Quote:
Originally posted by webmaster x
The reason people misunderstand Ignatieff's portrayal of the Irish is that it is not politically correct but still an accurate reflection (as summarized in the Irish union statements, writings, and memoirs of the time) of the Irish rage at being the working class of 1800's America. Many would hold a strike if a factory owner hired an African American (freeman). This highlights the psychic dischord between the reality of being at the bottom of the social barrel and the comfort a RACIAL HIERARCHY offered this ethnic working class.
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I see what you're saying. You could probably write a similar book on the interaction and hierarchy of race and gender during the 1800's too. It's actually something I thought about during a sociology class I took in university a few years ago.
For instance, white men made more and could opnely discriminate against white women (hierarchy based on gender) yet at the same time a white woman could discriminate against a man or woman of another color (hierarchy based on race).