idaholover wrote:
Let's have one for every other ethnic group who came here for a better life and suffered exploitation. Step up because the squeakiest wheel gets first grease! Do I hear any Irishmen....oops, can't say that now.
Irish suffered exploitation to be sure, but their skin was the same color as non-Irish w****s. They did come here for a better life, and exploitation notwithstanding, they were free (as in FREE) to seek a better life. They were not ens***ed for several lifetimes. B****s were ens***ed, owned like horses or cattle, forbidden to learn how to read (although some managed to overcome this).
The new federal holiday only seeks to recognize and celebrate that the nation threw off this double standard. As a federal holiday, there is no mandate for states to recognize it or declare it a day off for all employees. There is no cost to you if you choose not to celebrate with us, so what, exactly, is your beef? Do you deny that s***ery existed? Do you claim that s***es came to this country of their own accord? Was their life here, as s***es, better than their life in their home country? What about this issue prickles your skin? Feeling guilty? Want to sweep this issue under the rug? How many Irish-American lynchings can you enumerate? How about an example of the destruction of an Irish-American community on a scale equal to the Tulsa Race Massacre can you cite? How many governors stood in the entrance to a university to deny access to Irish-Americans students can you cite?
I bear no resentment to Irish-Americans, but to equate their exploitation to that of African-American s***es is ridiculous. Exploitation of b***k A******ns began with s***ery, but did not end with emancipation. They continued/continue to be exploited, exploitation that continues to this day.
Recognition of their being freed is a small, but meaningful gesture. It costs you nothing. Why are you so prickly about this issue unless you are on the side of the "impoverished" s***e owners whose business model was upturned by the elimination of s***ery?
By the way, in those states that decide to make this federal holiday a paid day off for workers, the backs of your "hard working" employes will bear little weight, as they, too, will receive payment for the day off, so, really, what is the beef that you wish to construct in criticism of this new federal holiday?
Caruso