"Welcome, everyone to a special St. Paddy's Day edition of RF Daily. Special in the sense that the control room may be drunk." That's how MSNBC's Ronan Farrow opened the March 17 edition of his eponymous 1 p.m. Eastern program. [see video below page break; click here for audio]
While we doubt many Americans of Irish descent will be outraged by such a lame joke, isn't Farrow's opening line rather insensitive coming from a network that hears "racial" and "ethnic" "code words" and "dog whistles" at every turn, particularly coming as it does just days after the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) recently slammed a major nationwide discount retailer for selling apparel that revolves around the drunken Irishman stereotype?
"It is especially outrageous that Walmart is marketing these pernicious stereotype images of Irish Americans at a time when Americans of all ethnicities are recognizing the tremendous contributions of Irish immigrants and their descendants," AOH anti-defamation chair Neil Cosgrove noted in a March 1 statement, adding, "Walmart’s clear double standard as regards ethnic denigration when it comes to Irish Americans is offensive and unconscionable."
Of course, as you may recall, the Ancient Order of Hibernians is the conservative Irish-Catholic organization that hosts the New York City St. Patrick's Day parade. Yes, the same parade that left-wing Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) is boycotting because it refuses to let marchers exhibit banners or signs or flags promoting a gay-rights agenda.
