Guest Merlin, most of your questions about English suffering can be answered as YES. I reckon most UK people's interest in and understanding of the KKK and "deep south problems" are in the same vein as the "plastic paddy's" superficial understanding of the Irish situation.

I'm with those who find nothing funny in the excesses of any terrorist group. In the gypsy thread and the jewish jokes thing it was widely claimed that perpetuating the joke perpetuated the prejudice. Many IRA songs serve to glorify the unglorious actions of the IRA - where's the difference? Let's keep the songs by all means, but keep them in their true context - even if it means we get to keep that crap about Mrs Stein.