Irish American Drinking Habits in Literature and in Popular Culture: A Self-Defeating Cycle

Since the United States’ inception, the negative stereotypes and generalizations of African Americans have been some of the worst examples of racism that has been extremely prevalent in American culture. African American stereotypes date back all the way to colonial American times, where African American slavery was considered to be accepted and practiced. Since then, black people in America have been treated horribly for stereotypes that have deep roots in the mistreatment of black people in American history.

Just as Vodka is the drink often associated with Russian culture, Guinness dark stout beer is the drink often associated with Irish culture. This culture is often known for heavy drinking and friendly pubs. Irish whiskey such as Jameson is proudly consumed and exported. Alcohol is the biggest killer of young people in Ireland and many are impacted by their parents drinking. One person dies every seven hours due to alcohol in Ireland. Nine out of ten public order crimes in Ireland are alcohol related and one tenth of the health budget is spent on dealing with alcohol related harm. Studies conducted at universities in Ireland found that drinking behaviors were impacted by having fathers or older siblings with drinking problems. The environment the child grows up in can be highly influential in the child’s attitudes toward alcohol and what they think is normal, and this applies in any culture. One of the most attractive parts of Irish culture is the local pub. The pub has always been known as a place to get together, meet friends, and begin romantic relationships. Tourists from all over the world flood to Dublin during Saint Patrick’s Day to walk the famed O’Connell Street just to involve themselves in the binge drinking tradition and pay a visit to the famed pubs so well known in Irish culture. The pub tradition is just as prominent in Scottish and English culture. Underage drinking is a normal occurrence and widely accepted in these cultures.

When Americans meet someone new they are already sticking that person into some sort of category because of their appearance. If someone looks different than Americans are use to, they automatically stick some sort of stereotype to them. Stereotypes are strongly displayed in the media; stereotype can be based of someone’s color, culture, religion, or sex. In Black men in public spaces by Brent Staples, and in The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria by Judith Ortiz Cofer, the authors talk about stereotypes based on their gender and ethnicity and the experiences they both encounter because of their ethnicity and gender which have many similarities and differences. Stereotypes can lead

In todays society people tend to stereotype others in many ways. The media has created a misconception on humanity that has spread among society. News, Internet and other sources of information have created a negative view on certain people in the

Stereotypes are unescapable. No matter what part of the world you are at or who you are talking to, everyone has some bias. Claude Steele say’s exactly this in his book “Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do” when he states “ We could all take out a piece of paper, write down the major stereotypes of these identities, and show a high degree of agreement in what we wrote.” His piece addresses the effects of stereotypes, which result in what Steele calls “stereotype threat”. Stereotype threat is being aware that there is an expected behavior or response to a certain part of your identity and being afraid to carry out this expected behavior or response. The threat of proving this stereotype can cause you to lose

Throughout the years, racial stereotypes have played a major role in society. Even today, one combines racial stereotypes and prejudice thoughts before one even says a word to the person. Just seeing an African- American man while in a parking lot and pulling out ones phone, can be a simple example of modern-day racial stereotypes.

According to their website, “Racial stereotypes are automatic and exaggerated mental pictures that we hold about all members of a particular racial group. When we stereotype people based on race, we don’t take into account individual differences. Because our racial stereotypes are so rigid, we tend to ignore or discard any information that is not consistent with the stereotype that we have developed about the racial group” (University Counseling Center 1). America does a great job keeping up the blacks are dangerous racial stereotypes. But the real question is how someone can develop a racial stereotype? According to Notre Dame Counseling Center, “We develop our racial stereotypes in a variety of ways. On a very simple level, it’s human nature to categorize people. It’s our way of making a complex world simpler. From an early age, we learn to place people and objects into categories. However, when we’re very young, we tend to put less of an emphasis on attributing values to these categories. As we grow older and are influenced by parents, peers, and the media, our tendency to label different racial groups as superior/good or inferior/bad increases significantly. Additionally, the less contact we have with a particular racial group, the more likely we are to have negative feelings about the group. Any negative experiences that we have

When hearing the words, “African Americans,” “Hispanics,”or “Caucasians,” the majority of people in America will generally categorize the traits of these nationalities based upon their roles displayed in the media, books, movies, or first-hand experience. The actions being made by their associations is stereotyping; defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as, “[believing] unfairly that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same,” revealing that even unknowingly, people are allowing nationalities to fall under a list of behavioral, cultural, and moral traits.

Racism and racial stereotypes have existed throughout human history. The radical belief associated by thinking the skin color, language, or a person’s nationality is the reason that someone is one way or another has become extremely detrimental to society. Throughout human existence it has sparked tension between groups of people and ultimately influenced wars and even caused slavery. Racism in America dates back to when Native Americans were often attacked, relocated, and assimilated into European culture. Since then, racism within the states has grown to include various other cultures as well. In the essays by Brent Staples, Bharati Mukherjee, and Manuel Munoz, they discuss the various causes as well as the effects that racial stereotyping can place on a victim and the stigma it leaves behind for the society to witness.

Sure, there’s the typical stereotypes and there are some people who are just disrespectful in their own right and judge one based on their own stereotypes. However, that's incredibly irresponsible and unprofessional. There’s no way of telling what background the specific person may have. If an African American visits Ohio and walks around Columbus, sadly there will be people that will be frightened. To those people, it shows arrogance that you think one is lesser of you just because of what you think of a certain race or group.

Although most white Americans wouldn’t admit it, we attribute certain stereotypes to different ethnicities. Each race has a series of characteristics that we use to define

An example of these stereotypes would be saying all muslims are terrorists, when we know that's not the case. Racism has gotten so bad that “black lives matter” has become a huge movement. Pew Research Center had conducted a survey and the results are as followed. 59% of Americans say racism is a “big problem in our society,” while 29% say it is “somewhat of a problem” and 12% say racism in the U.S. is a small problem or not a problem (Neal). This survey included 1,893 adults.

Negative stereotypes have simultaneously been flared around as a form of hate, and at times displayed through media. It is not fair to those immigrants that suffer getting deported after years of settling down here with their families. Imagine a family that had everything they wanted already with them. A house, jobs, food, and the struggle they went through to get it all, why should they leave? This country of ours has been classified as “The Melting Pot” and the term is still in full force used today. The United States has always been known for Diverse cultures merging together to make this country the very way it is

Almost every culture or race has a stereotype, including American Indians, non-Indians, Jewish people, Blacks, and among others. Stereotypes and myths are formed by the mass media, our peers, or reputations passed on by parents. Any time you are grouping races or individuals together and make a judgment about them without knowing them, is an example of making a stereotype. A stereotype is based on prior assumptions; we all use stereotypes, all the time without knowing. Both positive stereotypes and negative stereotypes are limiting an individual. If we rely solely on stereotypes, we may overlook the good, or bad, qualities of an individual that is typically included in the generalization.

Since America is a large melting-pot of cultures, unfortunately it comes with much stereotyping. Many people simply look at eachother, and based on prior situations, stereotype the person in front of them. While doing so, they don't realize how detrimental they are being to that person’s future. When one downgrades another, they not only hurt them emotionally, but hinder them from every growing as individuals. For example, in the United States, not too much time back, African Americans were constantly stereotyped as less than human. No one expected anything of them, and constantly put them down, so for that reason alone, many simply gave up, and just fell into the stereotype. If you address someone as a certain person for long enough, they will give you what you expect of them. Because of this reason, many Americans have simply given up and fallen into whatever