, that's why.
There is a very good reason why, in the US, it's OK to stereotype people of Irish or Italian descent, but not ok to stereotype people of certain other races. That reason is, of course, that there is little to no real-world racism against Irish people and Italian people. People of Irish and Italian descent don't get higher rates on their loans just because of their race (to point out the obvious, recent example).
Now, if you went back about 100 years, there would be real anti-Irish racism. In turn-of-the-20th century NYC, there were restaurants with signs that said "No Irish". Those wounds have healed now, but it's only been 40 years since some restaurants had signs that read "Whites Only".
I imagine that, in 50 years, there will be more racial harmony, and rather than no race being picked on in retail, we will ALL be picked on in retail. Just like the Irish are today.
I used to be sorta racist against the Irish. I got sick of all of the people of Irish heritage I know saying, "We're the blacks of Europe." I never understood what they meant. Then I saw the movie "The Wind That Shakes the Barley", and all the Irish racism in the BBC show "Life on Mars" and understood how any sort of racism, no matter how lily-white, is not tolerable!
Then I went and married one. He said it was only OK to be racist against the following Irish Americans: Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Pat Buchanan. He said they embody everything bad about the Irish with no redeeming qualities, and people should be deterred from acting like them.
et tu, Mel?
All right, we'll give some land to the [balcks] and the [chinese], but we DON'T WANT THE IRISH
@BayStateDarren: I agree with you, but think that is crap. Either get on board the PC train, or don;t be so thin-skinned.
@WhirlyBird: That made me LOL.
The "Curse of the Irish" has worked it's way through a big part of MY family. One of those stereotypes with a bit of truth to it.
Because the Irish were trodden upon by the British for so many years, they developed a thick skin.
Americans of Irish or, as in my case, German ancestry do not yet have an organized group of people whose so purpose is to let them know they are victims yet.
Wait... That hat's supposed to be a joke? I thought it was an actual drunk meter. Dammit, I need to get my money back.
And I'm proud to be a drunk Irishman. Better than being a cheap Scotsman.
I think the Irish stereotype isn't as offensive as others (Stupid Polocks, Criminal Negros, hummmmm Effeminate French, ect)
Being Drunk and Happy doesn't sound so bad in comparison. I do think that we're all pretty thin skinned though. I'm a really conservative Christian and when I see a good slam on the Daily Show, I think, "Good one Jon...".
@chiieddy:
I would make some jokes about what people could do to celebrate Martain Luther King Day in relation to how people celebrate St. Patrick's Day in an Irish mocking way...but I'd be afraid of how offensive it would be!
Not all people live off of being a victim. The Irish assimilated into American society and eventually the Anglos learned to tolerate them.
Other immigrant and racial groups, on the other hand, have done things differently. They have learned to live off of perpetual victimhood status and create special groups to suck off society as such.
As a part-Irish person, I pride coming from a group of people who took the high road and stuck it out. We didn't whine and we earned our keep.
A deluge of racist comments in 3...2...1...