How do you define someone who is Irish? (multiple choice poll)

ScumLord wrote: »

I have a Polish friend who goes over to the UK working during the summer where they call him the "Polish paddie" because he grew up here. He says it's hard for him to identify as Polish because he has no ties there anymore, the majority of his family are living and working in Ireland for the past 15 years.

Ok ........

Fr D Maugire wrote: »

Article in our local paper recently about a Chinese couple who moved to Ireland some years ago. All their chidlren were born here and they gave all their kids Gaelic name and the kids are mad into the Irish Dancing, winning competitions at a high level etc. Apparently the whole family love the Irish culture and do their best to integrate.

Are the children Irish? Bit harsh to tell them they are not Irish even though their ethniticity is not associated with Ireland.

Now the chances are those kids will probably marry with "regular" Irish people so will their grandchidlren be considered Irish if they look asian?

It will be easier for the Irish born Polish to be considered Irish in a few generations than other ethnic groups as they are white and nodody will bat an eyelid. People are confusing race with Nationality. If you think someone cannot be Irish based on race, they I would think that would be racism.

Its all a bit silly really.

I am what is considered 100% Irish back to Great-Grandparents, dont know beyond that. I dont really see nationality as what defines me and dont think it is that important really. I try to avoid Irish people when overseas as dont really see the point to going overseas to spend time with people from home.

Finally a question.

If 2 people were drowning and you could only rescue one, would you rescue a friend who wasnt Irish or an Irish person who you didnt know?

Some people on this thread seem to be confusing the fact that saying somebody is "not really Irish" as somehow racist ........ as if acknowledging a person's Chinese or Polish roots is a bad thing?
Being Irish is no better, or worse, than being Chinese, Polish etc. ........ it's just factual.

I'd save the friend, obviously.

You know, as weird as some of the comments are, it's rather refreshing to be on an internet page of people are absolutely happy to say that they'd never be heroic or risk either themselves or their pets to save someone's life. In a world of internet heroes and those who just aren't sure what they'd do, at least there's people that absolutely know what they'd do!

Not sure I could actually fling the purring kitty who's looking up at me at the moment to a bear, even to save someone's life. She trusts me. I have a duty to her as well as being fond of her. But I'd certainly prefer to think that I'd try to help someone, even in the midst of being totally confused as to what the hell a bear was doing in this rural part of the countryside, rather than saying "your problem, bud" and getting "away to safety".

Also, I still see feelings are getting in the way of what reality is in terms of what "Irish" is. Yis can think all you like that someone with a foreign parent isn't Irish because of all those icky genetics, but the Irish State disagrees with you and its opinion is worth a lot more than any person's in this thread. Argue for a referendum if you want to be "right", until then, you just have a minority opinion. And by god, even in this post-fact era, I will argue the hell out of an actual fact rather than entertain contradictory opinions as being on an equal level to them in terms of veracity! Teach the fcuking controversy, my ass.

Potatoeman wrote: »

Sentient life is always more valuable. You're going down a very selfish road. This is the kind of selfishness that when normalised leads to people walking by and not reporting a burglary or ignoring you being dragged down a laneway at knifepoint and not calling the police. Not a cohesive society.

Well. I'm willing to entertain some academic debate as to whether that's so, what -does- make a human's life more valuable than a dog's, other than that we speaking about it are all humans and have an innate drive to protect our own species rather than another.

My gut's with you on it, but I have to give the qualifier that my gut is probably just reacting to species survival impulses. But those survival impulses is what makes a species able to co-operate too, so...

Potatoeman wrote: »

How would you feel if you lost a family member because someone saved their dog instead of them? Why do relations not go to your dogs funeral?

It's an animal, it can be great and loyal but it's still an animal

Oh, absolutely. I'd be pretty horrified at someone choosing to let a person die to save a dog or cat. I'm mostly noting that my reaction, whether objectively right or not (since I don't think we've ever, as a race, come to a definite, unarguable, conclusion about the worth of non-human life) is going to be absolutely tempered by my instincts as a human being.

Instincts make up a lot of our morality though, and our sense of right and wrong. That "ugh, no" instinct against incest, for instance. It's a protective instinct for the safety of the human race. On the other hand, if a couple meet, fall in love and marry and later find out they're siblings, my reaction is more empathy than disgust. And I can't find a strictly logical reason why a geneticaly related -CHILDLESS- couple should be treated as illegitimate outcasts. It's based on species instinct. Right in many cases, probably not the most important defining objective factor though.

Instinct would have me protect another human being rather than a cat (albeit, instinct would also have me protect a cat, but I'd be more likely to risk my ass against a bear for a human child than I would be for a cat.

However, it is interesting to examine an alien view that appears to go against instincts, that "my cat" is more important than "your family member". I suppose it could be considered as another form of tribalism (This is mine. This is part of my sphere of influence. Therefore it is more important to me, and it's me that's needing to do the action to sacrifice it or not) and the legitimacy of placing members of another species at or above members of your own species in critical situations. Morality and relative ethics are kinda interesting!