Concerned about anti Irish sentiment

[BackInTime]

Anyone else notice this online or experience this in person? Some of the comments towards the Irish under Brexit news stories online are just extreme and appalling. I have also experienced some in person.

It’s looking like no matter what the outcome Ireland’s failure to roll over and comply with the wishes of Brexiters means they will be blamed for Mays failure to deliver the ‘will of the people’ unicorn.

[Cleo18]

AllI am seeing on this thread is rather nasty anti-English sentiments expressed.
There seesm to be a "Them" who are all bad things and we can all agree to hate but actually almost half the English voted Remain, (so are they racist?), many Leave voters are black/Asian, (so are they racist?), Many English living in England are second or third generation Irish, (including me), so what are they??

Prejudice clouds judgement and is always unhelpful

[bellinisurge]

Was discussing it last night with Irish born uk relations and in-laws. All feeling a bit twitchy if Patel's comments go unchecked.
I've only once had anti-Irish sentiment directed at me. I have a family member who's a police officer in the West Midlands who changed their name to be less "Irish sounding" back in the 80s. Let's hope we don't go back to that shit.

[Linsalara]

A few MPs have hit back at Priti for her comments.

[BackInTime]

I have just picked up on the Priti Patel comment. She absolutely should be brought to task for her sheer ignorance and arrogance. If comments like this were made against any other nation that had suffered in the way Ireland has in the past there would be uproar.

[bellinisurge]

Priti Patel should be deselected as an MP for that disgusting comment.

[Stufftheturkeysholewithholly]

And when it all couldnt get bad enough we have Priti wanting to starve us into submission. I despair.

[1tisILeClerc]

There is also Scotland and to a lesser extent Wales.
The Westminster government undermines their wishes.

[Peregrina]

I think that's a good point Juells, although both Spain and Ireland need the backing of the rest of the EU. Contrast that with letting Hong Kong go: China was so powerful there was precious little we could do to oppose them taking it back.

[Juells]

They were all moaning at the fact that the irish border question is causing so much problems and delaying brexit and why don't the irish keep out of their business!

I can't help noticing that the main stumbling blocks to UK's easy exit from EU are countries where the UK has kept a toe-hold - Ireland and Spain. news.sky.com/story/spain-threatens-to-vote-against-brexit-deal-over-gibraltar-11560729

[Obviouspretzel]

And it's not just the racism it's the ignorance and lack of understanding about anything to do with NI, ROI and the border etc.

[Obviouspretzel]

I'm English and (stupidly) thought that although other racism is rife in this country, racism against the Irish was mostly eradicated. I've been proven wrong time and time again, especially the casual kind of anti Irish sentiment I see on mumsnet regularly.

[Dulra]

Yes I have noticed . I lived in london for a number of years and I am married to an English man so we are over quite a few times a year. He is from a brexit voting part of england. When we were visiting over the sunmer, for the first time ever, I found a "them" and "me" situation. They were all moaning at the fact that the irish border question is causing so much problems and delaying brexit and why don't the irish keep out of their business! I was blue in the face telling them that it is not an irish border it is a British border on the island of Ireland which was agreed by mps in Westminster in 1921 under the irish governance act. And there in lies the problem British kids need to be taught their history warts and all because the ignorance is breathtaking.

[merrymouse]

It's the arrogance of the English

Well it’s the arrogance of the particular English people who forgot that Ireland exists and are cross about having to remember the peace agreement and that the U.K. has a land border with the EU.

To be fair they also hate alot of English people.

[SoloD]

I know not all Leave voters were xenophobic morons, but sadly some are. The worst part of Brexit is what it has done to our society, making us look and feel like a scared little country, fearful and angry. And then we have politicians coming out stirring up this, to avoid taking responsibility for the lies they were a part of.

I hope sanity will return

[AngryCrispLady]

It’s not just Daily Mail readers though, is it? We had the Guardian and this guy on twitter saying “we’re an island” in relation to the UK. Do any other UK countries get their existence COMPLETELY forgotten about on a regular basis?

[Jungster]

I'm not living in the UK, are people really saying that with a shrug, like we should just leave for their convenience? Only the sun readers could think that was fair? and that's probably unfair to sun readers!

[Heratnumber7]

So Anti English sentiment is ok, but not Irish?

Are the Welsh ok?

[BackInTime]

‘The solution to the Irish border is simple. Ireland leaves the EU at the same time as Britain. Job done.’

I have been asked on numerous occasions by leave voting colleagues ‘why don’t Ireland just leave so we can just get on with it’? Or ‘can’t we just make them leave’

[Jungster]

Anybody who thinks send an army in is a good solution is just an idiot.
Im not reading the comments. I am sure they would annoy me. Leo V a bit right wing but im del8ghted he is in charge of this. Other previous Taoiseachs would have rolled over.

[Moussemoose]

Brexit has opened the Pandora's box of racism. I don't think one group is being picked on more. There is equal opportunity racism at the moment!

[geekaMaxima]

I agree that the majority of English people don't think like that.

The the problem is that a very loud, visible, vocal minority of English people do think like that, and in my experience, they seem to feel more free to express their bigotry since the run-up to the Brexit referendum. Anti-Irish sentiment is rife in the UK (and on MN), and there have been several recent threads here where Irish posters have recounted their experiences of anti-Irish racism in the UK only to have their lived experience mocked, minimised and gaslighted by bigoted MNers. It was horrible to see.

A further problem is that a very large part of the majority of English people stay silent and don't challenge this kind of racist behaviour when it emerges, so the bigots get away with it. Whether the reason is indifference, obliviousness, or fear of bringing negative repercussions on themselves, the result is be same: racists think their behaviour is acceptable to everyone and the targets of racism think nobody cares enough to intervene. Everyone claims to abhor racist behaviour, but silent abhorrence has the same effect as silent agreement.

[LegoPiecesEverywhere]

I don’t think the majority of English think like that.

In every society you will get uneducated racist idiots. As a pp said it is not just the Irish they are blaming it is also the French and Germans. There are also many disparaging remarks being made about Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece and that is just Europe.

I was reading some comments in the Dailymail (I know). A poster wrote the following and got tons of upvotes and comments agreeing with him.

‘The solution to the Irish border is simple. Ireland leaves the EU at the same time as Britain. Job done.’

[AlphaJuno]

I certainly don't think it's all English people that have that attitude but I have noticed some comments online that are a bit and derogatory about the Irish, such as 'they can't be trusted not to cause trouble' and the like. Maybe Brexit has just highlighted those people who have those views. I'm English but I don't like those sorts of comments. I also don't like really ignorant comments which show a lack of understanding of the issues in Ireland. By holding this referendum and not really giving serious thought to how things would work out in Ireland, it's potentially put their country in jeopardy, we should be sorry not moaning that they are getting in the way.

[AngryCrispLady]

I’m half English / half Irish but understand the “arrogance of the English” thing, albeit this is rather sweeping and probably best applied to the current government and their cronies. It’s likely caused by the “one way” flow of news. I’m still taking aback going home at the stuff that does make national British news about NI. And on a personal level couldn’t believe it when my well educated relatives from England came to a family wedding in the Republic and didn’t know they’d need Euros (what?!) - this could be seen as “arrogant”, but if I’m talking about my lovely English family I’d, in the nicest possible sense, say it was more “ignorance”.
“Arrogance” is a good description of those in charge of Brexit and has really shone a light on their ignorance. Shame they’re relying on the DUP for the counsel on NI issues. The whole thing’s fucked.