Point/Counter Point: Y U No like St. Paddy’s Day? by @KrissiBex
“St Patrick’s Day is the birth of the Bandwagon Irishmen: shouting for kisses because they are Irish, wanting to drink “like the Irish,” using bad Irish accents, pointing at little people while demanding they hand over their non-existent pots ‘o’ gold. Finding clovers and for one glorious day, hailing gingers as Gods and not soulless monsters.”
I am a proud Irish American who celebrates St Patrick’s Day the way it was meant to be celebrated and I don’t apologize for it. The opinion widely expressed, is that St Patrick’s Day is an insult to Irish heritage, a mockery of our culture that furthers the stereotype that the Irish are all drunks. It’s also fast becoming popular for decent Irish folks to avoid participating in traditional St Patrick’s Day shenanigans (it’s impossible to write anything about the Irish and not use this word at least 3 times, happy counting) as their doing so confirms their acceptance of the above. I disagree with this wholeheartedly and see fit to remind my fellow kinsmen that this is how St Patrick’s Day has always, and should always be celebrated.
SOME know that St Padraig (Patrick) was the patron saint of Ireland. FEW know that he passed away on March 17th, and that we celebrate that day as the Feast of Saint Patrick to honor him, and to a further extent, honor Irish heritage. What WE ALL know, is that St Patrick’s Day has actually evolved into a festivity by any and all races, worshiping alcohol while wearing green and inaccurately proclaiming to be Irish.
I understand why people who are actually Irish aren’t thrilled when everyone else around them claims to also be Irish. I compare this issue to the ever-hated bandwagon fan in sports. I’ve made it clear before that I am ok with bandwagon fans and take on the mindset of “the more the merrier” when it comes to celebrating my team. I know that I’m a real fan – everyone that knows me knows how passionate I am about sports so I don’t need to prove anything to anyone. I would rather celebrate with many than exclude and draw lines and celebrate with few. This holiday brings about a bevy of characters and every St Patrick’s Day is the birth of the Bandwagon Irishmen: shouting for kisses because they are Irish, wanting to drink “like the Irish,” using bad Irish accents, pointing at little people while demanding they hand over their non-existent pots ‘o’ gold. Finding clovers and for one glorious day, hailing gingers as Gods and not soulless monsters. Let the Bandwagon Irishmen take on your culture for one day. The Irish should be proud that others want to be them. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and nothing says flattered like 200,000+ people downtown at a parade claiming their relatives also came from County Cork. My Nan always said the only way to tell a true Irishmen from a fake one was to lift up their kilt. If you saw undergarments, he was fake, if the abrupt uplifting of his attire caused you to see what only the stork saw, then he was the real thing and you should buy him a pint.
Many non-Hispanic people take to celebrating Cinco de Mayo, drinking margaritas and doing tequila shots to the point of ensuring their Seis de Mayo is nothing but them being hungover. The difference between Cinco de Mayo and St Patrick’s Day, is that every white, black, yellow, purple, rainbow colored person isn’t running around claiming to be “Mexican”. But the drinking, celebrating and chaotic behavior remains. It’s just that no white kid would be stupid enough to ride down Federal in a low-rider Cadillac, with the Mexican flag on the front yelling “Hug Me, I’m Mexican!!” in a butchered Hispanic accent.
To that point, some Irish are upset that St Patrick’s Day promotes drunken behavior. Those that think that have never visited Ireland, firstly. I have, and both Ireland and England have a much more lackadaisical attitude towards drinking than Americans do. Not to say that everyone in the UK / Ireland area is drunk, but drinking isn’t looked down upon there in the way it is here. St Patrick’s Day has always been celebrated by drinking. Every Irish event is. Weddings – DRINK, funeral / wake – DRINK, kids birthday – DRINK. Ok maybe the last one is optional. But the reason drinking was tied to St Patrick’s Day was not so much that the Irish are known for their shenanigans as a result of being a bunch of drunks (though merely a happy coincidence), but rather, as stated previously, because St Padraig died on March 17th. In Irish cultures you have a wake alongside a funeral. I’ve been to a few and the purpose was to wait all night to see if the body would WAKE before burying them and all night meant a night of drinking and thus the tradition began, but this proves my point: though some may assume you drink because the Irish were a pack of lushes, but it is actually due to a very proper and time-honored tradition.
Like many things in life, I believe that people experience them differently given the attitude they have going into it. Deal with the chaos by getting there early and getting a great spot for the parade with your kids or grab a good table with friends before every sorority idiot with “Mc” in his last name, but no pride in his heritage, wakes up.
So go and enjoy St Patrick’s Day, no matter your race, religion or stance on drinking. Understand why you’re celebrating it and be safe in doing so. And to those that are Irish and look down their noses at this day or Irish people that chose to participate in the shenanigans of the parade, be proud to be Irish and be proud that everyone wishes they were, even if only for this day. Educate people on what St Patrick Day means and why it’s special to you. Doing so will have removed the stereotype on the “drunken Irish” name and replaced it with education in our history for one person and that’s what matters.
