What is Digg?145 Comments
- SmooveO, on 03/15/2008, -2/+111it is worth noting that after the rape and pillage, the vikings went on to lose 4 super bowls
- Makaveli604, on 03/15/2008, -0/+33Is that photo in your profile you? If so, I somehow don't see your ancestors being the warriors.
- Viend, on 03/15/2008, -1/+29And how did it get passed on from the Vikings to the Irish?
Through rape of course. - dsmx, on 03/15/2008, -0/+23The last one shows how the Irish misunderstood the British. Britain has been fighting wars for about 2000 years and I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Britain doesn't get war weary, ever.
- DuffyDirect, on 03/15/2008, -0/+23you're wrong, TheEclipse is right. There were a few exceptions of good Englishmen coming to the aid of the starving folks like the lord of westport in county mayo, but for the most part, the english did nothing and exported most of the healthy potato crop while irish were eating grass and licking algae off of rocks! i could never understand, though, why they couldn't fish for cod or river salmon...
- trogdor282, on 03/15/2008, -1/+21Next up is The Luck of the Jews.
- DuffyDirect, on 03/15/2008, -0/+19thats b/c they built plenty of police stations and chose their civics wisely. they might have also built the universal suffrage great wonder in one of their cities.
- Zdax, on 03/15/2008, -2/+20Ow, my Irish hurts.
- DuffyDirect, on 03/15/2008, -1/+17Thor, Loki.... McLovin!
- DuffyDirect, on 03/15/2008, -0/+14The Vikings get a bad rap, but they were really more like -- say -- the Phoenicians rather than the Romans or the Nazis. Vikings who settled Normandy and later conquered England via William did a lot of good for that country, conducted the first census since Roman times, and all that. The Vikings served and contributed greatly in the Roman Eastern Empire as Vangarian guard and all that... They were all over the map, I guess.
The Vikings and Germanic "barbarians" are really misrepresented in pop-culture. The truth is, they often paraded around in togas, drank wine, and put on the fascade of being "civilized" because they wanted to inherit Romantic culture, not annihilate it. The Saxons and all them who they terrorized in England did the same exact kind of "evil" when they stole the land from celts, scotts, and romans who lived in the land before them. - IAmKalec, on 03/15/2008, -1/+15My Great Grandmother Elizabeth Kempson (Married name Lily McAlerney) was part of the Easter uprising She took over the Dublin post office and held it for a week before they were overran. All of people helping her hold it off were killed or hung but since she was a female they deported her to America.
My Great Grandma was pretty cool. - BobCock, on 03/15/2008, -2/+16david caruso should be burned as a witch. or burned for anything, really...
- Berkana, on 03/15/2008, -3/+16You know, that blurb on the viciousness of the Vikings got me thinking: it's ironic that people pick the Vikings as team mascots. They were incredibly cruel, expansionist, colonialist, and murdered untold numbers of people wherever population centers could be reached by navigating up river. That would be like someone centuries from now naming their mascot after the Nazis for their famous weapons technology and aggressive expansionism, or the communist guerillas for their infamy in spreading revolution. If we find naming a group after the Nazis revolting, we should (if we knew history) find it just as revolting to name any team mascot after the Vikings, or the Moors, or the Spartans, or any vicious warlike group. Heck, there's even a chain of mongolian barbecue restaurants named "the Great Khan's". If you realize that Ghengis Khan's armies killed or caused the starvation of tens of millions of people, naming a restaurant after him is akin to naming a German sausage shop after Hitler. Only general amnesia about the history of these peoples makes these mascots acceptable.
- SarahSue, on 03/15/2008, -1/+13If it wasn't for bad luck, I'd have none at all... so this article doesn't seem too bad to me.
- nonstop87, on 03/15/2008, -0/+12The Irish in me wants to say ***** the English,
The English in me wants to say ***** the Irish...Head Explodes - mofro99, on 03/15/2008, -8/+19native americans got pwned a bit harder in my opinion since I see irish people just about everywhere and only 2 native americans so far. (in USA too)
But at least their not ginger - obliviousfool, on 03/15/2008, -1/+12"If you had the luck of the Irish
You'd be sorry and wish you were dead
You should have the luck of the Irish
And you'd wish you was English instead!
A thousand years of torture and hunger
Drove the people away from their land
A land full of beauty and wonder
Was raped by the British brigands! Goddamn! Goddamn!
If you could keep voices like flowers
There'd be shamrock all over the world
If you could drink dreams like Irish streams
Then the world would be high as the mountain of morn
In the 'Pool they told us the story
How the English divided the land
Of the pain, the death and the glory
And the poets of auld Eireland
If we could make chains with the morning dew
The world would be like Galway Bay
Let's walk over rainbows like leprechauns
The world would be one big Blarney stone
Why the hell are the English there anyway?
As they kill with God on their side
Blame it all on the kids the IRA
As the bastards commit genocide! Aye! Aye! Genocide!
If you had the luck of the Irish
You'd be sorry and wish you was dead
You should have the luck of the Irish
And you'd wish you was English instead!
Yes you'd wish you was English instead!"
- John Lennon "The Luck of The Irish" (sing it loud!) - EmitStop, on 03/15/2008, -1/+12Well at least they have spaghetti.
- aigulf, on 03/15/2008, -2/+13with all due respect, the land was producing butt loads of good crops and beef...for the British
- girlpirate, on 03/15/2008, -0/+11All things considered, if true, your great grandma was beyond "pretty cool" she was downright bad-ass.
- miken32, on 03/15/2008, -0/+10Yes, the original Celts were dark haired (somewhat swarthy even) folks, having come from the mainland after overrunning Gaul. Lots of Irish with dark hair and complexions are fond of saying that they've got Spanish blood from the 16th century armadas, but it's not true. They're the original Irish tribe, the redheads are the invaders.
- TheEclipse, on 03/15/2008, -1/+11Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the English only allowed certain crops -mainly potatoes- to be farmed on Irish land.
- Makaveli604, on 03/15/2008, -1/+11This is one of those comments you want to screenshot.
- GreyICE, on 03/15/2008, -2/+12Don't forget the fact that the English prevented other countries from sending too much aid, so England didn't look bad.
- GreyICE, on 03/15/2008, -1/+11*****, if you lived in England, you'd want to go kill something too, and the thought of being shot in the head would be a bloody nice bonus.
- oriondr, on 03/15/2008, -2/+12Pretty inaccurate. The vikings traded with the Irish more than any raping/pillaging.
Also, it is thought that red hair may have COME from the Viking blood. - DuffyDirect, on 03/15/2008, -0/+9actually, i mean, you'd be pretty surprised to see how many indians are still around in the US. no one really sees them because we like burning jet fuel and never drive or take the good old railroad across the country on trips, but there's a surprisingly number of reservations with thriving and not-so-thriving indian populations. if you go to idaho, for example, everyone you meet is either an indian or a mormon. there's some reservation land scattered around new york too. in the early 90s, some of the seneca had an uprising -- made a blockade on I-90 and set the road on fire to scare people. They claimed the terms of their treaty entitled them to the entire city of syracuse or something like that. i think the state troopers and them eventually had a gun battle before it was over...
- mrwizard14, on 03/15/2008, -8/+16Damn... My viking ancestors were mean mofos.
- sagat, on 03/15/2008, -0/+8When are people going to understand Red hair is not nearly as common in Ireland as blonde hair, yes blondies are everywhere, maybe it's to do with all the raping those viking characters did, or maybe just the fact that after a few years of being "bullies" the Vikings started enjoying Ireland so much they settled down built cities and basically became Irish.
- Peck3277, on 03/15/2008, -0/+8Actually the famine had nothing to do with agricultural stupidity. The English took all the food, the forced the Irish to grow potatoes for themselves and took all the healthy food for themselves. Help? The English did anything but help but they love to try and spin it that way. Their descrimination toward the Irish people is what caused it.
- LordOfTheDunce, on 03/15/2008, -1/+9Do you not get it, lads? The Irish are the blacks of Europe. And Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland. And the Northside Dubliners are the blacks of Dublin. So say it once, say it loud: I'm black and I'm proud.
- bagelmaster, on 03/15/2008, -2/+9I wish I could digg you down 100 times
- DuffyDirect, on 03/15/2008, -0/+7yeah those are the not-so-thriving variety i mentioned :-(
there's actually a pretty cool indie film scene with lots of indian film makers and poverty and the lack of economic development is a major theme and the quintessential experience of the culture in general these days... i like in western new york now and once in awhile the local SUNY school features some of these films since we're fairly close to the oneida reservation. theres this really good tv show north of 60 too on canadian television that features indians that struggle with the same sort of depressing slew of issues up north too - Universal, on 03/15/2008, -0/+7Erin Go Bragh!
- TheBanditKing, on 03/15/2008, -1/+7I don't mean to alarm you but somebody you know may be exaggerating to you
- hiPpymIck, on 03/15/2008, -0/+6for anyone with an Irish connection out there..
happy st Patricks on monday - miken32, on 03/15/2008, -1/+7Well sure the vikings did lots for England, but the Nazis did a lot of good for Germany too. You just had to hope you were on their side or you'd have problems. OP left out pirates too. Murderers, thieves, rapists, and all; we get Johnny Depp playing them.
- Peck3277, on 03/15/2008, -0/+6Just cause theres a lot of Irish around doesnt mean we were treated better. A lot of what was mentioned in that article was played down. For 900 years the Irish we pissed on by the English. A grudge still held today in Ireland. Just wiki the penal laws. A favourite pastime of the English was to cover an Irish persons head with tar and then set it on fire. Not to mention the fact that we were slaves
- Peck3277, on 03/15/2008, -1/+7Cromwell = Evil *****
"To hell or to connacht" - girlpirate, on 03/15/2008, -0/+6Well, Go big or go home I always say. personally, I see 2,000 viking long boats coming up the river Im going to do things in a very specific order.
1. Crap my damn pants
2. Run the ***** away. as fast as I ***** can. - DuffyDirect, on 03/15/2008, -2/+8its kind of like being wesley snipes in blade
- DuffyDirect, on 03/15/2008, -0/+6they sieged paris from its river with 2,000 long boats!
- Peck3277, on 03/15/2008, -1/+6I sure would love to know where you get your facts. Americans are by no means pissed on. When the Americans came to Shannon hundreds of people came out to see them because we have never really seen any military force. Through vinegar? I wouldn't even waste it on the likes of you and. And American tourists sure we like to poke fun and make jokes but just as much as i get slagged when I go to america. Nothing serious but just messing
- vspazv, on 03/15/2008, -2/+7dugg for this:
(later research has shown only around 60% of redheads are angry whores). - Hauk2004, on 03/15/2008, -0/+5I'm from Ireland.
I'd leave if I could. If you ever come to Ireland never visit Dublin. It's a dump. Go to Wicklow or Kerry or somewhere nice. But Dublins changed for the worst.
In saying that..we've a pretty unique history. - user23490, on 03/15/2008, -1/+6When you say 'Don't bury me, I'm Irish' do you actually mean that you grew up in Ireland? Because few people that did would have such an opinion as you do.
You lay the blame for the famine on purely agricultural causes, and on (presumably Irish) stupidity.
The Irish grew potatoes because that was the only crop they could grow - for their own consumption - due to the oppressive conditions they were under.
They didn't live solely off of potatoes because everyone preferred a diet consisting mainly of potatoes to a more varied diet, you know.
All their good land had been stolen. Centuries of harsh treatment had ensured they existed only as poor subsistence farmers. Irish people existed primarily as tenants struggling for food on large English owned farms with land lords who lived in the England. All the conditions at the time permitted them to grow was potatoes, as that was the cheapest food they could grow in the bad soil they had been left with.
These bad conditions were part of a deliberate and calculated policy of subjugation.
When the potato blight came along, and the crop failed, everyone starved.
Even after the first year or two of mass starvation, the vast majority of landlords still continued to take the food they had stored and export it from the country. Ireland remained a net exporter of food while everyone starved.
There are few countries in the world today which are under such an iron fist that they would continue to export enough food to completely feed the population, while the population was starving to death with hunger...
You blame it on stupidity and ignorance in that flippant manner...
The British rulers consciously forced the poor agricultural practices on the Irish.
They didn't mean for the famine to happen, but they did mean for the Irish to be as downtrodden and dependent on potatoes as they were.
And when the famine happened, they did little to help the situation. It suited them more to have the Irish starve - you must remember, the British had being trying hard for a long time to break the Irish spirit, and from one perspective the famine was convenient.
They created the conditions for the famine. They created these conditions on purpose, though without famine in mind.
To say it was stupidity and ignorance... well, certainly not stupidity and ignorance of the Irish. - skippy17, on 03/15/2008, -0/+5Reading this made me understand why I'm able to drink my problems away - my ancestors must have been doing it for centuries.
- inactive, on 03/15/2008, -1/+6Nationality is a very modern term and this article considers events far older than the time when "nations" came into existence. Initially, people of mostly similar race came together to build societies, kingdoms and countries.
- girlpirate, on 03/15/2008, -0/+4Come to BC. Spit and you hit one. in fact 2 of my cousins can claim status (but won't for the principle of the thing). Natives/First Nations/Indians whatever, are everywhere and are a rather large part of our culture in my opinion, our schools are saturated with Native programs, field trips and public speakers. I personally think its great. Still, we haven't figured out a way to reverse the effects of the white invasion. They are still highly affected by poverty, substance abuse and alcoholism. they are a rather small percent of our population but represent a large percent of our prison populations.
Odd side note, most Natives I know actually refer to themselves as Indian. then again, none of them are particularly active in the Native community. they just enjoy the stereotypes and the status benefits. - Lynxpro, on 03/15/2008, -0/+4European Union structural subsidies FTW! Thank the German and British tax payers for that.
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