I can't remember thinkg "WTF?" so many times during an interview as I did this morning...

[Lux Interior]

$tevie wrote:
Especially when "being Irish on St. Patrick's Day" in this country means getting shit-faced and acting like an idiot. :RollingEyesSmiley5:

My facepalm on this part of the interview was that the implication is that Jews & Muslims aren't American. How do you equate religious affiliation with being foreign?

Well, I guess Mormons believe that Jesus spent some time in North America, but other than that, the only "American" religions are those of native Americans. And even they came over the Bering Straight at some point.

[Lemon Drop]

Lux Interior wrote:
[quote=$tevie]
Especially when "being Irish on St. Patrick's Day" in this country means getting shit-faced and acting like an idiot. :RollingEyesSmiley5:

My facepalm on this part of the interview was that the implication is that Jews & Muslims aren't American. How do you equate religious affiliation with being foreign?

Well, I guess Mormons believe that Jesus spent some time in North America, but other than that, the only "American" religions are those of native Americans. And even they came over the Bering Straight at some point.
It didn't land on me quite that way - he did mention St Patrick's Day which is ridiculous to equate with Eid Al-fitr or Chanukah but whatever, should've thrown in Cinco do mayo too. He covered the 3 major Abrahamic religions in a superficial and mildly insulting way. I think he had good intentions and was trying to say that Americans come from all sorts of cultural backgrounds and that we should and do celebrate these diverse cultures, he just did it very clumsily.

[Lux Interior]

Lemon Drop wrote: he just did it very clumsily.

Well then, he fits in perfectly with this administration.

[Acer]

Lemon Drop wrote:
should've thrown in Cinco do mayo too.

Actually he did!

MARTIN: Do you think that in light of what you just said and the security risks that are out there, can America still afford to be a multicultural, pluralistic society?

KELLY: Can we still afford to be? Of course. You know, the great success of our country has been people from diverse backgrounds coming to the United States and becoming Americans. The strength has been the melting pot. So I like to think everyone in this country should consider themselves Irish on St. Patrick's Day. Everyone in this country should consider themselves Jewish at Hanukkah. Everyone in this country should consider themselves...

MARTIN: Muslim on Eid.

KELLY: On Eid. Every one of them. I've been to Eid dinners where we were almost blown up to get there in Iraq. Sure, they go to a mosque or they go to a synagogue or a church. But 364 days a year, they're Americans. And then on the day that we celebrate being Irish or Jewish or Muslim, then we're all Irish or Jewish or Muslim - or Mexican on Cinco de Mayo.

Still waiting for word on "Talk Like a Pirate Day" though.