So with 50% of my ancestry being from Ireland, I often get riled up about St. Patrick's day and all the bullshit that surrounds the guy. I get the day is all about Irish pride and really just morphed into an excuse to party, but considering the facts, I find it to be more insulting to the people of Ireland and those who come from Irish heritage.
"What's in a name?" Yeah, lets start there. Dude isn't a saint. Catholics/Christians are always taking a hardline on things, yet they have let it slide that Patrick is called "Saint Patrick" and gets all the hoopla of being a saint. Except he was never officially canonized as a saint. So it's just bullshit.
Then there is the big myth and/or metaphor that Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. It's always been pushed that the snakes represent sin and the pagans and it was an easy bullshit story to push since no one had seen any snakes in Ireland. You see, all evidence suggests that post-glacial Ireland never had snakes. “At no time has there ever been any suggestion of snakes in Ireland.”
Patrick was born in Great Britain, to parents who were both Italian. Yes, Patrick was not Irish. Not at all.
When he was 16 he was captured by pirates, taken to Ireland and enslaved. He learned the language and traditions and after six years he escaped and returned to England. He studied Christianity and was ordained. He went back to Ireland as a missionary, where he would use the knowledge of the pagan rituals and traditions to help him force Christianity on the people there.
Listen, you want to drink, go ahead. You want to eat Corned Beef, go ahead. You want to be proud your family came from Ireland, or that you're from Ireland, be fucking proud. But know why you're proud. And don't be proud because of a whole bunch of make-believe.
