Irish Racism on the Dis

[charl]

My DH is from banger northern Ireland and we have a laugh at his decent as he me, though i would never call anyone else the stuff I say to him, Im from lancashire and get called cotton picker amongst them thats the nice one,

to do it to someone else is hurtful, i know he wouldnt want someonelse calling him a paddy or spud picker,

 

[mericletwins]

Yes and no - the people who are using it, and not using it as a nickname for Patrick since they would never call someone named Patrick "Paddy" - it would never even cross their minds to do so. They are using it to mean "Day of the Irish" - talk to them and you will see... 90% of them know nothing about Ireland or the Irish - they may not know it, but they ARE using it in a derogatory way. Much like that other thread about the f word used to describe a match in England is derogatory term here.

Hmmm.....I know several people named Patrick, who are 100% Irish and their family and friends call them Paddy as a nick name. I live in NJ.

 

[Oofies]

Ok- so back to basics- is it offensive to say 'Happy St. Patty's day?' because I thought THAT is what was meant not 'Paddy'. though I usually say "Happy St. Pat's day"
I DO NOT MEAN OFFENSE TO ANYONE by this- I really just was wondering if it was offensive or not.

Thanks!

 

[Mainebound]

Hmmm.....I know several people named Patrick, who are 100% Irish and their family and friends call them Paddy as a nick name. I live in NJ.

I am a (part) Irish (former) Catholic (former) Rhode Islander.

Just wanted to note that I was just watching a new show, The Black Donnelly's, set in present day NYC about 4 working class Irish brothers, and in the pilot episode (which you can download for free on itunes) one of the lead Irish characters walks into a wake and looks at the dead Irish guy and says "hey Paddy...".

I could not make it through more than 20 minutes. I found it so stereotyped and cliched, but I thought the reference was interesting given the thread.

 

[twinklebug]

60% (best guess) Irish Catholic here. I learn something new every day: today, it's about sensitivities of an Irish nature. I've heard people say St. Paddy's day and NEVER considered it an insult. In the Boston area there were a huge number of irish immigrants earlier in the 20th century. My grandparents, on both sides, being among them (via New Foundland & Nova Scotia). As a child I recall there being many laughs from the adults in my family about irish men drinking and St. Patrick's (never Paddy's) Day in America being a drinking holiday. None of the laughs were ever ment to harm nor were they specifically pointing to the Irish as a whole (just the guys who camped out at the bars.) The unfortunate part of this was that those man who hung out in the bars were for the most part unemployed as there was a bias in Boston against hiring the Irish immigrants.

Using terms for name calling is either from ignorance (easily changed) or simply a reaction from people who don't know how to, or who are afraid to, work through a situation (not easilly changed.) A tool to fall back on, and not a very good one at that. In general it's best to ignore such comments & continue on. Honestly, I think as a whole we need to learn from mistakes of the past & realize that humans are all made of the same basic material. Putting down any "group" hurts more than just the intended audience. It causes anger, hatred and sterotyping from both sides as well as third parties viewing it all.

Peace!
BTW - Today I consider St. Patricks day, in America, a day to show pride in our heritage. As said, everyone's a little Irish! By wearing green I am not honoring any man or his deeds, but remembering that my family once lived in Ireland and, for some reason still unknown to us, left for the Americas. Without them, I and my family would not be here.

 

[CleveRocks]

I have not heard of Irish Catholic racism before, but as they will tell you, if you are not happy here, no one is forcing you to stay. Anyway, best of luck.

Am I the only one who views this as a callous response???

"I don't have any experience with what you're talking about, so it doesn't matter to me. Go away if you don't like it."

What ever happened to civility and tolerance? When did they become dirty words?

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me." But they also won't help me feel comfortable.

Not Irish, can barely even spell it, but if I do something that I can reasonably understand offends someone, I'll do my best to stop doing it, out of respect for that person.

A famous persecuted person one said something like, "Do unto others as you'd have others do unto you."

 

[kaytieeldr]

Well, color me naive - but as far as I know, paddy is a wet/flooded area where rice is grown.

Now, checking the Merriam-Webster dictionary, as a proper noun apparently the name can be considered offensive:

Main Entry: Pad·dy
Pronunciation: \ˈpa-dē\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural Paddies
Etymology: from Paddy, Hiberno-English nickname for Patrick
Date: 1780
often offensive : irishman

but even in that case, the primary definition is as a nickname for a specific name.

 

[mtlhddoc2]

but even in that case, the primary definition is as a nickname for a specific name.

the primary definition for the "n" word is "an ignorant person" too - does this mean that it should be ok to use?

 

[Califgirl]

In case anyone is wondering, this is the original post from the DIS VMK boards.
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=17347856&postcount=39

I don't think the person was trying to be rude. I'll admit it is the first time I've heard of Paddy being an offensive term.

If you're curious how the comment came up, you can click the thread "new items 3/2" at the top of the post and it will show the thread.

 

[NYDisGuy]

And you missed mine - I know a few people named "Paddy" as well. None of them are named Patrick, except for those that live in or emigrated from Ireland. I know very few people who, when asked "what is a nickname for Patrick?", would say "Paddy" - but I know plenty that, when asked "What does Paddy stand for?", would say "an Irishman"

and the English arent the only ones who use those terms: you can add the Italians, the Dutch, the French and the Germans to that list among others.

Thats my point. You compared paddy to the n word. Paddy is still being used as a common irish name. There would be no way that anyone would name their kid the n word without extreme consequences. Is this because people dont care about the irish? No, it is because it has a more common usage. It doesnt matter what the n word originated from, it is a symbol for an extreme form of hate, just like the swastika.