The issue that I would like to raise is one that I find quite fascinating! While doing my reading I found out that the Irish and the blacks were somewhat on the same boat back in history. It was even said that they shared some of the same characteristics such as '' their subservience, their flattering, their lying, and their pilfering..." (page 149) both groups of people were considered ''outcasts", and sometimes the immigrants were described as ''Irish niggers'' (page 150) the point imp trying to get at is that the Irish and the blacks were so much alike in so many different ways. I feel like with the population and work force consisting of mainly blacks and Irish that they could have stuck together and fought for their rights that were not properly being given to them and overcame the harsh and unruly treatment that they both were receiving from the whites. once upon a time the Irish and the blacks treated one another with sympathy and saw each other as equal but that was only to last a short time. The whites did what they did best and that’s brainwashed the Irish and basically turned them against the blacks and into one of them! It was quite sad for me to read that the Irish turned on the blacks (page 152) only to be neglected, mislead, and manipulated! After the Irish turned on the blacks it was like they were never even equal or shared sympathy for them at all. It was like they forgot where they came from and I think it was a poor shame. Its one thing to grow and overcome an obstacle but it’s another to forget where you came from. It was once a time in history where the Irish were hired to do dirty hazardous jobs because the slave masters didn’t want to risk the lives of their slaves. '' Its dangerous work", "a Negroes life is too valuable to be risked at it, if a Negro dies it is a considerable loss....." But yet and still the Irish turned completely against the blacks with hoping that the transformation from their ethnicity to another would place them in a better situation. Fact is they were wrong! And in some instances the Irish even regretted their situations! If the two groups of people were so similar to one another what was it that the blacks didnt have for them to be accepted as well! To conclude I’m raising the question why couldn’t they come together instead of give in to the "white" people?
I dont think the both groups gave in to the white masters purposely. When we read and view this, we do think the easiest solution would have been to merge together and stand up to the masters. But we could say that about the issues today; the easiest thing to do is to talk to other ethnic people to get rid of the ongoing prejudice and racism. But its easier said than done.
ReplyDeleteMany people are afraid to walk up to a stranger from another race and begin a conversation. For one, our culture is so individualistic that if anyone were to do that, people would think its out of the ordinary. Two, people are just not comfortable doing that, and when people are taken out of their comfort zone they are more likely to not socialize.
Now this could be applied with the Blacks and Irish conflict. They didnt realize all the similarities because they still were different color wise. That could of been what blinded them; I mean most of these people were uneducated, so thats all they went off of. And once the Whites were able to brainwash the Irish and turn them against the Blacks it was over. There was no going back and it would forever be a dividing line between them.
The divide and conquer technique is powerful.