In taking a break from the 30 questions/prompts (and my ever punctual postings…sarcasm intended) I wanted to blow some steam as to why this time of year, or in particular this time in March, has me feeling both extremes in terms of love/hate. For anyone that knows me, or has simply read a few of my postings, I am and
always will be enthralled/bewitched/captivated/in love with the Emerald Isle.
It is a place that has a magic all of its own and is somewhere that I would never object to ending up. There is a scene from the film The Green Mile in which the character of Arlen Bitterbuck describes his version of heaven to Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks’ character):
“Do you believe that if a man repents enough for what he done wrong, than he’ll get to go back to the time that was happiest for him and live there forever? Could that be what heaven’s like?”
While not exactly the same thing, I do believe in what Arlen’s character is describing. I do hope that the afterlife, if there is one, involves the replaying of the happiest moments of my life. And my time spent in Eire would rank right up there as where I’d like my eternal ever-after to be rehashed. Ireland is near and dear to my heart and as I hear the Irish pipes belting away on the radio these days, my heart aches a bit for the rolling hills and music-filled pubs that await me across the pond.
But alas, as St. Patty’s Day does draw near, so do the god-awful stereotypes and unfortunate misconceptions. So please excuse me as I vent and bitch about said delusions:
- The Irish are not all gingers. In fact, Scotland has the highest proportion of redheads within their population at 13% whereas Ireland is only at 10%. So please, stop with the tacky red wigs and ginger jokes.
- The population of Ireland does include more than just old men in paddy caps and young redheaded children. For the redheaded reference, please see above.
- While they do like the drink, they do not start drinking at breakfast, be it Guinness, Jameson, or what have you.
- There are more popular names than Paddy and Mary. In fact, in 2008, the most popular names were Jack and Ava.
- Ireland is not a country stuck in 1892. There are complex highway systems and important business capitols throughout the country. While there are still sections that are more rural and picturesque, the country as a whole is very modern and yes, even fashion-forward…or at least savvy.
And what even gets me more upset is what happened here in Albany over the weekend. I really wasn’t going to write about this topic before Saturday. I told myself to just cool it and let it go. But then this happened in the early morning hours of Saturday, March 12th:
More videos available here.
What really pisses me off about this whole thing is that those idiots were smashing others’ cars and looking/acting like complete tools, costing the city of Albany more than $12,000 in damages, and doing it all in the name of St. Patrick’s Day. Really?! What the hell. I spent many a night and early morning in Ireland having a fantastic time, and I even celebrated St. Patty’s Day on the soils of the Emerald Isle and I can say with 100% conviction that never did I see the level of sheer disregard and complete foolishness that I saw in those videos of Saturday. The mob-mentality that circulated among the inebriated in the streets of Albany is far from anything I witnessed abroad. So while yes, I do love to celebrate, have a good time and wear green come mid-March, can we please stop with the ridiculous misconceptions? I’m sure the country of Ireland would not be proud to attach its name to anything as ugly as this past weekend. So stop this nonsense. You look like a feckin idiot.
