Well, perhaps we can deflect it with a light discussion of the word “niggardly”.
I’d take that claim with a grain of salt.
History is pretty much the reason words become racist.
This woman is wrong, and there’s nothing wrong with explaining this to her. But that doesn’t mean we need non-minorities dictating what classes of things minorities should be offended by.
I still remember my great uncle trying to convince me that “nigger” just meant “horrible person.”
No, it was “separate but really, truly not equal laws.” I lived through the butt end of real Jim Crow and I know the difference.
Poor you. I’m English, the Irish do it to me all the time. Now you know how it feels.
Your friend should hate the Irish Catholics because of the Civil War Draft Riots, among other anti-black pogroms fomented by Irish immigrants. No need to make anything up.
On the other hand, the sons and daughters of Erin didn’t invent American style white supremacy, they just took advantage of it to lift themselves off the bottom. Considering how widely despised and abused they were, they needed the boost.
Did she actually say she hates Irish people? If you have a problem with what historical Irish people did, it makes sense to disdain a celebration of Irish identity, Irish ancestry, and Irish history.
Earliest cite in my OED is 1930.
According to the Online Etymylogical Dictionary the term “paddy wagon” dates from 1930, not from the days of slavery.
I’ve always thought the term was American in origin, and isn’t used much if at all in the UK. Once upon a time there was the term “Black Maria” (because they were painted black, before we go down any other irrelevant byways), but now I think people mostly just say “police van”.
Same here, and believe me, it WAS fucking ancient!
Hmmm, I always thought that St. Patrick’s Day was perpetuated by the bar industry to sell more alcohol, in much the same way as Cinco d’ Mayo.
Cinco de Mayo… I realize you’re referring to the American version, but it’s still a Spanish expression. No apostrophes in Spanish.