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**Arximedus** · 06-06-2012, 10:46 PM

Being Irish in today's America is highly acceptable, much more than being 'black.' In fact, there have been some difficult Irish - black encounters here in NYC. BTW, my gg-grandfather was Irish but he came to Virginia to work on a plantation. He wound up marrying one of the slaves.

there was a time when irish were very much discriminated against in america, much in the same way blacks were in this country for years. the difference is that irish are not as readily discernable from other "accepted" european groups as africans were. so really in most cases the only way for one to know said person was an irishman was by his last name or by his accent, if he lost those then there wasn't much stopping him from integrating into the rest of society. it is much harder to relinquish your genetic makeup however, which is why blacks had a much harder time finding acceptance among white people. its easier for people to learn to accept someone who looks like you than someone who shares little with you in regards to shared ancestry or race or looks etc.

06-06-2012, 10:46 PM	#16
Arximedus Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 451 Senior Member	Being Irish in today's America is highly acceptable, much more than being 'black.' In fact, there have been some difficult Irish - black encounters here in NYC. BTW, my gg-grandfather was Irish but he came to Virginia to work on a plantation. He wound up marrying one of the slaves. there was a time when irish were very much discriminated against in america, much in the same way blacks were in this country for years. the difference is that irish are not as readily discernable from other "accepted" european groups as africans were. so really in most cases the only way for one to know said person was an irishman was by his last name or by his accent, if he lost those then there wasn't much stopping him from integrating into the rest of society. it is much harder to relinquish your genetic makeup however, which is why blacks had a much harder time finding acceptance among white people. its easier for people to learn to accept someone who looks like you than someone who shares little with you in regards to shared ancestry or race or looks etc.
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