A rather naive American such as myself might deduce from the fact that the flag of the Republic of Ireland consists of GREEN, WHITE, AND ORANGE, that orange is therefore a perfectly acceptable color in Ireland. Moreover, one might suppose, reasoning by analogy, that since on American patriotic holidays we decorate with red, white, and blue--none of those colors having any special significance by themselves--on a holiday that celebrates Irishness, we ought to decorate with green, white, and orange.

As a matter of fact, I've never *noticed* anyone wearing orange on St. Patrick's day, but I can't swear it never happens. If I did see it, I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that it was meant as an affront.

Don't Italians and Italian-Americans celebrate with red, white, and green? Mexicans, too, for that matter.

If Irish people consider orange so offensive, why did they put it on their flag?

My best guess it that they put it there because it was supposed to represent the peaceful coexistence and cooperation of Catholics and Protestants. That's a cause I could support. It's enough to make me think maybe I ought to wear some orange (and an equal amount of green, of course) next St. Patrick's day.

Now let me tell you a story. I used to own a bright solid-orange shirt. It wasn't meant to have any political significance whatever. I liked the color, that's all. I happened to wear it one St Patrick's day, totally by accident. (When I got dressed that day, it simply didn't occur to me that it was St Patrick's day.) My wife (who happens to be of Swedish and Norwegian ancestry but plays in a Celtic band) had a gig that evening at a Knights of Columbus Hall. I went to hear her play. When I arrived and saw everybody dressed in green, I suddenly remembered my orange shirt. I decided to keep my coat on! I did, the whole time I was there. I didn't stay long.

Now, I don't know that anyone would have been offended if I had taken my coat off, but I didn't want to take the chance. I didn't know anyone there, besides the band members, otherwise I might have asked. Looking back on it, I wish I *had* asked.

By the way, although everyone present was pretending to be Irish, I don't believe they necessarily were Irish. From the neighborhood we were in, I would expect a fair number of Poles and maybe a few Italians. Certainly they were nearly all Catholic; that's what K of C is all about.

I don't know what the person who started this thread had in mind, but I don't particularly care whether he was acting in a troll capacity. This is an interesting topic. For years now, I have wondered what would have happened if I had taken my coat off.

When I told my Irish Catholic brother-in-law the story, we had a good laugh.

By the way, I had worn that shirt at work all that day. No one mentioned it. Of course, they had all seen me wear it before.