Irish Music and neo-Nazis

[dwinterfield]

This from the editor of Irish Music magazine, July 2005, page 5.

"... Reports are coming back from America that a small number of touring Irish bands have been offered gigs at what are ostensibly European Cultural Festivals, but which are "Neo Nazi fun days out", run by White Supremacist groups. We all know the history of music on this island of Ireland is often played along sectarian lines, and the music is lot more than an entertainment, but that it should be used by someone for their political ends and done by stealth, well that's simply unforgivable."...

He goes on to briefly discuss concerns about traditional music and conservatism.

..........................

I guess I'm not really surprised. I think it's always a bad idea when folks try to grab cultural or community symbols and claim them for a narrow point of view. I always resented the conservatives for claiming they owned the flag, values and freedom and I will acknowledge as a lefty that we don't own peace and justice. Traditional music is a wonderful link to all of our pasts. I hope the comments in the magazine represent a passing blip and don't become a trend.

[Nanohedron]

"European Culture Festivals", eh? So you CAN polish a turd after all.

[lixnaw]

that must be either Christy Moore, the Wolfe Tones or the Sands

it could never be the DUP :roll:

[missy]

dwinterfield - out of curiosity, did the article give any names of festivals (and locations)?

[Jack]

Being that many people with an interest in Irish music are at least partly of Irish descent (i.e., caucasian), it doesn't surprise me that white supremacists would flock to the ITM scene.

[The Weekenders]

Hey, the KKK has been burning St. Andrews crosses for years, except on lawns not hillsides.. I am sure the festival types hit up the Scots first.

The fact is that a whole generation of young kids have had multi-culti extremist views poured over their heads in public schools. The diversity crowd has emphasized cultural, racial differences but there is always an underlying message that the European type is somehow more evil and responsible for the world's woes.

Consequently, there is a rise in these Aryan groups, skinhead youth, etc. and ethnic tensions in schools. I truly blame the educational system and deep thinkers for this unintended consequence of their parochial social engineering.

But along with extremism, there are legitimate people out there asking: what about European-Americans? if you are going to pigeon-hole everyone else into groups, celebrate and therefore emphasize group identity, what happens to Euro heritages?

At my sons' school, where I was PTA Board member, I unsuccessfully attempted to get a Celtic heritage festival going around mid-March. I should point out that the schools ethnic breakdown was anbout 55% black, 30% white, 17% Hispanic and the rest Asian, Pacific Islanders etc etc.

The district (through the Principal who was their hand in the deal) was not interested in supporting it, even though they have Black History month, Cesar Chavez day, Asian Awareness Week, etc etc. The parents were ambivalent as they were either: not interested because they were non-white and victim-group agenda driven, non-white and just not interested, white but hesitant. The small group of interested parents felt threatened by marginalization and accusations, so the effort ceased.

So try not to get too worked up and throw everyone in the same boat for wanting to celebrate various European ethnic heritages; you might wake up one day and find no acknowledgement whatsoever in your community.

In California, self-identified white people are no longer the majority. The whole notion of "minority" groups has been thrown into limbo as so much social thinking is wrapped around a no-longer existing status quo. As usual, supposedly "open-minded people" are very reluctant to give up their cherished notions and adapt to this new reality.

And what really is mind-bending, when it comes to Irish culture, is that it occupies a strange place of having been a victim of the same white cultural, linguistic and religious oppression within the bigger picture. But other groups, who you would think would have sympathy, USUALLY do not see beyond freckled faces in their ideologies and have no interest in the oppressed Irish as fellow victims.

To many who consider themselves socially conscious, the idea of a European-American Festival sounds outrageous, elicits the liberal eye-roll and must be suppressed at all costs.

I think this is the wrong approach. The more you smother, the more things get perverted attempting to survive.

[Unseen122]

:admin:

Thought that might be a good avatar for right now. White Supremists piss me off sooooooo much.

[dwinterfield]

dwinterfield - out of curiosity, did the article give any names of festivals (and locations)?

It did not. He does go on to praise the Milwaukee Festival. I think he's going.

[fluter_d]

This is perhaps slightly unrelated, but the Irish language television channel, TG4, showed a programme within the last 2 weeks where an Irish-speaking presenter and crew visited one of these festivals, filmed proceedings, and talked to people who were attending (through English). I found it to be a very disturbing programme, but the interviews were quite funny to watch (one of the few funny moments occured when one of the white supremacists was talking about how Africans had never developed civilisations. The interviewer asked about the pyramids. The answer was: "I don't know where you learned your geography, but last time I checked, the pyramids were in Egypt". Intriguing). It was also interesting that the presenter was free to comment on events as they happened, to the camera, because he was speaking in Irish. It seems odd to me that they would want Irish music/musicians there, considering the religious statistics in Ireland and their issues with Catholics.

Deirdre

[herbivore12]

I should point out that the schools ethnic breakdown was anbout 55% black, 30% white, 17% Hispanic and the rest Asian, Pacific Islanders etc etc.

Only want to point out that this must be the kind of math that makes you conservative-types believe the things you do.

It'd be hard cramming any classroom more than 102% full, though, I'm sure.

(obligatory , just in case...)

[The Weekenders]

Dee, that's why I mentioned that they probably hit up the Scots first. It is curious but it shows you that this movement has exceeded the usual original suspects, i.e. the Southern white supremacists to a larger, more varied following, with definite varying degress of education.

I did have to laugh at the Egypt thing though. For those who live with large African-American populations in their community (like me), the actual racial makeup of the ancient Egyptians is quite the political football. On the one hand, you have white supremacists, who will do anything to deny that the Egyptians were black, then you have these African nationalists, who claim that Egyptians were solely African, built the pyramids, used electricity, and operated GLIDERS, flying over the country. There is a video production that pops up on our mandatory public access local television channel that has this very serious looking guy explaining all this.

As far as I can tell, the latest word from the anthropologists is that ancient Egypt had a mixture of various people, including Africans and other Mediterranean caucasians...

[The Weekenders]

I should point out that the schools ethnic breakdown was anbout 55% black, 30% white, 17% Hispanic and the rest Asian, Pacific Islanders etc etc.

Only want to point out that this must be the kind of math that makes you conservative-types believe the things you do.

It'd be hard cramming any classroom more than 102% full, though, I'm sure.

(obligatory , just in case...)

D'oh!!! Hey, I didn't have my notes nearby. Well, the remainder,after the 85, was...oh..never mind. It was SOMETHING like that.

[Walden]

Man continues hating fellow man, after all these years, doesn't he? So often seems like they all tell the same wild stories, only difference was which race did all the ancient wonders, and which race covered it up.

Seems to me like there have been some marvels of culture among all sorts of races, whether the advances of China or the wonders of the Incas, whether the marvels of Great Zimbabwe or the ancientness of the Australian Aboriginals. Even the Texans have contributed to the world's heritage... I just can't remember how, right now.

But, yeah, I can see there's little wonder that Irish traditional music would appeal to white American racist groups. Racist idealogies have always had a use for music and an appeal to a romantic vision of their superior ancestors, and with a large number of white Americans claiming Celtic heritage it stands to reason that they would wish to have music of "their" heritage to reinforce their "revolution."

[dubhlinn]

that must be either Christy Moore, the Wolfe Tones or the Sands

it could never be the DUP :roll:

You been on the Moonshine Lix?,
There is no way on Gods Earth that Christy Moore would align himself with Nazi scum and Tommy Sands is a bit left of centre...Don't know about the Tones - I was always suspect of that crowd

Slan,
D.

[Whistling Pops]

[quote=

I truly blame the educational system

if you are going to pigeon-hole everyone else into groups

So try not to throw everyone in the same boat

As usual, supposedly "open-minded people" are very reluctant to give up their cherished notions and adapt to this new reality.

elicits the liberal eye-roll


Boy, you don't pigeon-hole people, do you? Not unless they're "liberal" or part of the educational system you folks on the right like to blame for everything. Now that rightwingers have put an idiot in the White House you would think that they would be satisfied, but that is the trouble with people on the right, they are never satisfied.