Happy Easter.
On March 15, 2024, the New York Times published an article.
Back in 1927, MGM released "The Callahans and the Murphys," a comedy that relied for humor on negative stereotypes of Irish people.
According to the NYT article, Irish people protested AND THE MOVIE DISAPPEARED FOREVER.
You can read the full Times article here.
The lesson for Poles is obvious. If you don't like how media depicts you, unite, organize, and change things.
At least partly because Poles have not done that effectively, negative stereotypes persist.
Below is an excerpt from the article.
Several Irish American organizations lodged complaints about the depiction of Irish life as one long, intoxicated slugfest. MGM blithely defended the film as good-natured fun, only to realize that an intractable Hibernian grudge was taking hold, as this internal studio telegram reflects:
VARIOUS IRISH SOCIETIES HAVE BEEN COMPLAINING DURING LAST WEEK TO VARIOUS BRANCH OFFICES REGARDING NATURE CALLAHANS MURPHYS — STOP — OBJECTIONS NOW HAVE REACHED STAGE WHERE WE MUST DO SOMETHING MEET THEIR DEMANDS.
Worried about its investment, MGM made several cuts and changes to stem the growing outrage among the country’s Irish Catholics — who, it should be noted, already felt under attack by a resurgent and powerful Ku Klux Klan that mocked their faith and questioned their patriotism.
Saying that Poles did not fight back may be true, but it creates a situation of blaming the victim. In other words, the victim deserved to be attacked because he did not fight back effectively.
ReplyDeleteIt also creates a might makes right situation. In other words, it is all right to attack a group as long as it lacks the will or the means of fighting back effectively. It is a form of bullying.
Prejudice is wrong, period. Polonophobia is wrong, just as prejudices against other peoples are wrong. There is no justification or excuse for it.
"Saying that Poles did not fight back"
DeleteThat's not what I said. My post is above. I hope any interested party will attend to what I actually wrote rather than a mischaracterization.
" blaming the victim"
No, it is not blaming the victim.
A concerned person either states the problem clearly or does not.
To obfuscate with inaccurate statements like " blaming the victim" hurts not helps Polonia.
Until and unless Poles look at their own behavior and change it to a more successful behavior, nothing can improve.
Falsifying the situation only makes things worse.
No responsible doctor would tell someone with liver disease that he can continue drinking as much alcohol as he wants and never change his behavior.
Sue, imagine that you are a doctor. Imagine that you have a patient who has started using opioids recreationally.
DeleteAre you going to say to that patient, oh, you poor dear, your life is hard, no wonder you turned to opioids?
Or are you going to be a real healer and tell him to stop injecting heroin?
Hello Danusha, that doesn't really address the points I made I don't think.
DeleteI think what I am trying to say - obviously not very effectively - is that as long as we are on the "unter" page, we haven't reached the stage where any such tactics will be effective of allowed. Which is my opinion, and of course only my opinion.
DeleteIt is why my preferred response is: "AND we shot Bambi's mother".
And Is it, in a spiritual sense, more dangerous to be part of an "uber" group, where whatever you do will be lauded, applauded and excused - and when you are always allowed to blame "the other" for your bad conduct?
I feel it may be - but once again, just my opinion,
If someone has diabetes, they have to take insulin. A good doctor would not say to a diabetic, "Whatever you do, don't take your insulin!"
DeleteHi Danusha and I do understand what you are saying. Where we differ, I think, is that, to maybe overwork your metaphor above, I feel that there is no point instructing the diabetic patient to take his insulin if he is not allowed to have access to insulin.
DeleteFor me that is what being put on the "unter" page means.
But I understand what you are saying in the blogpost, and also that we see it differently.
As ever Sue thanks for reading and commenting.
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