“I hear you’re a racist now, Father.”
I doubt any country holds dear a television show the way Ireland loves Father Ted. First airing in 1995, the sitcom follows three priests living on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. Its production value was impressive for a nation fairly poor at the time, but more importantly, its humor based on Irish identity was remarkably sharp. All these years later, it’s still quoted by every Irish person, despite only running for three seasons and a total of 25 episodes.
In this particular scene, Father Ted tries to brighten the mood of his housemate Father Dougal by putting a lampshade over his head, squinting his eyes and imitating the Chinese accent. Unfortunately, an Asian family is watching Father Ted through the window. Before Ted can get out the door to right his wrong, the neighbors are already aware of what he did.
The man who delivered the first line leans over the stone fence and continues his inquiry. “Sure, shouldn’t we all be racists now, Father? What’s the official line the church is taking on this? Only the farm takes up most of the day and at night I just like a cup of tea. I mightn’t be able to devote myself full time to the ol’ racism.”
A second female neighbor is excited for the chance to discriminate against the Greeks. She’s upset at how they’re taking all the jobs and women on the island (whose population is presumably only a few hundred). When the first neighbor explains that Father Ted is after the Chinese and not the Greeks, the second neighbor doesn’t care, as long as she can “have a go” at the Greeks. Meanwhile, naturally, Ted is desperate to explain that he’s not a racist. The comedy of the scene, much like the rest of the show, has stood the test of time generations later. It deserves to be quoted as often as it is. What is equally notable, nonetheless, is how pertinent the message behind a skit like this remains.
On Nov. 23, 2023, a violent riot occurred in Dublin, the capital of Ireland, that resulted in 60 injured policemen and approximately $25 million in damages. After a mentally ill man of non-Irish descent attacked schoolchildren with a knife, an extreme right group spread anti-immigrant messages on social media and instigated the anarchism. The incident was shocking for those who live in Ireland. Although sectarian violence has long been an unfortunate part of Irish history, this was one of the first major events directing hate toward immigrants. Being a nation colonized for over 800 years – during which time many Irish were forced to emigrate themselves – the country has always been considered an open and welcoming place with, comparatively, remarkably little racism.
This morning, as I write, Politico has pointed out that anti-immigrant sentiment has been on the rise the last decade in both the U.S. and Europe, something that surprises few citizens of either continent. The Dublin riots was a resounding indicator that Ireland hasn’t escaped this trend. At the moment, some ethnic hatred has been directed toward Ukrainian refugees, who have been blamed for taking up places to live during the housing crisis on the island. Although Ireland (very proudly) has no far-right political parties, a few politicians have campaigned on cynical slogans such as “Houses for everyone in Ireland except the Irish.” Even more disturbing, numerous hotels designated to house Ukrainians during the war have been burned down by nativists. One friend of mine has a child in Boy Scouts. One day, their group set up tents to spend the night outdoors. When the troop came back from another event, they found their tents destroyed, the local right-wing extremists mistaking them for a refugee site.
As much as I lament how Ireland doesn’t feel like the country I moved to many years ago, I’m afraid the statistics for the nation I was born in are more damning. As reported by the World Population Review, Ireland is 10th best out of 87 countries ranked for racial equity. The U.S. is 73rd – or in other terms, the 15th worst country measured. Most notably, the situation has deteriorated. According to the FBI hate crime statistics, race-based crimes have been on the rise since at least 2019 (I couldn’t find data before then), with a 38% increase from 2019 to 2023.
Admittedly, it’s challenging to get accurate data on hate crimes, partly because not all states require police agencies to submit hate crime reports to the FBI, and because it may be difficult at times to determine what constitutes a prejudice-motivated incident. However, one alarming trend has been pointed out by the civil rights group Leadership Conference Education Fund: Hate crimes spike significantly during every election year. Such a pattern suggests that the rhetoric used by some politicians incite racism and discriminatory acts. This year’s election in the U.S. was no different, with certain comments – and their consequences – taking up headlines for days on end.
My wife and I are immigrants. It should be pointed out first that I, in particular, am the most privileged form: white, male and with the same native language as the place I live. It would probably be more accurate to call myself an expat instead. However, with all that in my favor, I can confirm that to move to a different country takes certain types of sacrifice that those born where they live do not understand. My wife and I are very fortunate to have moved to Ireland by choice and not be driven there by circumstances, as many are. We couldn’t imagine what that would be like. However, we have experienced enough to know that to direct anger, hate or blame toward someone based on where they were born and the situations that brought them to a country – legal or otherwise – is an inexcusable display of ignorance.
There’s a certain point made behind the humor in the Father Ted scene when the islanders decide to be racist because an institutional leader has validated it. Citizens of all countries should be reminded that no other person, no matter how powerful or influential, can absolve someone from committing discrimination. Instead, it is each person’s responsibility to avoid prejudice as much as possible, and the inability to do that is a personal failure. If someone in leadership is able to convince you that your problems stem from someone who looks different, you have given away your agency as an individual and allowed them to use it for their own means.
Although the situation doesn’t get better for Father Ted in the episode, later being mistaken as a fascist due to unfortunate gestures he made, I do have hope that citizens on both sides of the Atlantic will become better at seeing through hate-mongering and, more importantly, will increasingly act to condemn it.
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