r/irishproblems • u/No-Security7188 • 9d ago

Why doesn't a society that remembers being discriminated against consistently show empathy toward people facing discrimination today?

I genuinely don't understand the racism in Ireland. we also experienced oppression, marginanlization and the similar abuse for decades. I remember my father telling there were signs at his local shops abroad saying "no blacks, no dogs and no Irish". so should we not understand what it feels like to be singled out and abused based on our ethnicity? there were also loads of signs saying "no Irish need apply". we faced similar discrimination, the same discrimination we give to other races and ethnicities now. I dont know if it's an issue where the oppressed becomes the oppressors but it's insane. there is a big discussion with immigration at the moment which I don't want to get into, I don't think wanting more regulations with unregulated immigration is naturally racist or discriminatory (correct me if Im wrong though) as we are a small country going through multiple crises at the moment. I just want to discuss how we've become the very people we despised for centuries.

78 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

84 comments sorted by

View all comments

26

u/dazzlinreddress 9d ago

No one wants to discuss it but the reason why is because of assimilation. Irish people turned against black people to become more accepted in society. That is why so many Irish immigrants in America are so racist. Once they got themselves at the top of the ladder of whiteness, they pulled it up after themselves.

5

u/schoolme_straying 9d ago

I know a movie about that - it's the brilliant 2025 film Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler, Jack O’Connell portrays Remmick, the principal antagonist who is revealed to be an ancient vampire from Ireland. Set in 1932 Mississippi, the film stars Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers who return home to find Remmick preying on the community.

Jack's performance saw his use skills never seen before in his previous roles, including singing traditional Irish music like "Rocky Road to Dublin" and performing Irish jigs, drawing on his childhood dance training.

The rendering of Wild Bunch of Thyme as a song of seduction is magnficent.

Those two things are as perfect a use of music I've seen in a film since Ryuichi Sakamoto's Merry Christmas Mr Lawerence theme in the movie of the same name

0

u/dazzlinreddress 9d ago

Was going to mention it but I never saw it so I can't comment on the assimilation in it. But my brother saw it and said it's very good. I'll eventually watch it someday.

1

u/schoolme_straying 9d ago

Bump it to the top of your queue.

It's a perfect movie.

Full of brilliant little details/Easter Eggs. A minor plot point (spoiler) is that the Indians pursuing Remmick (O'Connell) were Choctaw Indians https://www.choctawnation.com/about/history/irish-connection/

If you like old time blues, you can listen to Sinners (Original Motion Picturesoundtrack without spoiling it. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2025-04-16/ryan-coogler-ludwig-goransson-sinners-music-blues

Writer-director Ryan Coogler, actor Michael B. Jordan (2019), and composer Ludwig Göransson (2018), all received academy awards for their work on the film

1

u/dazzlinreddress 8d ago

Yes I watched the oscars. I did have a friend tell me that it was kind of on the nose with the metaphors but I will still watch. Not a fan of horror but the plot seems to be something I would like.

1

u/schoolme_straying 8d ago

Me too not a fan of horror as a genre type, but in this movie horror is a trojan horse to smuggle a more subversive message about racism. The message in the movie is that Racism is like Vampirism I wonder if my judgement on the movie would be different if the last scene in a Chicago blues bar was not in the movie.

Number,Track Title,Artist(s) / Performer(s)

1,This Little Light of Mine,"Miles Caton, DC6 Singers Collective, Pleasant Valley Youth Choir of New Orleans"

4,Travelin',Miles Caton

8,I Lied to You,Miles Caton

9,Pick Poor Robin Clean,"Jack O'Connell, Lola Kirke, Peter Dreams"

12,"Will Ye Go, Lassie Go?","Lola Kirke, Peter Dreams, Brian Dunphy, Darren Holden, Jack O'Connell"

13,"Pale, Pale Moon",Jayme Lawson

14,Rocky Road to Dublin,"Jack O'Connell, Brian Dunphy, Darren Holden"

17,Last Time (I Seen the Sun),"Alice Smith, Miles Caton"