My Not So Fun St. Patty's Day

I’m Irish, and I am proud of it. My aunt lived in Ireland for nearly twenty years, and when I visited her in Dublin, I too, fell in love with the island nation. Its people, its castles, and its scenery all grabbed my attention, and I always wished I had an Irish accent. I would live there in a heartbeat, and that’s why I recognize St. Patrick’s Day as a special day of the year.

This year, St. Patrick’s Day took place on the first day back from Spring Break. After working on endless applications and papers over break, I was ready to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in a legal (I am 21 years old) and responsible way. My vision was to go celebrate the festive day with a few friends enjoying a Guinness and relaxing at a bar downtown. Did I mention that I did not have class the following day?

I began to speak with some of my friends (who do not have Irish blood) about doing something for St. Patrick’s Day. Overwhelmingly, the answer was “Nope” or “Nah bro” or something along the lines. In order to understand why such a phenomena happened with roughly four of my closest friends, I want to examine what some monumental theorists would say about the negativity surrounding a casual beer for St. Patty’s Day.

From the desk of Marx: Ty, you are acting like you are controlling these poor people. While you may not be completely controlling their means of production and they are not your laborers per se, you are attempting to exert force over them to benefit you and your feelings, instead of money. They are revolting against you, they do not like you, and you will fall from your cowardly social position.

From the desk of Malinowski: Ty, relax. It’s not that your friends don’t like you. Rather, your friends are enabling discipline so that they can meet their own needs to survive. First off, they probably don’t drink beer as they are probably eating healthy to fulfill their basic need of nutrition. Secondly, they want to stay in their bed because it is safe, provides bodily comforts, and it allows them to relax. Finally, your friends are in a very difficult and demanding school to satisfy a secondary need of getting a job. This job relates back to the primary needs of movement and bodily comforts and is indirectly related to other needs as well that are fulfilled to survive. Don’t sweat it, Ty.  

From the desk of Freud: Ty, your friends may have instinctively wanted to go have a beer with you, but because we live in society, those instincts are sublimated, similarly to men’s desire to urinate on a fire being squashed. As a society we also demand cleanliness and order. Your friends enjoying a beer may turn into something sloppy, and that is not what society expects out of you. I’m sure if you asked them to help clean your bathroom, they might agree.

From the desk of Benedict: Ty, historically speaking, Irish people do in fact like to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. However, your friends who are not Irish are not accustomed to such a day and its festivities. Thus, as an Irishman, you are fixated by valuing friendship and enjoying a beer on this special day. However, your friends, having not grown up with Irish influences, do not value those traits as much. Those cultural traits of yours are selected by your Irish culture and do not pertain to everyone of this Earth.

Thus, from examining the different perspectives from theorists associated with anthropology, we may never know the true reason for why my friends did not want to have a casual beer with me in downtown Winston-Salem to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. However, I can only hope for a better turnout next year.