We very much dislike grievance mongering, so when we come across something like this, we don’t have a lot of sympathy. Irish Central:
The Australian Embassy in Ireland has blasted a racist advert seeking a bricklayer in Perth which stated that “no Irish” would be accepted for the job.
However, the perosn [sic] who placed the ad is standing by it saying too many Irish make up fake credential for jobs.
The ad, published on the classified website Gumtree, stated “Bricklayer needed ASAP. $250 a day, no part-time workers and NO IRISH”
A spokesman for the Embassy said the Australian Government has no tolerance for racism and discrimination and this is reflected in a broad range of anti-discrimination legislation in Australia.
He added, “The Government has an unwavering commitment to a multicultural Australia and greatly welcomes the contribution made by people of all backgrounds, regardless of origin, gender, or color, to Australia’s culture, society, and prosperity.”
Our first thought was that it must be a put-up job, but our second was, we don’t much care.
It’s true that at one point in US history the Irish were discriminated against in this fashion, like any other non-WASP ethnic group in America, but that was a long time ago, and we have the feeling that the same is true of Australia. Almost all of the ethic Irish we know are over it completely, and don’t really even have the time to get up in arms about stupidities like the O’Bama t-shirt flaunting a four-leaf clover instead of the three-leaved shamrock that has significance in Irish culture with regards to St. Patrick, whose feast day we will drunkenly celebrate tomorrow night. Only sourpusses like Jane Fonda’s ex, Tom Hayden, really make a big deal about the Famine, or any of that long-ago stuff.
The Irish have been fully assimilated since at least the time of Maureen O’Hara’s stardom.
Admittedly, leprechauns and pukkas have a right to be upset about the way they’re portrayed in American media, but they can speak for themselves.
Obama’s and the Proggs’ attitude toward Catholics and the First Amendment is another story, though, and we’re fighting mad about that.
