Argess

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Dirty_Vinylpusher

Meh.
Just another reason for people all over the world to go out and get drunk without really knowing or caring about what they're "celebrating".

Bah Humbug.

sheograth

Yesterday there was a St Patrick's day parade here in San Francisco, but it was really sad. The whole thing was taken over by teenagers drinking and making fools of themselves. There was vomit on the the trains, broken glass everywhere, and 15 year olds getting into fights with over girls. And this was all at 11:30AM.

Now there are a bunch of kids in jail for DUIs, the hospitals are filled up, and some peoples lives are ruined.

I mention this because as another member mentioned, people don't care about St Patrick Himself, they just want one more drinking day.

Anomie

I was at a bar here in town and saw a few of those young ones as they returned from the parade. Very sad, that whole affair.

Personally, I just like to have a Guinness and listen to the Dropkick Murphys channel on Pandora. That does it for me.

(Ok, I may have danced around a bit )

Argess

Well, well, well.... I never would have guessed at these type of responses from a simple Happy St. Patrick's Day post.

As far as a lame excuse to go drinking, I think I would have picked New Year's Eve instead. And with young adults, well... they do go overboard at times.

From Wikipedia I found:

The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, as well as celebrating the heritage and culture of the Irish in general. Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, céilithe, and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks. Christians also attend church services and the Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol are lifted for the day, which has encouraged and propagated the holiday's tradition of alcohol consumption.

Now as far as envouraging drinking, (and the subsequent fighting, vomiting in public places that can ensue) and even acting as Scrooge, we all have choices. We are all capable of making mature ones that include maintaining our self-respect.

Things arn't all black and white. There's a gray area in-between and it's got a pretty broad spectrum of aceptable behaviour. I'm sorry I touched on such a sensitive subject, but as for me, I think I'm going to enjoy the rest of St Patrick's Day. I might even have a drink!

y2blade

Raising a Guinness here.

Dirty_Vinylpusher

Argess, no need to apologize for your post.
The comments weren't directed at you, obviously.
It's just a sad fact.

Every holiday, long weekend or similar is just another day to get drunk.
It's not about tradition or honouring things anymore.

Of course that doesn't apply to EVERYONE, but, as confirmed by Sheo and Anomie, many members of the younger generations just see it as an excuse to wear a green hat and throw up in public.


New Years eve is kinda different.
We all know what that's about.
The end of one year and the start of another.
Doesn't mean you have to write yourself off though, but it's sort of "ok" in a way?

Personally I haven't had a "big" NYE for a long time now.
I still make an effort to stay up til midnight though.
And go to bed approx. 7 minutes in to the new year