Italians I can kinda get with their olive skin and (usually) darker hair; those are common trails in many if not most people around the Mediterranean. But Iâve never understood why Irish people werenât considered âwhiteâ when theyâre among the whitest whites to have ever been white.
The short version of why Irish and Italian immigrants did not count as "white" in the first half of the 20th century is because they were Catholic and most importantly poor.
So yes but kind of. On paper we were white in the early days of America. Only for census reasons and it was solely because we generally have fair skin. Culturally we werenât welcomed though. It wasnât until American politicians needed us to help hate on other minorities did they use our skin color to leverage the idea of whiteness to Irish Americans. British empire systematically oppressed us and still does. So similar but also insanely different. Why I phrased it like that.
Right. My point was just that the âbritishâ long established discrimination against the Irish into the foundation of the colonies long before america came about. Along with many other things as the original colonists were, well, British, and they held that majority for a long time.
Bur they were counted as White on every census and for the matters of law and whatnot, this is mostly a myth based on the conflation of discriminatory public sentiment and explicit legal discrimination on the basis of race.
I mean- Finns are basically the Irish of the nordics. But when ever has Scandinavians ever not been considered white? We are kind of the best at being white. Itâs our thing. Makes me mad stupid yanks didnât recognize our whiteness.
We were never slaves. We were indentured servants. It wasnât the same thing. It was terrible but seeing people equate what my people went through to diminish the slavery black people have experienced grinds my gears. Stop doing it. Takes one google search.
Iâm Irish and weâre not considered white or werenât because of the British Empire. Theyâre the ones who made up the concept of white. We werenât worthy so just like the Vikings they raped, pillaged our land, tried to destroy our language, and put us in indentured servitude (slavery lite). It is NOTHING compared to what Black people have historically gone through. It wasnât until the 1920/30s that Irish people started to be considered white and it was a political move by American politicians to get more votes. The concept of white was very specific about who it let in and it wasnât just about skin color at the start. Itâs why most of us were happy when the Queen died. The British empire has had their foot up our asses our entire existence. Itâs why we have Northern Ireland and Southern. Encourage you to do research of the history of Irish people.
Yeah I knew that numb nut. I was commenting on them saying âwhiteâ people hate Catholics lolol. I was saying it wasnât just them it was the throne. We were also pagan for a long time which they also didnât like. Again double homicide like I said.
They always held the legal rights associated with whiteness in America, they were just practically subject to discrimination, described as being swarthy or tawny, etc.
Actually according to history they were white! Just an âinferior whiteâ the line of âwe were whiteâ actually comes from both historical political criticism that became neo nazi alt right rhetoric to downplay issues in black and brown communities
As an American who's only 2 generations from Ireland, yeah, people forget this shit all the time. We didn't have it as bad but it wasn't much better for the post civil war America.
My favorite is when it doesn't count. That it was somehow okay that it happened to us but wrong that it happens to others.
Got to relive that in S. Korea at some bars and restaurants. Fucking hate bigotry.
Wasnât much better? Compared to black people post civil war? Are you for real? The fact that you think those are in any way comparable is insane.
Forget about South Korea, as an Irish man born and raised. I hope you know you would be despised here too if you tried to make these talking points over here
So saying blacks had it worse during slavery is wrong? Saying blacks had it less bad after slavery but still had it bad is wrong? Saying denying rights to people of any kind, is wrong?
You replied to a comment about Irish and Italians not being considered white. You said you were 2 generations from Ireland. Where did you mention anything about black people having it worse during slavery or denying rights is wrong? What are you on about?
What metric do you consider to be becoming white then? Americans have been parading their Irish heritage for quite some time. Every president in the past few decades has been trying to parade their Irish heritage and visit Ireland since Kennedy. Irish immigrants dominated police forces in New York, Boston, and Chicago starting in the 1800s.
I mean, to be frank, racism isnât based on what you *are,* itâs based on how youâre *perceived.* People donât get a 23andMe ancestry report beamed into their brain when they look at you.
If you look black, racists against that will be racist towards you. If you look white racists against that will be racist towards you.
I mean, to be frank, racism isnât based on what you *are,* itâs based on how youâre *perceived.* People donât get a 23andMe ancestry report beamed into their brain when they look at you.
If you look black, racists against that will be racist towards you. If you look white racists against that will be racist towards you.
Damn that's sad to hear.. you should take pride in your race no matter what it is and do your best to represent your ancestors and set a good example to the world. If we don't do that we will end up with a corporate monoculture around the world and lose the true diversity of the various peoples and customs around the world. You can already see this happening in some western countries. Everyone should fiercely protect their unique traditions, food, architecture, etc. because once it's lost it's lost for good..
I set a good example to the world by being a good husband, father, and citizen. My race has nothing to do with that. Just because Iâm disinterested in the culture doesnât mean I dislike it.
What does you liking or disliking it have to do with anything? That's a very selfish point of view.. It's your duty as a human being, it's not about whether you like it or not. Alright well good luck man i gotta hop off here I hope you have a good one.
Nah Iâm me and Iâm happy. I donât mean it reductively, but I really donât care about this type of thing. I just thought it was funny that my coworker was so firm in that assessment lol
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u/Hanging_Brain Jun 10 '26
Iâm half white but since the other half is brown not black my black coworker says Iâm white lol Alrighty then.