to be proud to be Irish - Biden reportedly wants The Chieftains for his inauguration.

[Shuddawuddacudda]

www.irishcentral.com/culture/entertainment/joe-biden-irish-band-chieftains-inauguration?fbclid=IwAR2hHpONAH86n_voO69ZwFK8gooFuU8rByZQnbMGXIDU4_w43_zQVggfPGU

'Reported by media'.

Good to know whose corner he's in.... Only the other day, Sky News were gloating that Boris got a phonecall from Biden before Ireland lol.

I think Obama was a fan of The High Kings too. Might have had them at Paddy's Day or something at the WH.

Big honour for The Chieftains if true!

@Crankley - total yawn!

It didn’t work before the election, and it’s even more tired now.

Move on!

No, Lion, I don’t think that.

@CremeEggThief

Well, a lot of people aren't proud to be English, let's face it, Crankley.

But I've never met another Irish person who isn't proud to be Irish.💚

I'm not proud to be Irish. I am Irish, but it's no achievement of mine. I also think Irish people are as likely to be stupid, ignorant, selfish, kind, generous, and intelligent as any other groups of people in the world. What's there to be proud of, exactly ?

I’m English and more Irish than JB in terms of having more recent lineage, but having Aussie and Kiwi friends who are fascinated by their British and Irish ancestry, I get that it’s a new world thing and that makes perfect sense.

@Dissimilitude

Lots of people are interested in their ethnic / cultural roots.

I have a pet theory that, as we continue to lay blame for past historical ills at the feet of aggregate cultural identities like "British" and "American", we will see more and more people shifting their primary sense of identity to something that helps to sidestep being identified as an oppressor.

In short, more people identifying more strongly with their ethnic roots, particularly where those ethnic roots offer some protection from being lumped in with the oppressors.

That's my crackpot pet theory. I think it's contributes (modestly) to the uptick in Scottish / Welsh nationalism, and the growing tolerance to the idea of Irish unification even in the north. Britishness just ain't fashionable anymore.

With all due respect I truly believe your theory has merit and very interesting and will be doing extensive research. That theory deserves it. When I was hospitalized I had a conversation with an Aid (care worker) and she was telling me that there was not a white American that could state that their family did not own slaves. I explained to her that isn't true. My family never owned slaves. My parents didn't immigrate to America until the 1960s. They were illegal. My mother was deported. My father will be deported when he gets out of prison if he lives that long. I am not an unusual case. The simple fact of the matter is most Americans don't like you if you can't trace your roots back to the Mayflower. Every immigrant group in the States have been treated horribly. Some most definitely more than others. If you aren't white and protestant they hate you. Its played out in our entire 244 year history. From the African slaves, Chinese who built our railroads, the immigrants from Northern Europe who settled our Plains, Eastern Europeans and Italians who worked our meat packing industries, Irish Catholics who could only find jobs as police and fire and sometimes formed their own just so they could have jobs, American born Japanese who were had their homes,businesses and money stolen from them right before they were imprisoned in internment t camps. The US then drafted their sons to die in WW2.as Pro-Israel as the US is and has been for 75 years you would believe that Jews would be immune. I know you know the crap that South American immigrants are currently going through. They hate everyone

@Stripesnomore so what do you propose a white person who wants to be a police officer does if the police force already has their 30% quota filled? To meet your criteria for who is allowed to be a member of the police force?

I never suggested that the method for improving POC representation in the police force should be via quota.

Obviously as the number of POC applying for the police force increases less competent white applicants won’t be able to join. That always happens when a greater number of people are fairly applying.

@Stripesnomore

I think a police force should mirror the population it serves, so about 70% POC for NYPD, in leadership as well as general policing. I don’t have any particular opinion on the military.

They need to make that decision for themselves. There is nothing stopping them from choosing that career field. The requirements are the same for everyone. They don't change the exams or physical requirements based on color. The exams are graded by computer. No way of telling what color of the person is grading the test

Of course they need to make the decision themselves, but there are all kinds of ways of increasing applicants through outreach and cultural changes. This has been done hundreds if not thousands of times in institutions all over the world. It isn’t some novel idea.

The simple fact of the matter is most Americans don't like you if you can't trace your roots back to the Mayflower

Interesting. I've never asked anyone if they could trace their roots back to the Mayflower, or any other pre-revolutionary colonial expedition.

@Stripesnomore

I never suggested that the method for improving POC representation in the police force should be via quota.

Obviously as the number of POC applying for the police force increases less competent white applicants won’t be able to join. That always happens when a greater number of people are fairly applying.

Less competent white cops...You do realize that cops who are POC can be bad cops also. Including the 2 who killed George Floyd....

@Stripesnomore what about competent white people who apply but would put the police force over 30% white people? Would you deny them a job on the basis of their skin colour?

@gwenneh

The simple fact of the matter is most Americans don't like you if you can't trace your roots back to the Mayflower

Interesting. I've never asked anyone if they could trace their roots back to the Mayflower, or any other pre-revolutionary colonial expedition.

Thats a huge point of pride in the States. Twenty five percent of Americans can trace back to the Mayflower. 8 of our Presidents can

@Stripesnomore

Of course they need to make the decision themselves, but there are all kinds of ways of increasing applicants through outreach and cultural changes. This has been done hundreds if not thousands of times in institutions all over the world. It isn’t some novel idea.

The States aren't the rest of the world. NYPD has done those things. They even offered bonuses.Thats why 36% of NYPD are POC. It could be better but until POC want those jobs it isn't going to happen.

I really didn’t think I was going to have to come on a thread and explain equality as if we were in 1948.

As cultural barriers reduce, less competent people are replaced by more competent ones. So as women and working class people got more opportunities to education and the best universities, some of the upper class men were replaced by more competent people. It didn’t require a quota of approximately half women. The proportion of women just naturally increased as barriers to equality in education were reduced.

This has happened in all kinds of institutions all over the world. It doesn’t need quotas or barring people. Less competent people just don’t get in as more competent people get selected when barriers are removed.

@Baaaahhhhh

Sorry, but I find Biden's obsession with his Irish roots a bit odd. Biden is of English, French and Irish descent. His Irish roots are very distant in modern terms, his great-great grandparents on his mothers side. I have to say I think it is a bit odd that he sees himself as so Irish, when he is absolutely an American of mixed European descent and is actually only less than 1/5th Irish.

I can quite understand it. He loves the romantic part of his heritage best. His call.

@kurtainwoz

Anti-Irish sentiment is definitely not a big thing anymore but I still think the "English" have very little understanding of the Troubles.

I wish it were true that anti-Irish sentiment is no longer a thing jn Britain.

But it is very much still prevalent in England, specifically. It had been lessening over the years, but spiked in the run up to the Brexit vote and even more since.

It is most definitely A Thing

Oh. I see the discussion has veered. Thought you were still talking Ireland...

I lived in the Midwest for a while, always found the claims from Americans to be Irish a bit baffling. My mum's side of the family came from County Cork within living history but I don't consider myself Irish at all.

@Stripesnomore

I really didn’t think I was going to have to come on a thread and explain equality as if we were in 1948.

As cultural barriers reduce, less competent people are replaced by more competent ones. So as women and working class people got more opportunities to education and the best universities, some of the upper class men were replaced by more competent people. It didn’t require a quota of approximately half women. The proportion of women just naturally increased as barriers to equality in education were reduced.

This has happened in all kinds of institutions all over the world. It doesn’t need quotas or barring people. Less competent people just don’t get in as more competent people get selected when barriers are removed.

There is absolutely no proof of that. You believe that the racial inequality on NYPD or any police force is due to racisim. It isn't. It has to do with police brutality. Before you say that Police brutality is perpetrated by race again I will point to the most recent case of George Floyd. Where 2 of his murderers were POC.

@Janegrey333...Or he loves the family who still lives in Co. Cork...I know I still love my Aunts and Cousins and Uncles who live there

@Stripesnomore but you are assuming that the ‘less competent’ people are white?

I have no idea where my great grandmother came from and if I were a politician I wouldn't base my foreign policy on such a random fact. It's bizarre.

@MarDhea I don't think it's a big thing, I never said it didn't exist did I? I'm certainly not on the receiving end of abuse like my parents were. My mum worked for the switch board at an Irish company & used to get regular death threats. My dad could not fly without being stopped. I think it's very different now.

This thread has taken a weird turn.