We were not welcome here. A group of deeply religious foreigners from a shunned faith, speaking with accents, seeking refuge in the arms of Lady Liberty as our home was ravaged and destroyed by famine and disease. We were feared, misunderstood, ostracized, and cast out. They called us chimpanzees, gorillas, and monkeys. They taught their children that the Irish were nothing more than a race of incestuous imbeciles, criminals, thieves, liars and drunks without morals. We were not human in the eyes of the American people, instead viewed as a lesser species all our own.
Irish scum.
Though ‘No Irish Need Apply’ signs are gone from the store front windows, newspapers, and legislation of today, they have been replaced with an eerily similar rhetoric targeting our Muslim friends. My family taught me, at a young age, of the unwarranted hate and intolerance my family members endured, and how we persevered in this scary new world. I can’t fathom why these same sentiments have shifted to another group of undeserving people. We need to stop letting fear and ignorance take the driver’s seat on our decision making.
To my Muslim & Middle Eastern brothers and sisters – I am sorry. I am sorry for the blind hatred and blatant disregard for your rights as human beings. I am sorry for the pain you and your loved ones are facing and feeling right now, and I am all the more sorry my fellow Americans are the cause. You have a friend in me, an ally in me. We can do better, we will do better, and I pledge to lend my efforts to ensure that you feel safe and respected in this country.
I am an Irish Catholic American and I am proud. I am a Polish American and I am proud. I am the patchwork product of immigrants, and I am proud.
Please feel free to share your story in the comments!
