38 Comments

• pilib04 | Mar 12, 2011, 08:59 PM EST

  Bloomberg hates Irish and then expects to be applauded?

• seanomelbourne | Mar 11, 2011, 01:20 AM EST

  I remember when it was okay to portray a Mexican sitting on the street wrapped in a poncho,sombrero pulled down over his eyes and swigging on a bottle of tequila was tolerated. It was a deliberate act to dehumanize Mexicans.It seems to me that a certain coterie of writers on IC want to demonize the Irish or Muslims or others. To castigate Mexicans or African Americans is no longer tolerated so they pick on some other culture to make themselves feel good or superior.

• pacifist | Mar 08, 2011, 05:12 AM EST

  palmeiras, are you justifying what John Galiano said? What I wrote below about my fellow Irish people is the truth and once again Paddy's Day is coming up with the accompanying unpalatable behaviour. Whilst Mayor Bloomberg's comments were out of order and he should not have said them, but are the objections based on his drawing attention to our national weakness or because the truth hurts and we don't want to face the reality? Pretending the problem doesn't exist won't make it go away.

• palmeiras | Mar 07, 2011, 08:02 PM EST

  The whole point is this: if someone insults Jews they are attacked right away and forced to resign-with no exception; just look at the John Galiano case; he was forced out of Christian Dior, no ifs ands or buts about it. So bloomberg should be forced out of the mayor's office. It's called consistency; but then that will never happen will it? One law for Jews and another for the rest of us.

• feeneycj | Mar 07, 2011, 02:53 PM EST

  moderation is the key

• pacifist | Mar 07, 2011, 01:15 PM EST

  Anybody who thikns there isn't a probelm with excessive drinking by us should go and look at what's happening at discos and other weekend entertainment venues and see the inebriated condition of the majority of the young people. As for the older age groups - mine included, being in my 60's - there is a sight to behold at functions following so-called christening, first communion and confirmation ceremonies, but also weddings and funerals. And during normal times too - any excuse for a session!

• sirpeter | Mar 07, 2011, 10:44 AM EST

  jamieLM..My points won't make much of a difference I'm afraid..The Irish are stuck with the drunken stereotype..Even this article helps re-enforces this stereotype. Not that I care.

• jamieLM | Mar 07, 2011, 09:17 AM EST

  Sirpeter, I think you're right about visibility. Those who get loud and drunk on beer in bars and pubs get tagged differently than those who get soused on wine and vodka at home. You make some good points in your post.

• mairdemalone | Mar 07, 2011, 08:16 AM EST

  "Mayor" Bloomberg should have known better, should have considered the feeling of all of his Irish constituents. Although His ancestry is Russian, he was born in Boston and that makes him American Irish! Michael Bloomberg the ordinary man is a very good and decent man and a man who would not stoop to such levels; however, when a good person enters politics something happens to him or her. I guess the old adage applies: Power corrupts; absolute power destroys. Like Icarus, they reach too high and are burned. Hopefully, Mayor Bloomberg is wise enough to realise this before it is too late. No matter how much money one has, one's name is more valuable than all the gold in the world.

• sirpeter | Mar 07, 2011, 07:27 AM EST

  France has the highest rate of alcoholism in the world. Yet nobody stereotypes French people as drunks.WHY!! Because it's not visible. They tend to drink alot of alcohol at home. They start drinking wine from a young age. Drinking alcohol for the Irish has always been a more social thing,so the effect's of alcohol in public is much more visible. Irish people use alcohol because it makes them happy and social and loud, as opposed to other countries who drink more, but use it because they are depressed.Ever see a Russian laugh? Also, while beer is the Irish drug of choice. Stats show that the Germans and the Brits are a pack drug addicts.Germany:At number 1...United Kingdom:At number 2..United States: At number 41...Ireland: At number 50...Your average New Zealander with Australia second, tops the list of pot heads. Most of them put Bob Marley to shame...So again it's really down to the media and who they want to stereotype.Nothing to really do with true facts about alcohol abuse. Irish people drink alot of beer when they are out.But the drug addicts and pot heads are not really visible.

• seanomelbourne | Mar 07, 2011, 01:47 AM EST

  Gwen's got a problem with her sexuality.She can't keep her head above her navel.

• rorkerlyn | Mar 07, 2011, 01:35 AM EST

  At the St Patrick's Parade on Staten Island today, the cops were ordering anyone with a container to empty them out. Since when is it illegal to drink a cup of regular with 1 sugar a criminal offence? Does this hold true for the Columbus Day,Memorial Day or 4th of July parades held annually on the"Island".

• cillowen | Mar 06, 2011, 10:40 PM EST

  some moron said he was telling the truth - dare speak obvious truths about em and like wasps they remember long to sting and to sting - forver more your painted.

• gwen1980 | Mar 06, 2011, 09:47 PM EST

  Sean, where would Irish people be without a designated driver like you? Try and enjoy yourself for once in your life, i can sense the begrudging. Did you marry the first girl that would kiss you? Take your balls out of your handbag and stand up against the manager that kept telling you he will bring you on in the second half and never did. We know you really didn't want to play, your father forced you to go but you did enjoy the dressing room at the end of a game. Why was Sean last to leave the dressing room when he didn't even play? mmm suspect

• bonbon1 | Mar 06, 2011, 09:46 PM EST

  NYC is one of the largest and finest cities in the world. It is also home to an amazingly large number of people of Irish decent. Mayor Bloomberg is an outstanding mayor who is honest and does a great job as mayor. He is also one of the most generous people in the world when it comes to donating to charity.How does he treat Irish.He has more Irish working in his enterprises and employed by NYC then anyone who is Irish. Instead of jumping to predudicial conclusions or being pig headed show some respect for mayor Bloomberg who is a great friend of the Irish

• seanomelbourne | Mar 06, 2011, 09:11 PM EST

  Speak for yourself Gwen. It amazes me how many Irish go to America and are hit by the demon drink it must be the water. Any resemblance to 1st,2nd.or 3rd. generation Irish to Irish born is purely coincidental. mmaher5 do you have a mmmm stutter you gobs-hite cuisle1st.has it right.

• gwen1980 | Mar 06, 2011, 08:53 PM EST

  Im Irish, not irish american or 3rd generation or my great great great grandmother was from Ireland. Im from Clare, 32, living in NYC 10 yrs. Bloomberg was cracking a joke, there was no real offense intended, his daughter is/was dating an irishman. Its true anyway, i'd be first to admit it, the Irish people, me included are landing in NYC in their early to mid twenties and bringing their hometown habits with them. We go out to the pub a lot back home. Im sporty but after the match on sunday im hitting the pub for the rest of the day. Man Utd are playing Wednesday night? see you in the pub for that. Its a fact of life. There is nothing else to do in a rural village except go to the pub, its where you meet your wife and then your next wife. If you think Bloomberg is wrong, go to Connellys in midtown around 3 o clock on Patricks day or any weekend on Mclean Ave in the Bronx. Obviously im over my initial first time away from home,get loaded stage and lots of irish people are, im just saying take a chill pill, life is too short, who cares about Bloomberg and his thoughts on Irish etiquette?

• mmaher5 | Mar 06, 2011, 07:32 PM EST

  Oh, get a grip! Do you really think what Bloomberg said is not the truth??? Certainly not true for all the Irish, but for too many! If the shoe fits... Let it go!

• cuisle1st | Mar 06, 2011, 07:11 PM EST

  stupid blacks, money hungry jews, thick poles, illegal mexicans, criminal italians, etc, etc, drunk irish. How come only one slur gets a run in the press. Don't call me thin skinned, call Bloomberg for what he is - thick and stupid.

• McNabb1966 | Mar 06, 2011, 05:04 PM EST

  He deserves boos and catcalls for more than just his stupid, inappropriate remarks. But this is what you get when you say things that are insensitive, unnecessary and do nothing but promote stereotypes. And it doesn't matter who chooses to be upset by them and who doesn't. They didn't need to be said. They weren't intended to address the real problem of alcohol abuse but simply to get some cheap laughs from a tired ethnic joke. And for the idiots who still haven't figured this out, the fact that there Irish people who like to drink and some of them get drunk is completely irrelevent to what Bloomberg said. It's not a question of "liking drunks" or whatever. That's just a pathetic attempt at rationalizing and excusing what Mayor Billionaire said. In the "politically correct" world that the Left has created, the Irish has as much right as any other group to be indignant when insulted, whether it was intended to be insulting or not. There are some things that you just can't do in society. And if you do, then you're going to get negative feedback, as Bloomie is finding out. Let him make some stupid cracks about Mexicans and see what it gets him. The issue is not the "thin skin" of the people who have been insulted but the attitude of the person who did the insulting.

• BARNEYKX | Mar 06, 2011, 03:48 PM EST

  serves him right big mouth

• Starlet | Mar 06, 2011, 03:35 PM EST

  by Ray1Gordon - Anti-Semitic to say Ethnic Heritage. What about yours? It must be thin skinned and the Irish don't they have the gift of the gab? My Irish exboyfriend does not like drunks and he's Irish - not Jewish. He worked as a taxi-driver and now as a security guard so he's experienced the work that drunks do first hand.

• Ray1Gordon | Mar 06, 2011, 03:18 PM EST

  Bloomberg is typical of his ethnic heritage: too much money and a big mouth. He's a jerk.

• mayoman | Mar 06, 2011, 03:17 PM EST

  Why are we making such a big deal about this? Are we really so thin-skinned, so sensitive? The mayor made a dumb joke, realized that he offended some people, and then apologized. Yes, he apologized! So shouldn't that be the end of it? Life goes on, and there far greater problems to deal with.

• mayoman | Mar 06, 2011, 03:11 PM EST

  Why are we making such a big deal about this? Are really we all so thin-skinned? The mayor make a dumb little joke, realized that he offended some people, and then apologized. Yes, he apologized! So that should be the end of it. Life goes on, and there are real problems to be dealt with.

• casualMBA | Mar 06, 2011, 01:58 PM EST

  @cillowen get some therapy

• casualMBA | Mar 06, 2011, 01:58 PM EST

  He is just a little billionaire anyway

• finmccool4567 | Mar 06, 2011, 01:34 PM EST

  to hell with bloomburg.

• cillowen | Mar 06, 2011, 01:08 PM EST

  - free and easy with sensitivites of others wont appreciate the reverse nature of things. Their loss of billions in cuba ---- all means to get it back as in batista's days. Togetherness bloomberg ilk caper - a caper supported by our cozy nostra directors. Mr Gross was in Cuba working as a contractor for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on a programme aimed at promoting democracy in Cuba. His work involved distributing internet and satellite communications equipment to Jewish communities in Havana. any excuse - the sheep can't figure it anyway.

• jfoynyc | Mar 06, 2011, 01:06 PM EST

  We have 20/20 when it comes to seeing a mote in another's eye. I am surprised that any self-respecting teacher would fail to appreciate an attempt at humor, failed though it may be. Those proud to be Irish have the confidence to shrug off the inevitable jokes poked at us. What people, ethnic group or country, is not the butt of jokes? What do we say about Jews, Polish, Black, . . .? Lighten up and see what an effort Mayor Bloomberg is putting into education. We need eeveryone's best effort in and out of the classroom as hinted at in: According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), our 15-year-olds rank 17th in the world in science and 25th in math. We rank 12th among developed countries in college graduation (down from No. 1 for decades). We come in 79th in elementary-school enrollment. Have you heard the Texan jokes in Ireland? Another perspective is that we are lucky to have Bloomberg, who is not in the job out of greed and who has constructive ideas and the ability to transform those ideas into action and we hope results. NYC has fared better than most in the recent depression. Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2056610,00.html#ixzz1FqNK4C6x

• cillowen | Mar 06, 2011, 12:32 PM EST

  The courage to boo and confront such a cancer is what is needed - him and his connected ilk are responsible for the state of world affairs. Their brilliance cannot be disputed and with the smear and blame game that is their practice they have others like bed bugs looking for a place to hide. They who seem to avoid the blood sucking part of it. Egyptian thirst for freedom became their need for Mubarak's protection - its all about 'em - g-d's chillun will continue to our detriment. Observe their destructive targeting and politicians doing as they are told. Surely nigh everyone must see that such is reality. Many are however in frozen denial. The pope comes out with his black is white pronouncement - got a flash from his heavenly master.

• judiron | Mar 06, 2011, 12:23 PM EST

  Love it.

• Murph46 | Mar 06, 2011, 11:52 AM EST

  WTF are the holdin a St.Pat's on March 5th.Serves them right that they even had such an eejit there!

• leahforce | Mar 06, 2011, 10:38 AM EST

  Why did he apologize? He was telling the truth. All the comments here prove one point- there are no Irish alcoholics- Alcoholics go to meetings.

• bronxjames | Mar 06, 2011, 10:35 AM EST

  Thank you Queens. My MOther was from County Cork and believe me she's cursing him from beyond.

• Portia777 | Mar 06, 2011, 09:47 AM EST

  Boys like Bloomberg love to divide and rule by name calling in order to keep us distracted. Thank goodness the Ayrish are evolved enough to laugh at the idiot who is mirroring himself.

• catherinedineen | Mar 06, 2011, 09:44 AM EST

  I hope that all Irish, and IrishAmericans remember about Bloombergs remark the next time he runs for some office.

• bob1611 | Mar 06, 2011, 08:24 AM EST

  I agree with Hannon that Bloomberg is an idiot.