Scarlet Eyes ([email protected])
Wed, 19 Aug 1998 21:37:32 EDT
Stephen R. McBride wrote:
> These two songs are not in any way related.
Not in any way related? Just because Lennon and Bono had different
views and interpretations does not mean the songs are not related.
Yes, there are inaccuracies in Lennon's song, (ie. fourteen, not
thirteen martyrs). But Pride's inaccuracy doesn't take anything away
from his interpretation of the event.
> Now the concept of the "Irish" American irritates me for a number
> of reasons, which can be summed up as follows. If you are born in
> America, you are an American. Simple as that. You may have
> Irish antecedents, but...you are American, immersed in American
> culture and the American way of life. You are no more Irish than I
> am Zimbabwean!!
Nothing makes me more sick than statements like the previous ones. No,
I've never lived in Ireland. No, I've never directly experienced the
horrors there. There are MANY things about it that I do not understand
or comprehend. But there are many, many things I do understand. My
grandfather was a Catholic from Ireland, my grandmother, a Protestant
from Scotland. They were forced to marry in secrecy and then emmigrated
to America, because of threats made to their lives! Threats to their
lives, made by their so-called christian neighbors as well as family
members. I AM part Irish, and know EXACTLY what it is like to be
Irish...its in me in a way that I can't explain. The stories I could
tell about my grandparents and what they went through in the name of
religion, makes me sick to my stomach! Their experiences affected my
father greatly, and in turn, myself. So yes, I am Irish AND American.
Birthplace is only a portion of what I am. So please don't say that
Irish-Americans are no more Irish than you are Zimbabwean. It's simply
not true.
> To understand Northern Ireland, you have to have grown up in
> Northern Ireland, and even then, it doesn't work, because most
> people grow up on one side of the religious divide or the other,
> totally unaware of the other's alien culture, even though it may
> just be down the road.
With all due respect Steven, you have no clue about what I know about
Northern Ireland.
> Have you noticed that U2 actually say very little about Northern
> Ireland? As I've said, that's because they're from the Irish
> Republic which is as different to the north as Canada is to Sudan!!
Tell my grandparents that!
> They are entirely different cultures, and thankfully U2 have always
> recognized that, as Dubliners, they are very isolated from the
> horrors of Northern Ireland.
Isolated?? U2 are what they are because of their perspective on the
horrors of Northern Ireland.
> Bono realised the importance of appearances, and obviously
> understood the subtle nuances in Northern Irish political life, that >
can mean the difference between peace and death.
> "Irish" Americans simply do not understand this.
I, as well as many other Irish-Americans "understand" much more about
the struggle than you will ever know.
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~~=
I've conquered my past...The future is here at last
I stand at the entrance...To a new world I can see
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b2 on Wed Aug 19 1998 - 18:39:43 PDT