When the United States sneezes, the world catches a cold — more specifically, the western world catches a cold.
Which brings us to Ireland, a country with close ancestral ties to the US.
Unless you happen to live under a rock on a foreign planet, you’re no doubt aware that the US is in the midst of a rather brutal culture war, with Americans more divided than ever before.
Sadly, the madness currently consuming the US has crossed the ocean and made its way to Ireland.
In May of 2020, a black man by the name of George Floyd was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Soon after, protesters, many of whom happened to be black, took to the streets of America to protest police violence against people of color. Less than a month later, rather incredibly, similar protests were happening on the streets of Dublin. The gardaí can be accused of many things, but racist brutality is certainly not one of them.
Another US-led craze that has made its way to Irish shores is Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH),which was started by the author Michelle Tea, a native of San Francisco, back in 2015. Tea, who identifies as queer, wanted to create environments more inclusive to LGBTQ families. In the years since, DQSH has morphed into something truly insidious. Contrary to popular belief, DQSH is not family friendly. But that hasn’t stopped drag queens from “educating” children in my own county of Mayo. In June of 2022, in the picturesque town of Westport, locals clashed after Tertulia Bookstore hosted “Drag Queen Story Hour ” for young readers as part of Mayo Pride celebrations.
Perhaps the most worrying export from the US involves the ideas of “white privilege,” closely tied to the death of the aforementioned Floyd, and “male privilege,” closely tied to the #MeToo Movement. As Gript recently reported, Ireland’s new draft SPHE curriculum features a whole host of recommendations, including “white privilege” and “male privilege.”The draft, released earlier this month, encourages students, especially male students who happen to be white, to “recognise” their “privileged status.” Last year – again, as Gript reported – the NCAA asked teachers to hold classroom exercises that divided children along lines pertaining to their class and racial “privilege.” These ideas didn’t come from the wind. They came from the US.
On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr., passionately insisted that he dreamed of a day, in the not so distant future, where people wouldn’t be judged “by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” In other words, he dreamed of a post-race world. If he happened to be alive today, one wonders what Dr. King would make of his home country, a place where the “race card” is constantly used — not to lift black people up, of course, but to push white people down.
Whether you happen to live in New York or Navan, only the most idiotic of individuals could argue that the average white person is in a position of privilege. As the American author and political commentator Dennis Prager previously noted, “There are simply too many variables other than race that determine individual success in America.” The same is true in Ireland. Are you employed? How much do you earn? Are you a homeowner? Where do you live? Are you in debt? Do you suffer from some form of substance abuse? Did you go to college? These are just some questions – arguably far more important questions than “what color is your skin? – that must be asked.
By definition, a privilege is a special right or advantage offered to a particular person or group of people. Name one privilege that white people in Ireland are entitled to that non-whites aren’t. There are none. If anything, it could be argued that citizens that aren’t Irish are entitled to certain privileges that Irish citizens are not. In Sligo, for example, as Gript reported last month, many college-going students are struggling to secure accommodation. Why? Because houses and apartments that are supposed to accommodate college students now accommodate refugees.
Students say the owners of Benbulben Court and Milligan Court informed them “out of the blue” that they would no longer be offering student accommodation.
The same logic also applies to the idea of “male privilege.” A few decades ago, perhaps, the idea of male privilege carried some weight. In 2023, however, the idea that the men of Ireland have access to some sort of special treatment is, at best, nonsensical. If Irish men are so privileged, then why are so many of these “lucky” souls killing themselves? As I recently reported, suicide is now the biggest killer of young men under the age of 25.
Of course, concepts like “white privilege” and “male privilege” don’t appeal to logic or reason; they appeal to emotion. They are concepts designed to generate rage and resentment, not meaningful conversations. They are designed to foster guilt and push the idea of “original sin.” If you happen to be a man – even worse, a white man – there is no path to redemption. Instead, you must apologize for your “privilege” until the day you die, even if you happen to be on social welfare, working a dead-end job, and/or homeless. I grew up on a small farm in the west of Ireland. Am I privileged?
All politics lies downstream from culture. Today, it seems, Irish politics lies downstream from American culture. Again, unless you happen to live under a rock, American culture is now defined by wokness, a mind virus designed to disable critical thinking skills. Wokeness tears families and communities apart — and, if left unchallenged, it will tear Ireland apart.