Anti-Irish Racism

senordingdong

TEH REAL CDP wrote: »

Disclaimer: I am not a politically savvy person... nor do I bear any grudge against the English.

Just wondering here, but as an Irishman living in the UK, I have experienced quite a few anti-Irish sentiments from English people. To be more precise... I'm in Cardiff, and I find Welsh people very amicable - however, many English people are not.

Example:



I have never held any opinion on the north/Irish politics/etc., as I felt it never affected me... and I wasn't educated enough on the issue so I couldn't comment. However this display of sheer ignorance stunned me.

So I'm wondering, has anyone else experienced the same thing? What do you do in a situation like that again? I have received a few snide remarks about this...I never thought I would encounter it. For the most part, I really like the English... this just suprised me I guess?

I'm not usually very patriotic or anything but I did feel like my identity was in question. I don't like that and also, I feel "Irish jokes" reinforce the negative stereotypes that belittle us.

Opinions/Advice?

Cheers.

Just ask the Canadian if he will be voting for McCain or Obama.

DubArk

getz wrote: »

sir bob geldolf---sir terry wogan

Honorary knighthood only!! If they chose to go around calling themselves Sir this or Sir that, that's their choice but it will never be recognised on any legal document! In the ROI or The UK, Unless they change citizenship!

Do you think that Screaming Lord Sutch of the Monster raving loony party was a real Lord?

Kind Regards

HRH DubArk.:P

getz

bob geldof was-- made sir bob geldof by the queen june 1986---bono has honorary knighthood , geldofs mother from dublin was over the moon

DubArk

getz wrote: »

bob geldof was-- made sir bob geldof by the queen june 1986---bono has honorary knighthood , geldofs mother from dublin was over the moon

Geldof has an honorary knighthood too!

Acacia

getz wrote: »

acacia its nice to know that people in england are always nice to you,-i find the same when i am in ireland--

Thanks, getz. I'm glad you feel welcome here too.

OPENROAD

Fratton Fred wrote: »

they are only titles the media have given. I'm not sure about Wogan, he has lived in England so long he may be a British Citizen, but Geldoff and Bono are not "Sirs".

Wogan is indeed a British citizen

jahalpin

Technically, the OP is not an international student, they are an EU student

International student refers to people from outside the EU who are required to pay full fees etc.

I went to university in London and never encountered any anti-Irish sentiment or racism.

I think you are more likely to encounter anti-Irish racism in Scotland than in England

The English government have actually been very accomodating of the Irish in the past, creating the Common Travel Area between the UK and Ireland and allowing Irish people work freely in the UK even before the advent of the E.C.C. (now the EU).

They have always treated Ireland as a de-facto member of the Commonwealth, when they were under no obligation to do so. If they were vindictive they could have closed their border with the Republic and not allowed Irish people to work and move freely in the UK. Even when the UK was being terrorised by certain illegal "armies", they still allowed free movement of people between the two countries.

kraggy

Fratton Fred wrote: »

they are only titles the media have given. I'm not sure about Wogan, he has lived in England so long he may be a British Citizen, but Geldoff and Bono are not "Sirs".

Wogan became a British Citizen so that he could be called "Sir":

From Wikipedia:

Honours and awards
In 2005, Wogan was awarded an honorary knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours. As a result of his becoming a British citizen that year, the knighthood was made substantive on October 11, 2005, allowing him to use the style "Sir".[25] He was made an honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1997, which is now subsumed in the knighthood. On 29 May 2007 he was made a Deputy Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire.[26]

In 2004, he was awarded the Gold Blue Peter Badge.

Djurgårn Eire

What shocks me is the sheer lack of knowledge most English people have in regards to Britain and it's colonial past. I have family from England, and last January a cousin came to stay with me, I showed him around Dublin, brought him up to Croke park etc... He didn't have a clue about Irish history, about the killings, anything! And his father is Irish! And this goes for most [relatively] young English people, they haven't got a clue and it's sad. This lack of knowledge in turn lends to their patriotism too, they see the Irish as a plight more then anything, because they don't really understand the situation they don't understand us, or the acts of the likes of the IRA. Sadly they are the great unnaware, and their ignorance will only continue as they sing 'Rule Brittania' and march about acting as though it is the Irish who are a scourge upon them, but it's not their fault, it's those who failed to educate them in the first place.

Disco Stu

I suppose the problem really is that although the relationship with Britain influences a large part of Irish history, when you look at it the other way, Ireland is only really a small part of the history of Britain.

This is probably why the detail is not covered in the education system to the extent it is here... the history with France, Spain, the US and other countries just outweighs it....

drakshug

jahalpin wrote: »

Technically, the OP is not an international student, they are an EU student

International student refers to people from outside the EU who are required to pay full fees etc.

I went to university in London and never encountered any anti-Irish sentiment or racism.

I think you are more likely to encounter anti-Irish racism in Scotland than in England

The English government have actually been very accomodating of the Irish in the past, creating the Common Travel Area between the UK and Ireland and allowing Irish people work freely in the UK even before the advent of the E.C.C. (now the EU).

They have always treated Ireland as a de-facto member of the Commonwealth, when they were under no obligation to do so. If they were vindictive they could have closed their border with the Republic and not allowed Irish people to work and move freely in the UK. Even when the UK was being terrorised by certain illegal "armies", they still allowed free movement of people between the two countries.

Whaddya mean, the ENGLISH Government?
Last time I looked at my passport it said UK.
Oh aye and Scotland is anti-irish???? Half the west coast of Scotland is of Irish descent.
There is NO English Government. Sheez us Scots get crap from all over the world with this crap that England is the whole UK. We do exist you know. There are more nations in the UK than Engerlund.
That has got me pure fuming so it has.

dSTAR

I love ripping the sh!t out of pommy **** and their servile ways.

WTF are you doing in such a hellhole anyway?

PeterLT

Fratton Fred wrote: »

I wonder how many Lithuanians in Ireland get pissed off at being called Polish

Believe me - a lot. Just that our faces are alike, that doesn't mean that we are Poles. We had a history there, as I recall Lithuania and Poland were in union for about 300 years, but we have more differences than similarities. Anyways, I have been working as a weighbridge supervisor and each day I had to work with Polish drivers. That was hilarious, when a Polish driver comes to me and starts to speak polish.

"Sorry, I don't spreak polish" sez I.
"Where are u from?" sez he.
"Lithuania" sez I.
"So why don't you speak Polish?"
"Because you don't speak Lithuanian. Do you?"

A lot of Lithuanians understand and can speak Polish (including me self), but I never met a Polish chap speaking Lithuanian...

Speakin' about N. Ireland and Ireland Republic - it's really confusing. It's hard to understand for me - they are Irish, but where they live is UK. So are they Irish or English? Or Irish-English?

Dyr

PeterLT wrote: »

Speakin' about N. Ireland and Ireland Republic - it's really confusing. It's hard to understand for me - they are Irish, but where they live is UK. So are they Irish or English? Or Irish-English?

They're not anything, they're just nordies.

book smarts

Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel- Samuel Johnson.

A meaningless abstraction that has caused more pointless deaths throughout history. Where has the country of Prussia gone? Oh sorry, it doesnt exist anymore, as one day the UK and Ireland won't exist either (as concepts).

Also the troubles in the North were largely started out of thin air. There were some grievances, but the two communities co-existed peacefully, despite what the Shinners want you to believe. There was nothing that couldn't have been resolved easily with dialogue. Something similar happened in Lebanon in the 80s. And Bosnia in the 90s. Neighbours and friends turned on eachother over what was effectively, nothing.

Dyr

ah bless, the new school curriculum is working.

InkSlinger67

book smarts' got a purty mouth!

Terry

PeterLT wrote: »

Believe me - a lot. Just that our faces are alike, that doesn't mean that we are Poles. We had a history there, as I recall Lithuania and Poland were in union for about 300 years, but we have more differences than similarities. Anyways, I have been working as a weighbridge supervisor and each day I had to work with Polish drivers. That was hilarious, when a Polish driver comes to me and starts to speak polish.

"Sorry, I don't spreak polish" sez I.
"Where are u from?" sez he.
"Lithuania" sez I.
"So why don't you speak Polish?"
"Because you don't speak Lithuanian. Do you?"

A lot of Lithuanians understand and can speak Polish (including me self), but I never met a Polish chap speaking Lithuanian...

Speakin' about N. Ireland and Ireland Republic - it's really confusing. It's hard to understand for me - they are Irish, but where they live is UK. So are they Irish or English? Or Irish-English?

They are Irish, but live in a part of Ireland which is still under occupation by the UK.

Half of them want to remain part of the UK, half of them want to be part of Ireland and the third half don't care. Three halves? It's more confusing that I've made it out to be.

The province of Ulster has been tied with Scotland throughout history.

It really is more complicated than the Catholic and protestant thing and you won't get unbiased answers here.

PeterLT

Terry wrote: »

They are Irish, but live in a part of Ireland which is still under occupation by the UK.

Half of them want to remain part of the UK, half of them want to be part of Ireland and the third half don't care. Three halves? It's more confusing that I've made it out to be.

I can't disagree with you. But I'm amezed with the ignorace... In 1992 during geography classes we were tought the differences between N. Ireland and Ireland. Even in USSR maps there were clear that Dublin is the capital Republic of Ireland and Belfast is N. Ireland that belongs to UK. All Eastern Europe knows that and English don't?

Terry

Politically, you are correct.

There is a lot more to it than that though.

PeterLT

The political map of the world is changing almost every day... Any chance that Republic of Ireland will have 32 counties anyday?

Brian

PeterLT wrote: »

The political map of the world is changing almost every day... Any chance that Republic of Ireland will have 32 counties anyday?

You'll see the United States of Europe before you see 32 united counties..

Tchaikovsky

Baza210 wrote: »

You'll see the United States of Europe before you see 32 united counties..

So that's a strong possibility then
We could always add on 6 non-Ulster territories with large Irish populations; Massachusetts, New York, Cheshire, Newfoundland, Victoria, Illinois

anonymous_joe

Tchaikovsky wrote: »

So that's a strong possibility then
We could always add on 6 non-Ulster territories with large Irish populations; Massachusetts, New York, Cheshire, Newfoundland, Victoria, Illinois

Don't forget London and Australia then. :pac:

solas

I got borked by one bloke who was obsessive in his hatred for the irish (or catholics or somethin) and got it off him for years, completely f*cked me up.

Cunny-Funt

borked?

book smarts

Bambi wrote: »

ah bless, the new school curriculum is working.

IRA=scum

solas

Cunny-Funt wrote: »

borked?

borked=broken
having thought about it after it was the catholic that he really hated and its not like i was anymore catholic than anyone else here. It's different being slagged for being Irish, ye can get that anywhere and take it in good heart, it's something else when someone wants to wipe out your race because they hate what it represents to them.