If you were one of the millions of Americans who wore green to work/school for St. Patrick's Day and started celebrating at lunch time, just stop. Put down the green beer, take off the Leprechaun t-shirts, and hear me out because as an Irish American I must say that the association of my tribe with this drunken slob fest is getting a little old. Been there, puked that. Imagine if we celebrated other ethnic groups in the same way we do the Irish on St. Patrick's Day where the worst stereotype is reinforced. What if for Columbus Day everyone put on wife-beaters and moved back in with their mother? What if during Black History Month we bought lobster with food stamps? What if for Cinco De Mayo we went swimming in blue jeans? What if for Rash Hashanah, we go out for Chinese food and argue over the bill for an hour? Or for Chinese New Year, we all make soup out of endangered species, then get in our cars and drive terribly.
When my ancestors came to this country from Ireland, they were greeted with signs in shop windows that read "No Irish Need Apply." No one would hire the Irish people which is why they had to form Riverdance. All the things that are said about Muslim immigrants in America today were said about the Irish then: They have funny accents, they eat weird food, they have an odd religion. Of course, in their case, it's all true. That brings us to some interesting questions like why do liberals treat some minorities as protected species but not all? Why groan at that when just a minute ago we were so freely laughing at the Asian driver joke? And is there anything wrong, if you are a part of a particular culture, to feel an extra...not guilt; but a collective responsibility? Even if you yourself didn't do something bad. Liberals certainly feel that way about reparations. I'm for reparations and I personally never owned slaves; just check my taxes. Is has been a long time in America since held blacks in unpaid servitude if you don't count college sports.
Before my aunt died, she talked about how during the 70's and 80's, terrorism wasn't a Muslim thing; it was an Irish thing. Back then the bombs were going off in Belfast, not Baghdad and the virgins you met in Heaven were named Kevin and Shawn. It is not hard to imagine a scenario where the Irish terrorists of that era were trying to get America involved in their war by striking here where they had a lot of financial support from Irish Americans. Then, Irish Americans like my aunt would have been subject to extreme vetting. What would my aunt's reaction have been? I can't say for sure, but I do not think it would be "How dare you to suspect me?" She would have known why they were suspecting her. As long as it wasn't a witch hunt, she would have said "Ugh, these are my people. I should own this more than the non-Irish woman." I think there are a lot of Muslims today who feel the same way, but their voices are drowned out by the liberals shouting islamophobe.
There was a Draw the Prophet contest in Garland, Texas a few years ago, while certainly provocative, you either believe in free speech or you don't. This is America and we're supposed to. Unfortunately, a couple of Muslims didn't and they attacked. When they got shot, a local Muslim resident named Muhammed Jetpuri said, "The extremists got what's coming to them. You don't just shoot people. I'm glad they got killed." See, he may be Muslim but he is a real Texan. All the Muslim Americans I talk to basically told me the same thing every immigrant says. They're glad they left the old country behind and came to a place that's better, freer, and less beholden to .....traditions. I saw a meme going around on the Internet when it was International Women's Day that said, "A Woman should be..whatever the fuck she wants." So liberals, you can applaud that or you can pretend this is just a fashion trend; you just can't do both.
