RedCeltic
11th March 2007, 15:53
Kilts, fascism and the Irish
Yesterday, I had attended a Saint Patricks Day parade and saw a disturbing scene. While walking along the sidewalk, searching for a good spot to film the parade I saw across the street from a distance some guy wearing a kilt, combat boots, and a white nationalist t shirt! I was quite offended by it and probably would have said something if I had been any closer and he hadnt disappeared shortly after I saw him.
It is interesting because just earlier a friend of mine had commented on how he thought that all the militarism in the parade, veterans, soldiers, sailors, etc was a sort of slap in the face of the Irish by endorsing US Imperialism and marching under the Irish Tricolor at the same time.
I had also seen over the years, much appropriation of Celtic and Norse symbols and cultural events such as the Scottish Games on online communities orientated to White Nationalists. While I had always found it offensive to connect Celtic culture and ancient pagan symbols to racism on the internet, somehow it pails in comparison to seeing such a disgusting display of culture theft in person.
I say Cultural Theft because somehow to me White Nationalism and Celtic heritage are incompatible. Especially if you look at the history. Only as recently as the Victorian era, while coming to New York, Boston, etc in droves, the Irish hadnt been considered as even being part of the White race by the Know-nothings and other racist ilk. They are also identifying with the KKK, which had always maintained as much hate for Catholics as they did for blacks and Jews.
I realize that such events such as small Saint Patricks day parades are considered to be more cultural events for all Irish or want to be Irish kin to the Scottish Games, and unlike the New York City parade in which the AOH had declared officially a Catholic Religious event which was merely to support their hypocrisy of keeping the GLBT groups from participating.
I was wondering what peoples thought are on this. Is Racism now an Irish/Celtic value? Or is it now an Irish-American value? And will there be a day when wearing a kilt would be kin to wearing jackboots and a swastika? Or am I just overreacting?
Yesterday, I had attended a Saint Patricks Day parade and saw a disturbing scene. While walking along the sidewalk, searching for a good spot to film the parade I saw across the street from a distance some guy wearing a kilt, combat boots, and a white nationalist t shirt! I was quite offended by it and probably would have said something if I had been any closer and he hadnt disappeared shortly after I saw him.
It is interesting because just earlier a friend of mine had commented on how he thought that all the militarism in the parade, veterans, soldiers, sailors, etc was a sort of slap in the face of the Irish by endorsing US Imperialism and marching under the Irish Tricolor at the same time.
I had also seen over the years, much appropriation of Celtic and Norse symbols and cultural events such as the Scottish Games on online communities orientated to White Nationalists. While I had always found it offensive to connect Celtic culture and ancient pagan symbols to racism on the internet, somehow it pails in comparison to seeing such a disgusting display of culture theft in person.
I say Cultural Theft because somehow to me White Nationalism and Celtic heritage are incompatible. Especially if you look at the history. Only as recently as the Victorian era, while coming to New York, Boston, etc in droves, the Irish hadnt been considered as even being part of the White race by the Know-nothings and other racist ilk. They are also identifying with the KKK, which had always maintained as much hate for Catholics as they did for blacks and Jews.
I realize that such events such as small Saint Patricks day parades are considered to be more cultural events for all Irish or want to be Irish kin to the Scottish Games, and unlike the New York City parade in which the AOH had declared officially a Catholic Religious event which was merely to support their hypocrisy of keeping the GLBT groups from participating.
I was wondering what peoples thought are on this. Is Racism now an Irish/Celtic value? Or is it now an Irish-American value? And will there be a day when wearing a kilt would be kin to wearing jackboots and a swastika? Or am I just overreacting?