You got that right!

My grandmother was born in the early 20th century, and she told me all about personally experiencing the bigotry — the “No Irish Need Apply” signs, the social stigma, the Othering. The idea that Irish people are inferior, dirty drunks.

So it’s ironic in the extreme that the old Irish American men who act as gatekeepers to St. Patrick’s day are quite happy to engage in Othering of their own.