Bismarck, North Dakota - News

I've been told that Lloyd Omdahl is somewhat of an icon in North Dakota politics. I would like to add another label: bigot.

I read the anti-Irish diatribe in his March 23 column, "We combine presidents; why not ethnics?" With a Hebrew first name and an anglicized French surname, I don't sound like I have an Irish background. However, my maternal great-grandfather, William Rogers Mack, was all Irish. He practiced law until he was embarrassed by the lack of ethics in the profession. Oh, wait a minute -- Omdahl said nothing embarrasses an Irishman. I guess he's wrong there.

America doesn't "endure" St. Patrick's Day, it embraces it. The Irish did not force the holiday on the country, either. The rest of the country adopted it from us. As the saying goes, "Everyone's Irish on St. Patrick's Day." Even those who don't deserve to be.

If Omdahl doesn't want to observe St. Patrick's Day, he shouldn't. It's not a federal holiday; nothing shuts down in North Dakota because of it. In fact, I'd prefer that he not observe St. Patrick's Day. If he wants to eat that nasty-smelling fish and call it a delicacy, he should go right ahead. Meanwhile, the rest of the world knows about modern refrigeration.

As for marching down Fifth Avenue in New York City drunk, this is an ethic stereotype. If Omdahl were to say this about any other racial or ethnic group, he'd have to answer to a lot of people.

The church in Rome made Patrick a saint. Does Omdahl always disparage saints? If I were to behave like him, I'd be making anti-Scandinavian and anti-German statements. But I won't.

Omdahl owes the Irish in North Dakota an apology. And the Tribune and other newspapers should be ashamed of themselves for printing his bigoted remarks.

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