Hey Stupid, It’s Saint Patrick’s Day… Go Kill Yourself Quietly Somewhere!
March 16, 2008 (7 Responses)
SAINT PATRICK may have driven the snakes from Ireland all those years ago, but we’ve still got our fair share of slippery characters here these days, and worse we still have a fair amount of stupid ones too. Although, to be fair, almost the entire government has abandoned Ireland to celebrate Paddy’s Day abroad somewhere, leaving only Willie O’Dea to hold the fort – so that takes care of the slippery lot, leaving us with just the stupid buggers instead.
Oh yes, it’s that time of the year when the death count on the roads rises beyond comprehension, every single time, and we count the cost in the newspapers and draw comparisons like some morbid league table, lamenting the decline of social and family values and then, as usual, everyone goes back to work and gets busy enough to not give a crap until next year.
The headlines, the blood and the bones, the grieving families and the mashed cares all fade back into the black and white print of the newspapers and gradually morph into last weeks tragedy, last months statistic and next years league table reference for comparison. And life goes on, for some of us anyway, but not those unfortunate enough to be caught up in the carnage .
I’m no angel it has to be said, if anything I’m a fairly flawed person with lots of history and baggage. In the eighties I was certainly drinking and driving, and so was everyone else… but times changed and so did I. What was acceptable then is not now, and that’s a good thing. I’m also no fan of the ‘nanny state’, this endless erosion of civil liberties that seems to be taking place here in Ireland these days, and I’m certainly not an advocate of this privatisation of speed cameras and the inevitable revenue cash cow it will generate as a result. But…
Ah yes, there is a “but”.
But, having said all that I have to recognise that it really is pure stupidity to drink and then get into a car and drive. And given the statistics for an average Paddy’s Day weekend and the resulting road deaths that will potentially happen… well, let’s just say by all means enjoy your Paddy’s Day, get drunk, get drugged, hell I don’t care what you do… but please do not get in a car while pissed or drugged.
Or at the very least if you do intend drinking and driving this Paddy’s Day, how about you kill yourself quietly somewhere on some back road without endangering anyone else?
It’s the least you can do.
[...] is ironic. …Like Easter, St. Pat??s is early this year Adirondack Daily Enterprisewww.uticaod.comHey Stupid, It??s Saint Patrick??s Day?? Go Kill Yourself Quietly Somewhere! SAINT PATRICK may have driven the snakes from Ireland all those years ago, but we??ve still got our [...]
Scary. :-/
I’ve been living in a country where St. Paddy’s day comes and goes without a second glance for the past 5 years now, and I have a hard time remembering what it was like in the US. I know that people go crazy over there for St. Paddy’s day, but I don’t remember the aftermath. Although, I’m sure that there are plenty of similar stories, considering the way that Americans are very dependent on their cars…
Sweden is quite good on the drinking and driving front. Not to say that it doesn’t happen here, but the numbers are very low. Helps too that the public transport is very good.
Here in the U.S., people LOVE St. Patrick’s Day. Anybody who is more than 1% Irish uses that as their excuse to root for Notre Dame football, and to get belligerent on St. Paddy’s Day. Also, public transport here is unreliable because people see anything that doesn’t make a profit as “communist.” So rather than get a free, reliable ride to the bars on the big drinking nights (St. Paddy’s, New Years, all Saturdays) people instead decide to get sloshed and then get behind the wheel.
We’ve been staying home for years on March 17th. You take your life in your hands if you drive somewhere. I always cook – corned beef and steamed vegetables (healthy ones you know) – good wheat bread, and this year I bought some Irish cheese.
It is a real commercial day here. Loads of money dropped for green decorations, etc. Exploitation at its best.
This year I was almost too tired to cook. We’d been out all weekend demonstrating and marching against Bush’s dirty war and the next one to come. It gets harder when you are older but it has got to be done!
Hope that you were safe, well fed and happy on your 17th.
KWW – yup, safe and well fed, even managed a few pints at home… but the death toll continued on the roads unabated.
M.Frederick – I love the idea of providing free transport but – as you say – I can’t see anyone ever doing it unless it was massively state subsidised.
Irma – what is the drink/driving limit in Sweeden. Over here it’s 0.8ml but they are talking about reducing it to 0.5ml based upon some European average.
Really saint attack squad) Good post – thanx.
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