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Thingish Things

Bloomberg and the Irish

Written By: William F. B. O'Reilly - Feb• 10•11

Mike Bloomberg stepped in it again. This time with the Irish. My people.

Seems the mayor fell into the old trap: he used drunkenness and Irish in the same sentence. For shame!

If the mayor were Irish, all would be fine. But he’s not, so the press releases are now flying. How embarrassing — for my freckled-faced kin. I mean for God’s sake, do we have to be as thin-skinned as the Italians? (Kidding, Italians. Kidding.)

The ancestral outrage act is growing tired. Stumble into a nationality’s stereotype in a sentence — every one of them rooted  in 1,000 years of truth — and you’re punished with the walk of shame for a news cycle. If you’re not sufficiently contrite, you’re guaranteed three days of bad press. If Al Sharpton gets involved, you lose a week and the Brooklyn Bridge gets taken over.

Haven’t we been our own country long enough where we can begin skipping the wounded thing? New York City is the melting pot; we shouldn’t have to go through the motions of feigning offense where little is felt, and none was meant in the first place.

Besides, most of us are half this, a quarter that, and an eighth watchamacallit. Who can keep track of all the slights we need to be on guard for?

Mike Bloomberg talked about loud drunken parties at the American Irish Historical Society. So what? There are loud drunken parties at the Irish American Historical Society and there will continue to be. Great ones.

The mayor may have put his foot in his mouth an inch, but he has never shown anything but friendship to Ireland, to the Irish people, and to Americans with ancestors from that nation.

Maybe we should all agree to agree that, collectively, as Americans, we can be a bunch of drunk, lazy, tortilla-waving, thieving cheapskate mamma’s boys, with garlic breath and lousy teeth.

Oops! Now I’ve gone and offended the Brits…

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6 Comments

  1. Me says:

    Friday, February 11, 2011, 6:55 a.m. Mark that date and time, cuz I just agreed with everything you said!

  2. I knew we’d find common ground, D!

  3. Pugs says:

    loud drunken parties at the American Irish Historical Society???!!!! Wha wha WHAT???!!!

  4. Your Friend says:

    I agree 100% on this one. My favorite comedian these days is Louis C.K. who seems completely comfortable offending just about anyone. I guess comedians can get away with that, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could all find a little of that gleeful abandon in our public discourse.

    Now, if we can just dismantle the U.S. Military…

    – d

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