Perhaps you noticed that Iowa's racist xenophobic congressman, Steve King, is bragging that his Republican colleagues in the House have been congratulating him and slapping him on the back for his latest bigoted outburst. There are always some exception, of course, but that kind of ugly racism and tolerance for ugly racism is part of the conservative movement's DNA. What a garden path they've been led down!Republicans don't like being lectured to be anyone who they consider themselves "better" than. Often that has to do with net worth-- did you read the post this afternoon about moneybags monstrosity Robert Mercer? That's his shtik. The ones like Steve King are just all about the most primitive kind of out-and-out racism. And, speaking about "primitive," you get a Republican like Trump and... well just look at the vile Bronze Age misogyny emanating from this horrible narrow-minded little man-with-a-big-boy-job, did he hate being lectured to by German Chancellor Angela Merkel! He smugly refused to even shake hands with her in a room crowded with reporters and photographers! Once again, he disgraced our country.So, yeah, yesterday we were talking about Trump foreign policy problems with Britain, Germany and, most seriously, North Korea, but we forgot about Ireland. If you did't already, now's the time to watch the short news clip at the top of the page. Ireland's Prime Minister, Enda Kenny, called the Taoiseach in his home country, used St Patrick's Day to illustrate his thoughts on immigration while visiting Señor Trumpanzee in the White House. Look at that ugly frozen scowl of horror on Trump's face when another Europeam leader dared to lecture him on his bigotry! Trump will probably never celebrate St. Patrick's Day again!Remember, there are more than 7 times the number of Irish folks in the U.S. than there are in Ireland-- almost 35 million people. Obviously, all of them are descendants of immigrants. According to Irish Central, many Irish-American voters feel strongly about immigration reform and are not unaware of the vicious right-wing bigotry against their antecedents. Conservatives, particularly in the South, stereotyped Irish immigrants as inferior, lazy drunks who took jobs from "real" Americans, and many conservatives referred to them as "white Negroes." The Know Nothing Movement-- basically the teabaggers of 1850s-- was, in great part, formed to combat Irish immigration and Irish assimilation. Catholicism was demonized by Nativist Protestant bigots almost everywhere in the U.S. "No Irish need apply" was a very real and very painful attitude meant to hold back the Irish immigrants from making America home. Trump looked like he wanted to strangle Enda Kenny with his tiny fat little hands-- or clobber him with a shealeigh
The Irish were strangers in a strange land: rejected and unwanted. Ads for employment most often included the stipulation that "No Irish Need Apply." They were forced to live in shacks or huts partly due to their poverty but also because of redlining; they were considered to be "bad" for the neighborhood. Further emphasizing their segregation, their living conditions propagated sickness and disease, ushering an early death because health care was unavailable to them. Their dress, illiteracy, and brogue provoked ridicule in the new land, and their unfamiliarity with plumbing and running water brought about scorn and contributed the sicknesses and diseases that killed the majority of newborns.They were also persecuted for their religious beliefs; they were not only discriminated against because they were Irish, but also because they were Catholics. The general sentiment was to put them on a boat and send them back to Ireland....The Irish immigrated to America at a time of great necessity. The country was progressing, and men were needed to do the back breaking work essential to the growth of the country by building railroads, canals, and bridges. This hard and treacherous work was accepted by the Irish out of desperation. The women found work as chamber maid and cooks; at that time, Americans thought this type of work to be demeaning and only fit for servants, but the Irish were cheerful, hard working, honest, and strictly moral.
The Irish have come a long way since then, of course. With the exception of LBJ-- and before Putin installed Trump-- every U.S. President starting with John Kennedy has emphasized his Irish roots. Reagan's came from County Tipperary, Clinton's from County Fermanagh and Obama's from County Offaly. (County Antrim gave this country 7 presidents-- Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter.) Obviously, not all of them relate their own ancestors' tribulations to those being inflicted on Mexican-American (and other) immigrants today.