Yay! Let's bastardize an entire culture!

[Meggiepants]

Being from the states, I have to say, if it weren't St. Patrick's day, it would be something else.

We like to get drunk. We do it on New Years, Labor Day, the 4th, memorial day, Friday... I could go on, but really it isn't necessary. We don't get plastered on St. Patrick's day to celebrate Irish heritage. We do it because it's yet another excuse to get drunk.

Where I live, the University specifically tries to schedule Spring Break so it falls during St. Patrick's Day. They wanted to curb the accidental deaths. The bars were most unhappy; their profit margins fell. So what did they do? They created Unofficial St. Patrick's day here.

Trust me. This shit doesn't make the Irish look bad. It makes us look bad. I'm not trying to belittle your argument here, I'm just saying we're idiots when it comes to this. We're equal opportunity bastardizers. I'm fairly certain in a few years time, we'll be taking on Chinese New Years.

 

[Arenari]

Wait Saint Patrick's Day was a day off from lent? Shit, I never knew that. Interesting. I thought St. Patty's day was about BEER and DRINKING and MARCH MADNESS

I would not be surprised if that was started by us Americans. I agree with this completely because a lot of the holidays right now are variations on on this original event. Not to mention most of them have no relation to the original event at all.

 

[KAPTAINmORGANnWo4life]

Just ignoring the entire history of Saint Patrick's Day, because most people who "celebrate" this holiday are exactly that: Ignorant, be honest, Saint Patrick's Day has become an even greater abomination every year.

I understand that the very origin of the day was a "day off" from Lent, but there's another point: How many of the people who love today so much were actually participating in Lent? How many even go to Church? How many even believe in any type of faith?

This whole practice sickens me. If I were to dress-up in an Uncle Sam outfit, get drunk on piss-quality red beer with white foam and a blue cup, go parading down Main Street singing "The Stars and Stripes Forever", and basically act like a hooligan, all in the name of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I'd get thrown in the loony bin after getting out of jail.

What mainly pisses me off is the total disrespect for another culture, and it's certainly not just today. The Irish in particular are on top of the list of people who it's apparently alright to openly mock and marginalize, which is painful on a personal level, seeing as I'm a Canadian, another group in the top-list, with immediate Irish heritage. And it's even accepted in media! If I were to come out with a brand of breakfast sausages called "Big Willie's", with a circa 1917 caricature of a German as the mascot, I'd be sued out of business before you could say "Ludendorff".

It's spreading, too. I noticed this past Lunar New Year that there were a few Chinese-centric instances of exploitative practices going on in my local community.



This is a rant, but one I fully stand behind. Maybe if we want to show the world that we people who play Video Games aren't as baseless and immoral as they mock and marginalize us as, we could start a movement of "Absolute Legitimate Equality", and denounce these filthy practices.



Seeing as I'm posting this to a forum, I fully expect a response, and am fully anticipating backlash, so do your worst. Oh, and if on the off-chance you're not here to bash me, here you go:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ocpv5EtokY

Start by demanding something be done about that (yes, this was in part "inspired" by that video).

People get drunk and celebrate a holiday. With alcohol involved a few selected people do stupid shit.

Long story short, people have fun and get drunk on holidays. It has happened throughout many cultures and it will always happen.

Just because you are straight edged doesn't you mean have to go preaching to people how to celebrate a holiday. No one has entitlement to a certain holiday and how it should be celebrated, nor do many people give a shit.

In fact its people like you that piss me off.

Oh what a tragedy! Your "right" to take someone elses culture, butcher it, and then destroy your own body is being infringed upon! John Locke is rolling in his grave.

And you are missing the point, it's not about them drinking, it's about everything to do with the treatment of Irish culture

 

[The_Graff]

bloody hell! just wait until KAPTAIN finds out about whats hapened to Christmas, and Easter ... and St Valentines day.

 

[PinkAngelKitty]

I'm sorry... what's the issue here? You dislike people celebrating a holiday because you think they have no right to partake? Or are you accusing them of "just doing it wrong"?

Lighten up, man. Let the people have their fun. Those of us who celebrate it "right" don't take offense to those who are doing it wrong, so neither should you.

 

[reg42]

It's like Christmas (which the Christians stole from the Pagans BTW), something which formerly had religious value, but has been turned into something commercial for everyone except the devout.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

Just be thankful that the Irish get mocked rather than used as slave labour or exterminated in the millions.

You don't know a lot about Irish history at all do you? although I wouldn't say millions by direct action but there have been millions altogether over the years.

You're actually comparing the Irish experience to the slave trade and the holocaust on near equal terms?
Excuse me whilst I un-flabber my gast.

Yes I am and in fact oppression of the Irish went on for twice as long as the slave trade of black people in the Western World and there was around 10mil in Ireland now we have 4.5mil roughly although some of that was lost to emmigration. So yes I would like to compare the treatment of the Irish to the treatment of the African slaves and Jews. Do you even know what the penal laws were?

Oppression/occupation of a state is somewhat different to enforced slavery of a race or the forced extermination of a race - (although admittedly there was a religious aspect involved in the case of Ireland).

Furthermore: the Irish potato famine. Between 1845 and 52 alone the population dropped by roughly 25% with approximately 1 million emigrating and 1 million dying from famine (note: not dying from oppression, genocide, or slavery). Thats a third of your population drop in 7 years, when you take into account the fact that Irish emigration had been going on since the early 18th Century, your figures seem less than water-tight.

As for the penal laws, they only had an effect on the general populous after 1800; the effect being poverty as a method to remove catholics from power. Again: not slavery or genocide.

I'm not by any means saying that nothing bad has ever happened to the Irish, but really, the comparison you make is disgusting...and just factually wrong. And thats it - I wont be replying/derailing this thread any further.

Actually Irish emmigration stopped during 90s during the Celtic Tiger so no it has not been on going. Ireland has not been a state until recently as the British were kinda severely oppressing us and using us as slaves. Most of the emmigration and deaths could of been averted by the British gov. not importing food from Ireland.

So no Ireland was not being oppressed as a state since we have only even been a state in the loosest possible meaning of the word since beforehand we were tribes. There was a massive religious aspect brought in regarding Ireland and Britain. Also when I was talking about deaths I meant all deaths caused by the British gov not just Famine deaths.

Actually I find you attitude to be much worse as you haven't a notion what you're talking about since the British gov doesn't even admit it has done wrong. Have you even been here before I actually live here and those scars still affect us today. What they did to the Guildford 4 and Birmingham 6 was attrocious.

I know you are not replying to this but the fact that you find it disgusting and unable to be compared to slavery actually shows how little you know about it.

 

[Lono Shrugged]

As an Irish person I can gladly say we made a LOAD of money yesterday selling tourists overpriced beer and plastic flags and hats.

THANK YOU FOR BUYING OUR SHIT

I honestly couldn't care less about the plastic paddies or racism or any of that crap. Without sounding high and mighty you don't really get it unless you grew up in Ireland and understand why it's an important day. Paddy's day in Dublin is different to Paddy's day in America

 

[AWAR]

Hehehe... Pretty much all celebrations are excuses for drinking and partying xD

 

[Danzaivar]

This whole practice sickens me. If I were to dress-up in an Uncle Sam outfit, get drunk on piss-quality red beer with white foam and a blue cup, go parading down Main Street singing "The Stars and Stripes Forever", and basically act like a hooligan, all in the name of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I'd get thrown in the loony bin after getting out of jail.

Oh my God, that sounds like an AWESOME holiday. You should try forward that, there isn't an 'America Appreciation Day' or 'Uncle Sam's Day' event, and it's always good to have more days of drink!

--

On topic - Don't see how anyone who celebrates Christmas the way most westerners do can moan about bastardizing holidays. Culture evolves.

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

I don't see a problem with it and I'm from the capitol of Ireland.... Liverpool
*drum roll snare*

Pretty much every festival is celebrated by those who have little understanding or invested interest of it.
Modern day life marginalises and generalises most things. If your a fan of Family Guy or South Park ya probably guilty of doing the same.

Also, I do have Irish friends who got wasted yesterday to celebrate St Patricks. And they seem quite happy with the way the holidays celebrated, you weren't born in Ireland and you do

 

[Pinguin]

I said similar things yesterday while sat in a pub. It's sad really...

 

[ProfessorLayton]

I hate it too. I always wonder what Saint Patrick had to do with pinching people (which gets really old, really fast). It's now just a waste of a holiday that's lost all original meaning... so it's basically like every other holiday.

 

[benoitowns]

What I find strange is that we celebrate the day a guy hit his staff into the ground and made every snake on the island(which is a really cold island where snakes probably wouldnt want to live) disappear by making them magically going into the water and staying there.
Even stranger is that we celebrate it by trying to get drunk.

 

[ArcWinter]

I don't even consider St. Patrick's Day a real holiday. There are many holidays I won't acknowledge, not until Loving Day is celebrated internationally.

Anyway, if you're complaining about holidays, I'll continue. What's up with Easter? Pagan goddess of fertility feast to painting eggs in a religion that recommends chastity? Something went wrong.

 

[boholikeu]

My only real problem here is the pinching if you don't wear green, who the hell came up with that. Alright I've changed my idea, it is now going to slightly celebrate normally with a hint of the weird... Screwing a goat while eating chinese food, shooting off fireworks, in a giant dragon costume parading down the street. That's how we should celebrate the Chinese New Year from now on, I decreed it so.

Still fighting straw men... No one would disagree that associating bestiality with a holiday is offensive...

And you are missing the point, it's not about them drinking, it's about everything to do with the treatment of Irish culture

You're still missing the point as well. People aren't purposefully degrading Irish culture by celebrating St. Patrick's Day in their own way. They only do it because they don't know any better. Yes they are ignorant, but that's exactly why the onus is on you to show them otherwise. If you really want people to have greater respect for the holiday, joining in on the festivities and teaching them about real Irish culture will go a lot farther than blaming them for something they don't even know about in the first place.

 

[Fr331anc3r]

My only real problem here is the pinching if you don't wear green, who the hell came up with that. Alright I've changed my idea, it is now going to slightly celebrate normally with a hint of the weird... Screwing a goat while eating chinese food, shooting off fireworks, in a giant dragon costume parading down the street. That's how we should celebrate the Chinese New Year from now on, I decreed it so.

Still fighting straw men... No one would disagree that associating bestiality with a holiday is offensive...

I'm not setting up a straw man, I'm making a simple point, and possibly dragging it to an extreme, that if we take a well known holiday, and tweak it just slightly, not a lot, add one thing here, or take away one thing there, how long before it isn't the holiday at all and something completely new and different. I'm so glad everyone focus' just on the goat fucking and not the real issue that I was trying to get across.

Also, I take offense at the thought of bestiality, those poor animals were coerced into sex, in our brand new Chinese New Year, there are forms they need to fill out and waivers they need to sign, it is quite an honour to be in these voluntary, participatory animal acts.

 

[metalmmaniac]

This whole practice sickens me. If I were to dress-up in an Uncle Sam outfit, get drunk on piss-quality red beer with white foam and a blue cup, go parading down Main Street singing "The Stars and Stripes Forever", and basically act like a hooligan, all in the name of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I'd get thrown in the loony bin after getting out of jail.

you could do that on July 4th and i bet no one would mind. you just chose the wrong holiday my friend.

 

[boholikeu]

I'm not setting up a straw man, I'm making a simple point, and possibly dragging it to an extreme,

You do realize that's essentially the definition of a straw man, don't you?

In any case, it doesn't seem to matter anyway because apparently the OP has given up on this thread.