St. Patrick’s Day And Assimilation

Yes, the Irish did assimilate in America

St. Patrick’s Day is upon us. For some, this is a holiday to express pride in their Irish ancestry. For others, it’s Irish-themed Cinco de Mayo and an excuse to get wasted at the bar. But, unlike with Cinco de Mayo, many of the celebrants wearing “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” shirts can claim some Hibernian ancestry.

Ahead of the holiday, Donald Trump made March “Irish-American Heritage” month. When Trump announced the heritage month to the media, he praised them as a pro-Trump ethnic bloc. "[Irish-Americans] voted for me in heavy numbers so I like 'em even more. You have to like it,” he said.

The month’s proclamation also implied that Irish-Americans still operate as an ethnic bloc:

Irish Americans have played a crucial role in our great American story — courageously overcoming adversity and hardship to embolden our culture, enliven our spirit, and fortify our way of life. This Irish-American Heritage Month, we commemorate the special bond of friendship between the United States and Ireland — and we honor the extraordinary contributions of Irish-American citizens past and present.

This is pretty amusing. Irish-Americans are, with the exception of a dwindling number of ethnic enclaves, fully assimilated. They are standard white people. Most of them aren’t even that Irish. Like most whites, many self-identifying Irish Americans–like Joe Biden–are primarily Anglo.

When I posted that Irish are fully assimilated whites, some folks asserted that they have yet to assimilate. That’s ridiculous. It is no longer the 19th century. We do not have Fenians charging into Canada to free the Emerald Isle anymore. It’s anachronistic to claim that the average white American calling themselves Irish is not a real American.

Irish-American identity is pretty much limited to wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day. Nearly all Americans, regardless of ancestry, do the same for the holiday. It doesn’t really make the Irish different. Attachment to Irish identity is a result of deracination and the desire to be something besides generic. Hardly any Americans self-identify as “Anglo-Saxon” and few are really vocal about being English/British. Most whites identify with whatever is the most “exotic” part of their heritage. Anglos usually either pick Irish or German. This explains how German was the largest ethnic group for a few Censuses before Americans began taking ancestry tests. Thanks to the 23&Me effect, the largest ethnicity is back to being English.

The reason why so many Anglos still call themselves Irish, German, or something else is because there is no sense of British culture here. St. George’s Day is not celebrated. British cuisine is not respected. There are no red shirts beckoning women to kiss you because you’re English. There’s no grasp of a particular English-American identity or history, even though those are the people who made America. There was once a lot of pride around being Anglo-Saxon and public figures extolling the virtues of America’s core Anglo-Saxon population. But those days are long gone. Likely the last public figure to promote Anglo-Saxon identity was George Wallace in his famous “Segregation Forever” speech. Since then, it’s only used in part of the derogatory WASP acronym.

Anglo-Americans are just generic Americans. Their history, traditions, and culture are what makes America American. For some, that’s good enough. For others, they want a little spice, something to make them different from being a plain American. Claiming an “ethnic” identity provides that, even if in everything else they are a standard American. It gives them something to stand out from the pack.

Interestingly, Irish identity has become a stand-in for generic white identity. Being proud to be Irish is t a politically correct way to say you’re proud to be white. Italian pride is too Mediterranean, too far off from the Northern European ancestry of most whites. German pride sounds dangerously “Nazi” to American ears. White pride is obviously taboo and associated with the Klan. Irish pride is more socially acceptable. Being really into Irish stuff is a subtle way to say you’re into being white. St. Patrick’s Day, for all its cringe modern-day aspects, is a white holiday.

While Trump treated Irish-Americans like an ethnic bloc in his proclamation, the real purpose is to make a quasi-white heritage month. America gets to celebrate white contributions and culture–without having to say the word “white.” An Anglo-Saxon Heritage Month would be a lot cooler and more appropriate. but we’ll have to settle for an Irish one.

The Irish are a testament to American assimilation. They our American heritage, culture, and traditions as their own. They are no different from other Americans. They just like to say they’re Irish, and that’s it. To say they did not assimilate is to pretend 21st America is still the same country as depicted in Gangs of New York. We are not.

Irish national identity has its issues, such as its sympathy with third worldism and unbearable hatred for the Anglo. But Irish identity in America is something different. It’s just an expression of the whiteness at the core of our nation. St. Patrick’s Day has mostly turned into an embarrassing spectacle but there are still positive aspects. In some cities, you still get a parade of white people marching down the street showing pride in who they are and in their ancestors. It would be nice if we had similar parades for, say, Robert E. Lee Day or John Smith Day. But this is what we have.

One doesn’t need to love St. Paddy’s Day to understand the benefit of Irish-American Heritage Month. It’s the first instance in a long time where Europeans are celebrated for making America great. That’s a good thing.