First off, Hellooooo everybody. I can't believe it's been 3 years since I last posted. i do stop by and read sometimes and to use the amazon link when shopping.

I find myself drawn to Mudcat every year around my birthday which comes close to St. Patrick's Day and I always find a thread like this. I also usually find some "humorous" post about wearing orange to defy the accursed Catholics and put them in their place.

Now, I have never had a reason to be angry with Katlaughing and I understand that this is some type of family tradition for her so I won't spit on it. I'll just say that growing up when and where I did (USA, NYC, father is 1st generation american) I was sheltered from that kind of thing for a while. When my parents decided they couldn't afford Catholic Schooling and we found ourselves in a town just outside of NYC where my dad was stationed, I got that kind of thing full on and right in the face. I still do get it from my in-laws who think it's hardee-har-har funny.

I'm not gonna get into Plastic Paddy arguments or what the day should be or used to be or anything like that. All I will say is that I prefer to stay at home these days then to venture out in public on the 17th only to have more and more people in orange come up to me and bray drunkenly into my face "this is fer yer you ya filthy papist" and then laugh like it's a joke. It's a bit like walking around in black face on Martin Luther King Day but it's socially acceptable. However, I do realize that it is a joke to them and one that they find simply hilarious.

As I said, I know katlaughing would NEVER EVER do something like that and that she remembers her dad's behavior as being amusing because it wasn't an insult to her. I know families who josh about their dad or grandad singing "coon songs" and Lord help me, I have one or two people in my family who remember one of my great-uncles fondly for doing exactly that. I don't know WHERE that kind of thing comes from because it horrifies me and the rest of the family. I guess laughing at it better than crying about it or getting angry at it and it takes some of the sting out the original insulting intent of such behavior. I'm cool with that.

I have to live with Anti-Catholicism from my inlaws constantly even though I go to Church with their son. To them, born a "filthy papist", you die a "filthy papist" and it is also not cool to be Irish cuz the irish, well, they're not White. I only restate this for other people's info. Kat and the others know this already.

I suppose because I have been taking it on the chin now for 15 years in every way possible from them, I don't see the Orange-wearers as anything but one the last few ways people can get really ugly to you and still claim it's a "just a joke." When I was a younger gal in the late 1980s working in NYC, it was simply horrible to have to go to work on the 17th when I worked on Wall Street because nearly half the staff would be in orange and they all wanted to know why I wasn't wearing Green from head to toe like a buffoon. the answer of course was "I'm not a plastic paddy you bigot and since i've been to Mass already, I've done my bit for the cause today, thanks. When I get home, I'll have something good to eat that is far from corned beef & cabbage, now go away, please." I'm a lot more forgiving these days.

Of course, once actual irish people imoorted the American version of the holiday to ireland and they all started dressing from head to toe in green and wearing shamrock deely-boppers, there's lamost no point in arguing for an authentic experience any more , now is there? ;-)

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.

In summary - wearing orange is what it is and what it is perceived to be is colored by your life experience. I used to be horribly put off but I get much worse on a frequent basis and I'v adjusted my view.


(one last big wave to the gang!)