What is 'the green monster' and what did the Americans think of the Irish when they first came over?

Answer 1

NOTE: Although I am an arrogant Bostonite with Irish Liniange, and suffer from great pride in both aspects of my character, I tried to an extent to limit the impact of this on the presentation of the following information. I intentionally preserved some of the Irish Pride related arrogance, in an attempt to convey an aspect of the Irish mentallity that made us GREAT. The "Green Monster" is the appellation given by Baseball fans to the wall in left field, which is significantly taller than the other enclosing walls of the threatened, historically invaluable Fenway Park. The wall was created to conceal the earth removed from the mound in left field, previously referred to as belonging to the long time left fielder who used his familiarity with the quirks effected upon landing baseballs to his advantage. The term gets its colorful name from the hue painted on the wall, and I don't believe there is any connection to the Irish in the name. The Irish did, however, tend to sit in the section of seats adjacent to the Monster, as they were the cheapest,and most roudy section of Fenway. In the beginning of European colonisation, Irish were used as slaves, indentured servants, or freemen whose wages were negligible. The Protestent upper classes believed they had devine right to place themselves above the Irish Catholics in every sense. This trend would continue, the slavery and indentured servitude quickly being replaced with unfair employment conditions. Religiously, as well as in all other aspects of culture, the Anglo invaders who would come to be known as American "natives" rejected Irish culture in the new world, though did not actively assault individuals as commonly as in the latter half nineteenth century, when the Irish started ariving in throngs, fleeing widespread hunger, resultant from several meagar potato harvests. The initial reaction was one of rancor and denial of assisstance in any form. Irish were denied employment, housing, and basic sustenence. Persons with red hair and/or myriad freckles were taunted and battered on the streats,and Catholic clergy and congregation were frequently in receipt of similar treatment. It was in this era that the saying "Irish Need Not Apply" was popularized, denoting oppurtunity for employment to persons in noncompliance with with wishes of the Pope. The Irish were succesful, however, in organizing, as an outgrowth of the mechanisms invoked in response to their persecution, their population into an influential political force and established diocese, in addition to creating a Jesuit/Catholic intelligentsia. In so doing, the Irish served a large roll in keeping Boston one of the most learned cities on the continent. Even after decades of Irish dominance in local and state governments, as well as their tolerated dominance in organized crime, discrimination of the Irish was still prevalent into the latter half of the 20th century. It was seen when they put an Irishman in the White House, and again, in columns in periodicals as "credible" as in response to racist backlash from the busing of black kids into white neighborhoods for school. Today the Irish are looked at by mainstream society as all ethnic or social groups are considered, a largely copasetic viable croud with amusing stereotypes that can be joked about in certain situations. On the other hand, their will always be dumb people, and dumb people will always come up with such unreasonable sollutions as stereotyping, discriminating against, or even persecuting the Irish.