Something someone said at work that annoyed me.

[wantamoan]

I've name changed for this - I'm a newbie(ish) regular. Was at work yesterday and this woman asked me where I went on hols (. I said Ireland. She said 'Oh that reminds me of something that happened on my holiday ..' and told us about going into an Irish pub. She was somewhere like Tenerife - can't remember exactly where. She said that she was sat having a drink and realised that everyone in the pub were singing (in her words) 'We love the IRA the IRA are great etc.' She said so I took my drink back to the bar and said 'You can have this back.' Then another woman said that her daughter had just gone on holiday to the same place and first woman said 'Oh there's lots of Irish, does she know?' 2nd woman says she 'no she doesn't' in a negative way.
Am I being unreasonable to be bothered by this?

What are you bothered by? Are you Irish?
I am and I never experienced this kind of prejudice until I moved to the UK. HOWEVER there are thick Irish people who sing nationalist songs in Irish bars in Tenerife. Needless to say I would want to avoid them too.

I don't think I understand what happened, but I would be bothered to learn about a place where people celebrate their love for the IRA. Is that what bothered you?

most of the people in Irish Bars in Playa De las Americas are 9 times out of 10, not even Irish.

Incidently, I was very annoyed when I went into an Irish bar in Tenerife and the 'Entertainer' announced over the microphone that 'jimmy kranky has just entered the building'

Self-catering in Devon has its up-sides

I was bothered because I felt she was relating being Irish with supporting the IRA.

Nothing would entice me into an Irish bar in Tenerife.

Nor me

Ignore her- she is clearly narrowminded then.

Well she was, she was making a sweeping generalization based on feck all experience of Irish people. People do it all the time. Pick your fights though, particularly at work. Is there any point in making an issue out of this? Are you Irish? Were you personally offended?

It's not the first comment she's made that's annoyed me, she thinks there are too many Polish people in the UK for instance. Probably that's why I took umbridge.

Does she read the Daily Mail?

Ah so she is a bigot. Well if she continues to spout prejudiced crap tell her you are offended by it and if that doesn't shut her up, complain about her.

No I'm not Irish, but was still offended as I've been to Ireland a few times and love it there. Will not mention it at work - she's senior to me and she doesn't like me anyway.

Oh I see. Yes, not nice.

IME these people are rife in offices all over the UK. I have gone up against them more times than I care to admit and have to tell you, that you are far, far, better off just sniggering at their smallminded, sad little lives to yourself, having a rant to your bezzies and ignoring them.

They won't change, never, not in a million years and all you will achieve is alienating yourself from all their little cliquey shite, and they will then take every opportunity to stab you in the back and/or fuck your work up because they are like that.

YANBU, it was a stupid thing to say both because it was insenstive and rude to make a comment designed to make you feel rubbish about your holiday and ALSO because it's a ridiculous way to judge a country. Are you (or is she) going to emigrate from the UK (if that's where you live) because of idiotic English people behaving in shaming ways abroad?

I am half Irish, live in Ireland and it's a lovely place to live & visit, though unfortunately getting a bit expensive. You will not be running into IRA splinter groups every time you look up from your map. That's unlikely to happen even in Northern Ireland these days. It's friendly and beautiful. (And I don't work for the tourist board!)

YANBU, but I have given up being offended. My own FIL has described me to his old army mates as 'a bogtrotter'. [shock}
DH overheard him and told me.)
I have now decided there is no point in challenging all this small-minded petty bigotry, it just raises my blood pressure to no avail.