Irish White Privilege......Yeah

The sort of people who are desperate to introduce US-style culture wars into Irish society are very dangerous, in my opinion.

What makes it worse is that many of them are being paid by the Irish state to promote their divisive and alien agenda.

"Recognising ones privileged status (for example white or male or Irish person)"

A lot of words, but the exact same message.

Targeted, let's be honest, chastisement of innocent children for the fault of existing as an white or male or Irish person in...Ireland.

The people behind this should go door to door and present themselves honestly to Irish parents about what they intend.

I bet they won't, though. Funnily enough.

See's the word "white" and **** themselves over it. What a drama nonsense from the OP, and anyone else crying about the introduction of "culture war" or "propaganda" into our schools.

Not sure if that line from The Commitments is appropriate here.. Or even allowed anymore?!

But there is such a thing as white Irish privilege here in Ireland.

I'd add "settled" to that too.

As a white, Irish, settled male I've had it easy in Ireland these 50+ years of my life.

I don't get immediately judged the same way as a traveller or someone of colour would.

We've only been anything close to a multi ethnic country for a wet week so people of colour are still viewed very differently here, whether we like it or not.

So yeah, I've had it privileged in Ireland all my life.

Same when I was living in the US, being white and Irish is a real bonus over there.

I'm talking about the 21st century, being white and Irish in America is handy, just like it's always been handy in Ireland itself.

No, you haven't.

This ridiculous notion that current generation white people (particularly men) should feel somehow guilty, special, or responsibility for the ills of the world is absolute nonsense.

This is even more true in Ireland which has no legacy of colonisation, slavery or persecution of others - FFS everywhere the Irish went they had to struggle and earn their place, and now we send young Irish men and women to dangerous locations on peacekeeping missions, not to mention all the other acts of charity and financial aid this country is known for.

Even within Ireland there's huge differences in social and economic standards between different communities - and I don't mean our travelling brethren either. Have a drive around the different areas of Dublin and you'll see exactly what I mean.

But the idea that we should feel sorry for being Irish or white is one of the most nonsensical things of the "modern" era.

And ya, unfortunately sometimes bad things happen and feelings may be hurt, but that's life I'm afraid!

The world is not made up of sunshine and rainbows and it is up to anyone coming here to likewise earn their place in our community and society - through integration and assimilation and embracing our culture, our way of life.. Not cry about how unfair life is and expecting allowances and accommodations to be made, or that we should adjust our own society to facilitate them.

There's no comparison between Ireland and a country tearing itself apart for decades like the USA and we need to stop importing their problems, their divisions, their history and trying to paste it into ours where it has absolutely no place!

White male privilege is like playing with home advantage, it won't win you a game, it won't guarantee trophies, but it will give you a leg up.

Irish society is predominantly white, and for this reason being white is an advantage in certain situations.

These are simple facts, and not something I, as a white irish male, feel guilty about

What a joke! Privileged Irish people? Why are some people and groups desperate to import other countries culture wars? Are they really that stupid, or is something more sinister at play? Having various groups of people fighting amongst each other while it also takes the pressure off of government and the thing is that our taxes are being used to fund these NGOs.

Irish people were discriminated throughout our history, not only in our own land but also in the U.S. and the UK. Any party or person that wants to run on bringing this tripe to Ireland, I would never vote for them and hope most others do likewise. The last thing we need is to blame people because of the colour of their skin, and that includes trying to use that "White Privilege" nonsense in Ireland.

There's a sizable cohort on this platform who are openly supportive of this claptrap.

There's a thread about the National Party (Ireland's de facto far right political party) on this forum where despite all the evidence to the contrary (abysmal electoral results, public infighting in the media and a general lack of support from the public) are hell bent on pushing the idea that the far right are on the march in Ireland.

The idea of getting out on the streets and getting involved in civil unrest between partisan groups must really appeal to these people.

Thankfully save for a few skirmishes between tiny groups of far left and far right loons around Leinster House on very rare occasions Ireland hasn't played host to a lot of this type of nonsense.

We need to be mindful of the far right and their insidious agenda without a doubt, but the loons on the other end of the political spectrum are already setting the agenda with the type of nonsense outlined in the OP.

Ireland isn't a horrible place full of racism and or intolerance, a tiny number of people will exist in any society who hold regressive opinions, but they don't represent the majority and we need to stop acting like they do.

Look at the way travellers are judged by the vast majority in this country and you'll see that it is a place full of racism and intolerance.

So you advocate for white Irish people to not have this advantage that you have, then.

You want to specifically disadvantage white Irish people?

White Irish children, to be precise.

Where did I say anything about that.

All I'm saying is that it's false to suggest that privilege doesn't come with being white in Ireland.

It certainly does.

Surely when almost everyone has the same skin colour the ability for that characteristic to give an advantage is diluted relative to a situation where greater diversity exists.

You mentioned that you're over 50, in say the 1980's in Ireland what advantage did you experience because of your skin colour?

So when did white privilege begin in Ireland? or was it always there?

what exactly do you mean?

Its interesting how these ideas play out, outside of USA/canada, Australia/nz and western europe. e.g. what do Han Chinese think of other people in China?

How do black South Africans treat Nigerian immigrants?

Usually?

Have you ever considered the possibility that your experience isn't the best resource for making judgements of this type?

Maybe that's your privilege showing, you believe your opinion carries greater weight than those of us who didn't have the privilege you enjoyed.

You must have been laughing your arse off typing that! You spend most your time on boards defending people like Farage, Boris and Trump. They are the absolute definition of culture wars and division. Never mind the coals you raked yourself over to defend Brexit after all the pointless damage it's caused.

I'm sure you'll tell me how they are all great unifiers in your next post though.

Exactly. No secondary school student I ever knew paid much heed to SPHE . It is a chat room and most students just enjoy it as break from the heavier subjects .

If this opens up to questions and discussion about White Male Privilege which does exist in other parts of the world it is a good thing .

I think as I sort of said earlier the Irish have never had the sort of privilege that has corrupted other countries and Irishwomen certainly not, but as we all are aware from other discussions there are a lot of changes to our country in recent years which means we will not be so much a homogenous grouping going forward .

I would think teaching future generations about the history of said privilege , more than imparting any guilt for it or imposing any blame , would or should be the aim of this curriculum.

So you are arguing that "beauty privilege" , "birth location privilege" and "class privilege" is real but "skin colour privilege" is not real?

It's no wonder to my mind that people with class advantages via education (which they carry with them into the labour market and business world) glom onto a junk ideology that says that all 'white' Irish people are privileged regardless of income, background, access to education, capital and patronage networks etc.

Are we expected to react with surprise when a pro-social justice poster tells us they went to a private school?

They cement their own privilege by creating the chaos of race-and-gender wars for everyone else to have to navigate through.

If "white privilege" in Ireland is real, it must have started sometime. When?

the Penal Laws? When Ray Keogh played for Shamrock Rovers? Last year? Or is it this just because people see something in America, and they apply it locally?

I think the sort of people in Ireland who talk about "white privilege" do some from a "woke capitalist" perspective, to distract from the financial/class advantages they have. And basically **** on the less well-off or less educated who look "white".