Welcome back, Dave's Wife. Just a few assumptions you made which I would like to clear up:


Katlaughing, you know I adore you and I'm sure your dad would have been very sad if he could have spent a few hours listening to my inlaws harangue me about being Irish and being Catholic, trying to trick me into eating meat on fridays in Lent and telling everyone how relieved they are that I didn't have any children since I likely would have beat them and they would have all had disgusting red hair and freckles. I'm sure to him, the ole Wearin' O'the Orange thing was also a faded memory of an insult passed down to him.

mg is right about your in-laws and I would not put up with it, either. My dad knew very well the kind of prejudice you describe and would have abhorred the way they treat you.

I think the main reason my dad and I found St. Patrick's day to be so important to us was I was the only redhead in the family plus I have green eyes and freckles. I felt very special to have that distinction and was never made to feel negatively about it. (In my 20s I did get nicknamed "Irish" because I had a hot temper and red hair, but it did not offend me.) We are quite proud and happy that my grandson also has red hair AND is getting a sprinkling of freckles across the bridge of his nose. I was mom and dad's "Irish" girl, if you will, with no disrespect or ridicule involved towards me, Ireland or the Church.

As a lot of my dad's friends were Catholic and/or Irish, he also was not remembering an insult passed on. It just was what was...Protestants wore orange (I was in the minority, by the way, and did receive some ridicule from those in green,) and the Catholics wore green. We all wore shamrocks and drank together as friends and neighbours. This was out West, as I said before. I know how different things can be in the East and in the cities. I spent ten years in New England.

I always tell folks the only two prejudices I was really raised with were against Mormons and sheepherders and that is mostly as the two were one in the same when my granddad was growing up on a cattle ranch and had some "run-ins" with them. Thing is we had Mormons in the family and my dad wound up marrying one as did I, though I divorced for other reasons. I also wound up having a couple of bum lambs...go figure!;-) The only real prejudice my dad had about LDS members in his later life was, while living in Utah, he found it very hard to find anyone with which to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, esp. musically.

I hope you find some peace about the way you have been treated and I find it sad you don't feel as though you can go out lest the orange-wearers bother you. I think it is important to remember the bit about the Irish flag and not include individuals in any generalizations.

In Peace,

kat