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January 6, 1998
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Something's bugging me about my interest in the Catalpa story. I had a hard time finishing yesterday's entry. I realized I don't want to be identified with being of Irish descent. Weird feeling. I read in one of the newspapers or other around here - the year end "what's in, what's out" issue - that in '98 all things Irish were "in" - largely because of Frank McCourt's book, Angela's Ashes (which, btw, I haven't read yet). That started this odd stirring of discomfort. Irish Catholics are the last ethnic and religious group that it's ok to make fun of. Make jokes about any other ethnic or religious group and the political correctness police jump down your throat. Make fun of Catholics, particularly Irish ones, and the politically correct laugh along with you. Well, maybe I exaggerate a little, but even non-Irish non-Catholics among my acquaintances have noticed this phenomenon. Somewhere along the line, I got the idea I am supposed to be ashamed of the genes that gave me pale skin, freckles, and an unfortunate temper (actually, I lose my temper about twice a year but it's really dramatic when it happens). What exactly am I supposed to be ashamed of? I haven't done anything particularly shameful. In fact I can't think of anything especially shameful that the Irish have done as a group - at least anything that's more shameful than say the British Raj in India, or for that matter the British in Ireland, or the Spanish in the New World, or some of the more well known horrors of modern times. So where's the shame coming from? Two things I guess:
So, the stereotype. The stereotype is just that: a stereotype. Oh, there is some research that shows alcoholism is hereditary - but I haven't seen any that shows it's specifically tied to being Irish. Is the incidence of alcoholism that much higher among the Irish than any other ethnicity? If so, is the incidence the same among descendants of the Irish diaspora as among those living in Ireland? As for the birth control thing, umm, Catholicism bans what they call "artificial" birth control (that is, anything except the rhythm method) but I'd be willing to bet that factors other than religion influence family size. I'm not defending large families. I'm not condemning them either. Just saying that all the influences need to be understood before you can slam one particular ethnic group. OK.Now on to Southie. There ain't no good way to say this. No matter what I say, somebody will be offended. Some people in South Boston behaved unconscionably in the '70's. There's no getting around that fact. But was racism the only factor? What about class? What about xenophobia? Is all xenophobia racism? But back to my original subject: I grew up in a suburb of Boston in the 1950's and 60's. My parents kept us out of school to protest de facto segregation in the Boston schools during the great Boston School Stayout. Many suburban parents did. I learned the difference between de facto and de jure segregation before I studied Latin. That's far, far from stoning school buses. I have no idea what percentage of residents of Southie stoned school buses. I don't even know if any of my second or third cousins were among those who did. Yet, that cursed Irish blood that courses through the veins of toughs in Southie courses through my veins too. And I'm supposed to feel ashamed that that's the case. What all this has to do with the Catalpa is unclear even to me. I guess writing yesterday's entry got me worried that I'd sent up a red flag by revealing interest in something Irish beyond shamrocks, leprechauns, and St. Patrick. Oh, you'll be delighted to know the Claris spell checker didn't recognize "pissing" or "ethnicity". | |
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