Extra Credit

Geography In each case, what are the symbols of Irishness and Englishness? The symbols of Irishness according to the Irish-Americans who organized the parade in Boston included heterosexuality. Their definition of their "nation" did not include those with alternate sexualities. This may have been reinforced by the strong Catholic ties in the group.

In the case of Blacks in the English countryside, the Black woman feels accepted as "English" when she accepts the "sense of place" from the larger society that she belongs in urban areas but not in the overwhelmingly White countryside. Whom did you feel sympathy for in each case? Why? I felt sympathy for both groups.

Those who organized the parade were blind to the gays and bisexuals among them, and for whatever reason, alternate sexualities just weren't part of what they thought of when they thought of "Irish." But at the same time, it's hard to imagine that the gays and bisexuals should have to give up their cultural identity because of one aspect of their lives.

In the case of the English, my sympathies are entirely with the Black woman: how can one Black woman threaten national beliefs? Is she so different just because she's Black? It seems to me that being gay brings far more differences along with theological problems. At least on the surface, there's a class between the subgroup and morality. While not acceptable to me, it's more understandable than rejecting someone solely on skin color. 3.

Do you think that claims for belonging by gays and blacks are just? Yes, I think the claims are just. The gays and bisexuals were always there among the Irish. They just went unnoticed. It is in the nature of nations to redefine themselves, and change is always uncomfortable, but in the 21st century, people don't hide their sexual preferences the way they used to if they were in the minority. They're still "Irish," and it isn't rational to think there would be no gay Irish.

I also think the Black woman should feel accepted wherever she goes in Great Britain. Blacks have been a part of England for a long time now. 4. Why did some people feel threatened by the presence of gays in the Parade and blacks in the English rural area? I think those who were threatened by the gays tied their Irishness to their religious beliefs, which view homosexual acts as sins.

I also think it's easy to be nervous about what you don't understand, and many people don't understand how someone could be gay or bisexual. In the case of the Irish, their religion has taught them that it's wrong. When it comes to Blacks, since Blacks in England are equated with urban society, those living in the countryside may associate some negative urban problems with them, not the least of which might be a fear about crime.

Over what were they (gays and blacks, respectively) deemed to transgress? In the case of the Irish, the mainstream Irish wanted the gays to continue to stay in the closet and emphasize only those Irish traits endorsed by the group as a whole. Both the gays and the Black woman transgressed the assumed rules regarding "sense of place." The larger group believed they did not "belong" where they were. 5. Do these two examples tell you why nation-states are "imagined communities?" Yes.

In the case of the Irish, they imagined that some traits simply weren't present in their community. They did not like having that view altered. In the case of the English countryside, apparently the older residents never imagined that people of color would ever leave the city for the countryside. England is a multiracial, multicultural country, but those in the country may not be as concretely aware of it. 6.

Do these two examples tell you why building a national identity is a point of "struggle" over exclusion/inclusion, belonging/not-belonging? In the case of the gay Irish, the straight Irish wanted to exclude the gays, while the gays wanted to be accepted as belonging to that group. Clearly the Black woman feels both excluded and as if she does not belong in the countryside of her country. 7.

How is "place" or "sense of place" contributing to making certain kinds of nationalism in each case? In the case of the Irish, South Boston was their domain, and they wanted.