Thursday, December 8, 2011
Arkansas Culture and Characters Senator announces formation of Irish caucus
Posted by Max Brantley on Thu, Dec 8, 2011 at 3:20 PM
First: No jokes about gas and the Irish.
Sen. Jason Rapert of Bigelow, a prominent member of the Shale Caucus, has sent a letter to legislative colleagues — read it here — about the formation of an Arkansas Irish Caucus. It will work on forming relationships with Ireland and is an outgrowth of Ireland's establishment of a consulate in Atlanta. The consul is making a visit to Arkansas Dec. 15 and Rapert has invited colleagues to join him at a reception that day at Trapnall Hall.
Rapert's letter says few immigrants had the impact that Irish Protestants did on the American mountain South (at least until the recent Latino immigration) in the 18th and 19th centuries. He said:
Their traditions in music, storytelling, agriculture and faith are with us today, even if most of us never think about where our customs originated.
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Comments (18)
Showing 1-18 of 18
And I suppose Sen. Rapert will want to return the favor of the Irish consult by making a trip to Ireland. At our expense, of course.
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Why not mention "gas" in this context? After all Rapert is full of hot air.
Hey, Ireland opted to assume the bad debt of their entire banking system against all common sense. Maybe they'll bail out Arkansas if we need it?
Heck, I'm Irish. Figure my folks were one step ahead of the posse in Ireland. Wasn't too long ago Irish Christian Sunnis and Shiites were conducting terrorists attacks against each other and.......ooops, got 'em mixed up didn't I? And here I thought only Muslims did this sort of thing!
That letter is the biggest bunch of huie I have seen in quite a while!
"we do not get caught up in labels" (I guess we won't be hurling around LABELS such as Liberal, Christian, minortity, Confederate, godless environmentalist,...)
"we don't hold on to ethnic identites for generations... (yeah right! No one has ever been pulled over for driving while Black)
"Their traditions in music, storytelling, agriculture and faith" (brings to mind Delta Blues, Maya Angelou, cotton plantations, and rolicking gospel chiors) No wait, that woud be the African Ethnic in stead of the Irish.
Irish agriculture? Is that a big potato growing area near town?
So how in the world is this gonna create jobs and protect me from that dern Obamacare?
Given the views towards the Irish when they arrived, I can hardly wait for a legislator to form the Arkansas-Mexico caucus . . . in about 100 years when we can conveniently forget how we felt about their "music, storytelling, agriculture and faith" in the early days of their immigration.
But perhaps I'm too cynical. Anyone know if there's already a Latino Caucus in the Arkansas Legislature?
Better question Conwegian: "Is there a Latino in the Ark legislature?"
I bet Rapert already has a plan to not include the Black Irish since he's probably dumb enough to think their skin is black. What about gay Irish?
What about forming a caucus of Arkansas poor? MY ggggGrandmother was Polly O'Bannon, but I'm a-worrying about the poor of this state more than I'm needing to reconnect to my Irish roots.
We can probably arrange to pay for a tour of the Arkansas poor for Rapert, no need to go spend 10 days in Ireland. Worry about Arkansas Mr. Rapert and quit dreaming up fact-finding trips....You're not John Boozman!
Ummmm,
Lots of hooey from the posters here. As is often the case in Arkansas, yet again, when something comes along that might make a difference in Arkansas, however small, it's made fun of. Many of you who claim to be open minded...
I have several friends in Little Rock who are part of the Irish and Irish American community here. Yes, I said community, all be it a small one. There are 2 relatively large Irish dance schools in Little Rock who have received national recognition, with some of their students competing in Ireland for dance championships. A fairly vibrant Irish music scene and a St. Pat's parade that is probably the largest parade Little Rock hosts (it's so long it has taken 2-3 hours to pass). If I understand correctly, Limmerick University has accepted 3 college students from Little Rock over the last year to study music and they are inquiring for more. There are 3 Irish pubs in Little Rock as well.
As far as music is concerned, a substantial if not 75% of the traditional music and dance of the Ozarks is of Irish extraction or influence. And I believe over the last couple of years THIS VERY MAGAZINE, the Arkansas Times, had a headline that read (paraphrased) "Our Scot's-Irish Roots Run Deep." Also there is a sizeable number of Irish born nurses working in local hospitals that brought their families with them, whose husbands and sons then started at least 6 or 8 family owned businesses.
Yup. Lot's of hooey here. Oh, we on this blog like to say we don't make fun of people who are different from us...shameful.
I have no problem with ethnic caucuses. I even take note when Irish and Italians describe themselves without adding the hyphen and "-American."
I just hope folks realize that blacks have the same desire and need to acknowledge and protect culture and heritage.
And it's no answer to say, "that's a race, not a national heritage."
I don't know what country or tribe gave rise to my ancestors. It's not my fault. In fact, I'm not interested in ascribing "fault" for the fact that I have only a continent, and not a country or tribe, to which to adhere. The point is that skin color and African heritage is the common denominator for culture, heritage and interest.
So the black caucus is just as important -- and no more divisive -- than the Irish caucus.
Black Irish in the southern United States
In the southern United States, mixed-race descendants of European and Native Americans, or European and African Americans, sometimes called themselves "black Irish" or "black Dutch" to explain their colouring and conceal their minority heritage. This was particularly the case during the Indian Removal era of the 1830s. The forced removal of the Cherokee and other nations from native land to the Indian Territory, accompanied by laws that forbade Natives to own land, and denied them the right to vote, led Native Americans and people of mixed race to hide their ethnic heritage. This spurious identification as "black Irish" or "black Dutch" has persisted among the descendants of these people for over 100 years.---Wiki
Black Irish is an ambiguous term used mainly outside of Ireland. Over the course of history, it has been subject to several distinctive ascriptions, including religious affiliation and poverty. Modern traditionalists, however, maintain the term to be synonymous with a dark-haired phenotype exhibited by certain individuals originally descended from Ireland. Opinions also vary in regard to what is perceived as the usual physical characteristics of the so-called Black Irish: e.g., dark hair, brown eyes and medium skin tone; or dark hair, blue or green eyes and fair skin tone. Unbeknown to some who have used this term at one time or another, dark hair in people of Irish descent is actually not uncommon, although darker skin complexions appear much less frequently.---Wiki
Way to show your White er Irish Pride Rep. Rapert. Rapert... sounds British.
we leave the jokes about gas in your able hands, max. you should know.
Rapert must have some deep-seated guilt about his anti-immigrant politics. Great way to get some sleep at night, Jason! Honor just those immigrants who are white, spoke a language not unlike English and and did their immigratin' more than 150 years ago. Safe... but sorry.
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