WHy did my boss ask if I was irish?

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Joined: 1 Apr 2011
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15 Jun 2011, 10:47 pm

So, my boss was in work and hes like 75-80 well his son runs the place but hes not there so hes been running it.

Its feels a bit weird talking to a 75-80 year old man and Im not sure f hess fully there so its weird for me to tlak to him?!?!? It fels weird to me nayway not sure how to act/talk lol.

ANyway, I overhead him saying soemthing to other staff about me like I talk so fast or neer let him speak or somthing? Maybe I do I dunno, I just talk to him and then talk over cuase hes old iM not sure if he understands me, but maybe he does understand and I do talk to much.

Well He called me over and asked, if I had irish ancestors etc...as it happens I do past my grandfather are all irish.

I dont look irish though I think??? well not giner, or blonde or freckles, dark hair, maybe like colin Farrell though so..possible?

Anyway I wodner if he ask cause he think I act odd or stupid or some Irish stereotype.....possibly due to my aspergers

your thoughts?

orchidee
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15 Jun 2011, 11:40 pm

Do you have a stereotypically Irish last (or first) name? That'd be my guess for his reasoning, though I don't know for sure.

Mummy_of_Peanut
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16 Jun 2011, 4:51 am

Maybe he was genuinely curious about your heritage. I've been asked if I'm Irish (I do look very Irish, dark like yourself).

On the other hand, What was the context of the comment? Had you done something wrong or unusual at work? It could have been a sarcastic way of saying that he was questioning your intelligence. Jokes about Irish people suggest that they are unintelligent (having a lot of Irish ancestors on my dad's side, I don't find them in the least bit funny). Maybe you're unaware of having done anything wrong. If that's the case, your boss should have told you and he was really unprofessional in his treatment of you.

ToughDiamond
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16 Jun 2011, 5:08 am

Mummy_of_Peanut wrote:

It could have been a sarcastic way of saying that he was questioning your intelligence. Jokes about Irish people suggest that they are unintelligent

His age would suggest he might have bought into the old hate propaganda. It's dying out now. If I remember right, the myth was created long ago to justify British atrocities across the water, and was given impetus by the culture shock of large, sudden migrations of Irish labourers into hitherto "pure" mainland communities. So if you're in the UK, yes he could be taking the mickey, so to speak.

cyberdad
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16 Jun 2011, 5:22 am

aspardon wrote:

ANyway, I overhead him saying soemthing to other staff about me like I talk so fast or neer let him speak or somthing?
Well He called me over and asked, if I had irish ancestors etc...as it happens I do past my grandfather are all irish.

2 things

- if he is talking about you behind your back within earshot that's rude, he clearly doesn't care about your feelings.
- If he then asks you about your heritage then that's his prejudice - he's an old timer probably still remembers the days when Bars in America had signs saying "no pets and no Irish"!

If it was me I'd be looking at other job options.

aspardon
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16 Jun 2011, 9:28 am

cyberdad wrote:

aspardon wrote:

well I dont care hes only there cause his son the guy who runs the place is onholiday and his son is real cool and fun.

Also the guy is a 75-80 year old Italian living in UK . He emigrated here to open up restatuants when he was younger and has run them since then. SO he will have old values and prob does thing Irish=dumb or soemthing,

But I do feel and act really akwad around people due to my aspergers and thropughout my life despite getting top grades at school I was alwasys known ad joked at for my dumbness and general stupididty, which is obviously due to aspergers. At school people would not beleive I was getting 95% in all my grades especially maths+physics and then not even know how to tie my shoelaces, hold a conversation or walk in a straigt line etc..lol

So maybe he associates Irsih= not right in the head, slightly dumb...and this is what he sees?

aspardon
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16 Jun 2011, 9:28 am

Mummy_of_Peanut wrote:

what does an irish person look like...with dark features..what specifics?

Kuma
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16 Jun 2011, 9:48 am

Being Irish doesn't necessarily carry a negative connotation. Many are of Irish descent...as I suspect he may be. Many people try to guess heritage from small indicators. Especially older folks...it is a way for them to say that they are really observing details in life. It is like a detective game for them. I also try to guess country of origin when I hear an accent or see something unusual (as in not common). It is actually a compliment...it means the person is paying attention to you in some way (so long as it is not negative). To be ignored is far worse. The Irish have a certain pride about being Irish...as do other people from all walks of life.

You appear, from your self description, to be a viable candidate for being of Irish descent. I think, without further information, that he was attempting to make a connection with you...perhaps trying to find some common ground. It sounds like a good sign.

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aspardon
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16 Jun 2011, 10:14 am

Kuma wrote:

You appear, from your self description, to be a viable candidate for being of Irish descent. .

how so? Because I am lol?

ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo
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16 Jun 2011, 10:18 am

aspardon wrote:

Who knows, maybe he has Irish ancestors and is looking for common ground?

VIDEODROME
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16 Jun 2011, 10:23 am

I think one of the stereotypes is that Irish people can be hard to profile or analyze. Maybe that is the view point he is coming from.

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16 Jun 2011, 10:26 am

aspardon wrote:

Hard to say. He's old so maybe it's just age related. Does he seem mentally sharp or does he come & go mentally? It could be just due to his age that he'd say something like that. A lot of old people tend to forget about filters as they get older. It's like they revert to being childlike.

On a side note, my kids look very Irish, & we've had total strangers ask if we were. My kids are more Irish than I am, though supposedly my bio-dad was mostly Irish. Are you fair skinned, & light eyed?

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aspardon
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16 Jun 2011, 10:46 am

Well maybe I do look Irish.

People often if I am french/italian/spanish BUt Ive had people say yuo look like IRA lmao..A guy used to look at my passport photo and say you are IRA lol.

Funny I am following:

German Jewish (who have a high rate of asperger funnily enough, so I read, the highest type of people with autism are German Jew, Ashkenazi Jews and high intelligence phyiscs and maths)

Irish

English

Scottish

tomboy4good
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16 Jun 2011, 10:59 am

aspardon wrote:

You've got quite the melting pot going on. I'm the same way: German (bio-mom's mom actually emigrated from Germany to the US as a young girl), French, English, Native American, plus Irish on my bio-dad's side. Dunno if he had any other mix on his side though. My kids' dad is mostly Irish, which is why it dominates their features. They are fair of skin, light hair, & eyes. Plus when they smile, their eyes smile too. That's a feature they get from me.

MagicMeerkat
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16 Jun 2011, 11:57 am

My mom has always said I looked like a little Irish girl as a kid. My mom went to Ireland and total strangers would come up to her and my brother speaking Gaelic to them.

Mummy_of_Peanut
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16 Jun 2011, 2:31 pm

aspardon wrote:

Mummy_of_Peanut wrote:

what does an irish person look like...with dark features..what specifics?

Me - high cheekbones, tiny nose, freckles, blue eyes, masses of curls.

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