[Dave26003]

I too was blown away by this question. I happen to be an Irish/Italian in the New York area. My parents immigrated to the United States (coincidentally, they met in Philly and then moved to NY). When I was a child of maybe 8 or 9, when kids would ask each other ‘What are you?’ no one ever answered ‘American.’ Many kids said ‘ half Irish and half Italian’. So because we identify with those who are like us, I have been noticing that combination my entire life. And there are a lot of us. In the past 10 years or so, I’ve noticed at both Irish and Italian festivals, the increasing presence of upbeat T-shirts that bear sayings like: ‘Pasta and Potatoes’ or ‘Pesto and Potatoes,’ or my favorite; ‘Gaelic and Garlic,’ among a few others. These shirts suggest that the union of the two is pretty common, at least in the New York area. In fact, to directly counter the suggestion that the two cultures are at odds with one another, I would submit to you this: both the Irish and the Italians came to this country with the same stigma. They were the ‘dirty lower class,’ looking for work, either couldn’t speak English, or not American English, and therefore not understood. The general populous of naturalized Americans frowned on them much the same way Americans treat the Hispanic and Asian immigrants today. The Italians (WOPS) and the Irish (MICKS or MCs) were the Wetbacks of their time, relegated to the menial jobs that were made available to them, if at all (i.e.. ‘Irish need not apply’). So in dealing with the prejudices of their time, in some cases they banded together and started families. This is not say there is some sort of coalition of the Italians and Irish, and they are dancing together in the street. However, I haven’t seen any stone throwing either, at least not in New York.

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Name : Dave26003, Gender : M, Age : 35, City : New york, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : Pre Outsourced Techie, Education level : Technical School, 

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