Fox News' Sean Hannity has called a Newsweek article slamming Irish American conservatives "a disgusting, ignorant display of bigotry.”
The controversial article published by the magazine was written by history professor Van Gosse and titled “Why are all the conservative loudmouths Irish-American?”
In response to the article, which has also provoked the ire of some Newsweek readers, Sean Hannity said: "Perhaps Newsweek should learn the history of people like my Grandparents who came to this country with no money, faced discrimination and poverty all in the hopes that their children and grandchildren could have a better life.
"Newsweek is a disgrace, and to publish such hatred and bigotry in this day and age is beyond the pale," he added. "Likely the reason Newsweek is a failing publication."
According to FoxNews.com, the opinion piece sought to explain “putative Irishmen” such as former presidential candidate Pat Buchanan and ex-White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon “are now the face of the hard Right.”
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Gosse, who claims to be a quarter Irish-American on his father’s side, asks in his article, "Why has the ascent of a bunch of people who in an earlier period might have been called Micks drawn no notice at all?"
Gosse, a professor at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania wrote that by the 1960s, Irish Catholics, who were once in the outskirts of American society, had “finally made it and become fully ‘white.’”
Steve Bannon. Credit: Flickr/Michael Vadon
“Having fought their way to full inclusion, many were intent on pulling up the drawbridge,” he said.
“Jump forward to the present…Irish America has lost virtually all its distinctive qualities, becoming just one more version of whiteness colored by ethnicity,” Gosse wrote.
He added that someone saying they are “Irish Catholic” is like saying they are “Midwestern.”
“The only thing “Irish” about them is a talent for invective, which makes for a compelling style, a mix of pugnacity and certainty,” he continued. “They are smart, articulate, and not at all embarrassed, especially when their opinions are vicious.”
Irish flag. Credit: RollingNews.ie
Some Newsweek readers called Gosse’s piece “racist” and demanded Newsweek apologize to Irish Americans.
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“Some major bigotry going on here. What was Newsweek thinking publishing racist diatribe?!?” said one commenter.
“I'm second generation Irish American on my father's side," another reader said. "I'm not usually bothered by Irish stereotypes. But this article is so dripping with ignorance it's jaw-dropping and utterly offensive. Replace the word 'Irish' with any other ethnicity and it would never have gone to print and/or the author would've been fired. I'm stunned that a person of such ignorance is allowed to teach.”
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