Sodom and Begorrah

Notwithstanding the old joke that an Irish homosexual is a man who prefers women to drink, a group of Irish gays and lesbians applied this year for an official presence in the St. Patrick’s Day parade in New York. Resistance was interpreted by liberal politicians like Mayor David Dinkins as bigotry. It is better understood as instinctive resentment at being asked to bestow moral approval on the practice of homosexuality.

The St. Patrick’s Day parade celebrates not only Irishness but Catholicism, which frowns on homosexuality. No doubt many of the marchers privately do things incompatible with Catholicism, or merely irrelevant to it. But they do not seek to march behind banners such as “Irish Adulterers” or “Irish Stamp Collectors.” Does homosexuality have any more to do with being Irish than stamp collecting or adultery?

EH

About the Author

Ernest van den Haag

Featured Tags

Notwithstanding the old joke that an Irish homosexual is a man who prefers women to drink, a group of Irish gays and lesbians applied this year for an official presence in the St. Patrick’s Day parade in New York. Resistance was interpreted by liberal politicians like Mayor David Dinkins as bigotry. It is better understood as instinctive resentment at being asked to bestow moral approval on the practice of homosexuality.

The St. Patrick’s Day parade celebrates not only Irishness but Catholicism, which frowns on homosexuality. No doubt many of the marchers privately do things incompatible with Catholicism, or merely irrelevant to it. But they do not seek to march behind banners such as “Irish Adulterers” or “Irish Stamp Collectors.” Does homosexuality have any more to do with being Irish than stamp collecting or adultery?