San Antonio snubs the Irish?

[seanachie]

I think the point being made here is equality across the board. If the fees are waived for one culture or heritage, they should be waived for all. If the city refuses to pay for one, they should not fund any.

Irish/Scottish heritage is being less recognized more and more.

Even in my own workplace, every ethnicity/heritage/lifestyle and their idiosyncrasies, styles of dress, habits of prayer, etc is not only embraced but highly encouraged in the policy of "championing diversity". But I am not allowed to wear a kilt to work as I told that it would be disruptive to the workplace. Never mind the male cross dresser across the hall (not kidding).

I agree with Tobus. It isn't right.

Well said, I agree wholeheartedly. This extends itself in other subtle ways as well. I understand governments running deficits and so if that is the only issue then EVERYONE should have to enlist private sponsors but selective enforcement is wrong. I know at work we often have to grin and bear things just to keep our jobs but I would love to know why a kilt would be disruptive to your workplace. But if other cultural dress is allowed and the kilt is not, that would seem to be a real problem.

[Jack Daw]

This is the way it is. The city of Houston provides zero support for the Houston Highland Games. Small towns, like Salado, are different than large metropolises. They do almost anything to keep the games going, by providing a city park, whatever, but in Houston the HHG competes for space and dates for all the convenient venues, so we pay through the nose.

[Zardoz]

Here in Houston the parade has been successfully funded primarily by fundraisers and private contributions for over 50 years, so far getting away without needing to call it the "Bud Lite St.Patrick's Day Parade" etc.. The downside of that independance is that we don't have sponsors that buy media advertising, so we don't get the media outlets shilling for us with contribed news stories before the event.

I wonder how much coverage that same TV station ever gave the SA parade otherwise? That's the big issue we have, for years parade 'coverage' here consisted of a picture in the middle of the newspaper of some idiot dressed as a leprechaun, and little or no TV coverage, even after the event. I do an email blitz every year to the media outlets, basically challenging them to give the parade the same level of attention, both after and lead-up, that they give other 'cultural events', like the Houston rodeo. The lead-up is important, as the parade commission cannot afford very much advertising.

[auld argonian]

Sigh...we have a sort of similar problem here in Chicago with the "other" parade, the South Side Irish Parade.

I now live in the neighborhood where the parade has been held. It started out as a small thing, almost a block party for two or three of the blocks West of Western Avenue and it became a total monster over the years...people bussing in from bars on the North Side, teenagers drinking in public and confrontations with the police. Started out as a family thing and became a drunken brawl.

A couple of years ago, the committee that organized the parade had enough and cancelled it. They tried a smaller celebration concentrating on Irish Culture and put the kibbosh on the overload of alcohol.

NOW...it's back. Know who nagged the Powers That Be to bring back the big brawl? The bar owners who used to have the best single day of their business year when the parade went on. Funny thing is that the parade goes down Western Avenue and because this used to be an old German Protestant neighborhood before the Irish settled in, the East side of Western is dry (no bars) and the West side of the street has the bars.

Nobody minds these things but the cost of dealing with a well behaved crowd is already a burden on strapped city budgets...having to "get the leprechauns down off the chandeliers" adds to the expense. Not unexpected, though, that a BEER company would push these things through and offer to put up the money but let 'em be the ones who have to deal with the sloppy drunks and the lawsuits.

Best

AA