# Irish Potato Famine in Ad



## rose angel (Sep 1, 2003)

In coupon insert ad for Sweet Tomatoes Restaurant (Soup plantation in other areas) in my newspaper this morning:
IRISH POTATO LEEK SOUP
Famished? As luck would have it, our made from scratch soup is quite a feast. We use only the freshest (blah blah...list of ingredients) And that's no blarney!
I think making light of the Irish Famine in an ad for an all you can eat buffet is in really really poor taste. Like equal to referencing Ethiopia. The Potato Famine killed millions. Just thought I would let others know in case you want to contact them. I went to www.sweettomatoes.com and clicked on guest services. You could also go to the souplantationn website if that is in your area.


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Do you know where there is a photo or copy of the ad?


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## polka123 (Nov 27, 2003)

: OH MY - I'd like to see the ad also.
then I'd be happy to write


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## rose angel (Sep 1, 2003)

NAK Haven't found a copy online, I will try to take a digital pic and post it tonight. They haven't answered my email yet..


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## pfamilygal (Feb 28, 2005)

Quite poosibly I'm slow, but where does it mention the Potato famine? I think its just saying they have good, filling soup. Probably the "blarney" and other Irish references are just in honor St. Paddy's day. But I could be wrong.


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## daylily (Dec 1, 2001)

I think it's the word "Famished?" at the beginning that makes this ad offensive.

I agree that it's in poor taste.


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## UUMom (Nov 14, 2002)

Honestly? I doubt many Americans have a clue about the potato famine of the last century. My feeling is your average person couldn't even find Ireland on a map.


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Quote:

Honestly? I doubt many Americans have a clue about the potato famine of the last century. My feeling is your average person couldn't even find Ireland on a map.








:
I must be missing something


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## pfamilygal (Feb 28, 2005)

daylily said:


> I think it's the word "Famished?" at the beginning that makes this ad offensive.
> QUOTE]
> 
> So would it be offensive to use "hungry" instead or is it insensitive to imply that anyone who is Irish or likes Irish food would need to eat? I'm not trying to be a smart-alec, but are we being overly sensitive?


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## peaceful herbivore (Mar 17, 2005)

Obviously not a lot of people here [in Amercia] understand what the potato famine was, what the implications were, how it was treated by England, and what it did to the people of Ireland and Ireland as a whole. My Dad is from Ireland and this ad is very offensive to us, just using the world "famished" really makes it, and I am appauled.

Let me put it in perspective. Imagine an ad for an appliance, say a gas stove. Pretend the ad said: Gas ovens aren't just for Jewish people! Highly, highly, highly, offensive. To me, it is somewhat along the same lines. It wasn't called the potato hunger, it was called the potato famine---and to put "famished?" at the front of an ad, for POTATO soup, for St. Paddy's day type thing, is really in poor taste and disgusting to me.

Just my $.02


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *peaceful herbivore*
Obviously not a lot of people here understand what the potato famine was, what the implications were, how it was treated by England, and what it did to the people of Ireland and Ireland as a whole. My Dad is from Ireland and this ad is very offensive to us, just using the world "famished" really makes it, and I am appauled.

You are basing this on ten posts? And out of those 10, only 2 people questioned the OP.


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## BeeandOwlsMum (Jul 11, 2002)

Activism, folks....no debating.


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## daylily (Dec 1, 2001)

Quote:

So would it be offensive to use "hungry" instead or is it insensitive to imply that anyone who is Irish or likes Irish food would need to eat? I'm not trying to be a smart-alec, but are we being overly sensitive
I don't think the ad is implying that anyone who is Irish or likes Irish food needs to eat. It's making a joke out of the fact that millions of Irish people saw their potato crop fail,and so were literally "famished". If an ad for Campbell's tomato soup said "Famished?" it would not be in poor taste.

So it's the combination of the word "famished" and the fact that this is a potato soup that references Ireland.

My great-great-great granparents escaped the potato famine in 1847. Their two children died of starvation. Granted, I did not know them personally, but my great-aunt, with whom I was close until her death a few years ago, did know them and remember them and she'd tell the story of the children who died and she'd cry.

Where's Irishmommy? I'd love to hear her opinion.


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## darlindeliasmom (Nov 19, 2001)

Hey, the comparisons to the Holocaust are not far off...An Gorta Mor, the great hunger, was genocide pure and simple...

Grain was shipped out of the country to meet quotas and make money for the absentee landlords, people were evicted throughout the famine years for failure to pay rent (again, in crops) as they literally were falling down with hunger. And that land was taken out of crop use and turned to animal grazing...it was more profitable to have 100 sheep on the land than 100 dispossessed peasants.

so, yeah, the ad is NOT cute...
Mary, whose family somehow lived through this horror on some of the poorest land in Ireland


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## DebraBaker (Jan 9, 2002)

It was genocide pure and simple.

Ireland, to this day, hasn't recovered its population (from what I remember over 1million people starved outright and another over million forced to emigrate from Ireland while grain was *exported* to England.

The Irish blamed for planting "lazy man's food" when they were forced to work like sharecroppers for the British landlords leaving precious little time to sustain themselves.

In addition to that they were not able to freely practice their religion.

I don't know why people still think it's ok to freely use anti-Irish slurs.

Debra Baker


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

I agree that if the ad is referring to the potato famine, it is in very bad taste. And I apologize if I was adding to the debate. I just resent the implication that anyone who would disagree is automatically stupid or uninformed. I think that is a dangerous assumption.

Waiting anxiously to see the ad...
Annette


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## rose angel (Sep 1, 2003)

AArgh! my DH accidentally tossed it with the newspapers! I am going to call a few friends and see if one still has it.


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## RowansDad (Mar 27, 2002)

Stupid ad, though the Irish may have the last laugh:
*Ireland is named 'best country'*
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4020523.stm


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## UUMom (Nov 14, 2002)

What i mean is that most people have no clue about the potato famine, so would not understand it might be a slur. If it is meant to be a joke on the famine, then it depends on people knowing history. Which most people don't. It's a slur going right over their heads. Which does not make it right. But you have to have some knowledge to 'get the joke'. I doubt most people do.


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## peaceful herbivore (Mar 17, 2005)

Quote:

I just resent the implication that anyone who would disagree is automatically stupid or uninformed. I think that is a dangerous assumption.
I should have clarified. "Here" was implying America as a whole, and I stand by that statement.

Assumptions go both ways ya know









Quote:

Posting to discuss the statements or behavior of a member or members on the board, or to criticize another discussion on the boards.
I would appreciate it if you didn't target my comments publically.


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

If I violated the user agreement in anyway, please inform a mod, and I am sure she will remove my post.


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## rose angel (Sep 1, 2003)

Here's a link to some photos of the ad.

http://members.accessbee.com/earthli...s_famished.jpg

http://members.accessbee.com/earthli..._famished1.jpg

http://members.accessbee.com/earthli..._famished2.jpg


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## Cranberry (Mar 18, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DebraBaker*
It was genocide pure and simple.

Ireland, to this day, hasn't recovered its population (from what I remember over 1million people starved outright and another over million forced to emigrate from Ireland while grain was *exported* to England.

The Irish blamed for planting "lazy man's food" when they were forced to work like sharecroppers for the British landlords leaving precious little time to sustain themselves.

In addition to that they were not able to freely practice their religion.

I don't know why people still think it's ok to freely use anti-Irish slurs.

Debra Baker

Thank you, Debra.









My parents are from Ireland. During the famine, there was plenty of food but the English chose to export it to their own country and leave the Irish to starve.

And that ad is offensive.


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Thanks for posting the pics Rose! It's subtle, but definitely in very bad taste.


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## ian'smommaya (Jun 7, 2004)

thanks for the heads up.
i am writing to suggest they could be more sensitive in the future.


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## RowansDad (Mar 27, 2002)

I'm at a loss as to why anyone would put mozzarella cheese in potato and leek soup.


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

:LOL
Too funny


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## ian'smommaya (Jun 7, 2004)

rowan's dad are you one of the picky eaters?
come on dontcha know mottzerella goes in everything?


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## Cranberry (Mar 18, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ian'smommaya*
come on dontcha know mottzerella goes in everything?

Yeah, I gotta agree with that.


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## SirPentor (Sep 15, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RowansDad*
I'm at a loss as to why anyone would put mozzarella cheese in potato and leek soup.

Uhmm. Because mozzarella cheese is about the most delicious thing in the world? Actually, I'd probably go with a nice sharp cheddar, but mozzarella will do in a pinch.

Can't say anything else, seeing as this isn't a debate board...


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## rose angel (Sep 1, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RowansDad*
I'm at a loss as to why anyone would put mozzarella cheese in potato and leek soup.

I hear on Columbus day they have spaghetti and corned beef meatballs.







:


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## boston (Nov 20, 2001)

well, I find that ad offensive.
yuck.


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## peekyboo (Mar 16, 2005)

Famish was a VERY poor word choice there. My great-grandfather's family was torn apart due to the Famine. His father was sent to prison, his older brothers shipped off to Australia, and his mother took him and his brother (then both toddlers) to England to find work. My g-g-grandmother never knew what happened to the sons sent to Australia or the husband sent to prison.

No, the average American may not know of the injustices that the Irish endured for centuries, but those of us with Irish roots remember. Of course, maybe the average American doesn't know b/c then they'd have to recall that when the Irish arrived here, they were treated shabbily (like the signs of "No Irish Need Apply" under help wanted signs.) But that's a whole different rant







I do have to laugh though - now, everyone wants to be Irish on St. Patrick's Day, lol!


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## DebraBaker (Jan 9, 2002)

You want to have a more satisfying laugh, the Irish have a better score on the quality of life index than do the English. :LOL


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## Chanley (Nov 19, 2001)

Sinead O'Connor has a great song about this. I think it is called Black '47.
And yes,it was genocide. Advertisers use no common sense at all.


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## be11ydancer (Dec 2, 2003)

I also think the ad was in poor taste. And thank you for posting all the info I didn't know about the potato famine.

The soup sounds good.


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## ian'smommaya (Jun 7, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Chanley*
Sinead O'Connor has a great song about this. I think it is called Black '47.
And yes,it was genocide. Advertisers use no common sense at all.


there is a really really good band called black 47 too. they are name after the genocide. and i may not have mentioned rock.

maya- who forgot to mention that black 47 the band, just rocks!


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## Oh the Irony (Dec 14, 2003)

i wrote a note. yes, it is in very bad taste.


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## JessicaS (Nov 18, 2001)

I will ahve to go with the sharp chedder in the potato leek soup.

Many Americans are decendants of those who came here trying to escape the famine, I agree the ad is in poor taste. I sent a note, I hope they respond..I actually like to eat at Sweet Tomatoes.


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## applejuice (Oct 8, 2002)

Yes, many Americans do not know the origins of the Irish Potato Famine.

The mold or fungus that supposedly caused the rot in the soil is believed by some to have come in on the hulls of ships that had gone to the New World...that fungus still is alive on some of the outlying islands in the Irish and North Sea.

The political and economic causes were the deaths of tenant farmers who had to sell the potatoes they grew to pay their rent. One tragic story is of an Englishman who finally went to see what all the complaining was about in Ireland, and when he arrived, he found many villages empty and the occupants gone or dead from starvation.

An "American Funeral" was a going away party for a family member who was leaving for America and was never to be seen again, for better or worse.


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## DebraBaker (Jan 9, 2002)

You really can't blame the new world as the potatoes themselves came from the new world.

One other little known fact is the same fungus blighted the potato crop in the low countries of Europe (Belgum and the Netherlands) and there was a famine of sorts there as well. Big difference.....those people weren't allowed to starve wholesale by people who thought their "race" as superior. They didn't *export* grain while millions of people starved!!!!

Debra Baker


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## applejuice (Oct 8, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DebraBaker*
You really can't blame the new world as the potatoes themselves came from the new world.

It was the mold growing in the hulls of the ships that moved back and forth across the ocean...it could have been the kind of wood combined with the season, I would have to check my reference, Rats, Lice, and History, by Hans Zinzer

It is interesting that you note that Netherlands also suffered from the potato blight...they have seaports that would have allowed goods from the ships to be brought in, and thereby infecting them also, but as you note, the economic system of the Netherlands and Belgium did not allow the people to die, their government took care of them, instead of allowing them to die.


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## DebraBaker (Jan 9, 2002)

Just pausing a moment to savor the sublime joy of having some other perple whose eyes don't glaze over in abject boredom at this discussion.....

In addition to the fungus (traveling in the hulls or not) is the notation that the 19th century is the beginning of homogenous(sp?) crops, genetically speaking. The Irish planted only one type of potato (they planted and ate potatoes because it was all they could afford because they spent most of their time and effort growing grain or tending livestock of their English lords.)

If you were to go to South America there are literally thousands of types of potatoes, most of these antique breeds are able to withstand such blights.

Debra Baker


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## Momtwice (Nov 21, 2001)

I read somewhere that another reason for potatoes being the main Irish food was the nasty English habit of burning their crops that grew above the ground.


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## luvtjones (May 19, 2004)

Hey, just wanted to say that I think the Irish are cool









I'm Mexican and our people have a history together...ever hear of the San Patricios Battalion in the Mexican-American War?

http://www.vivasancarlos.com/patrick.html

In our area we have an "Irish Mexican Alliance" organization. My own family is an "alliance" too: my husband is half Mexican, half Irish









And as for the original topic, I thought the ad was subtly offensive too. I once wrote to some instant rice company because they had an ad for a product that was supposed to be Mexican flavored, but the woman in the ad who ate it started dancing flamenco and shouting "Ole!"

Duh.


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## DebraBaker (Jan 9, 2002)

My daughter's husband is half Irish and half Mexican as well.

db


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## Taosmama (May 2, 2002)

Wow! This is an erudite group!

Yep, I've heard of the San Patricios - we're blue-eyed Murphys living in a remote Spanish village in New Mexico!

Glad to know so many others were offended by that ad!


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## 5796 (Oct 19, 2002)

Quote:

I'm Mexican and our people have a history together...ever hear of the San Patricios Battalion in the Mexican-American War?
http://www.vivasancarlos.com/patrick.html
I am surprised this has not been made into a movie...........quick someone call Peter Weir.


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## luvtjones (May 19, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Tracy*
I am surprised this has not been made into a movie...........quick someone call Peter Weir.

Oh, but it was! One Man's Hero

I haven't seen it, though. It has Tom Berenger as Capt. Riley, their leader. Interesting choice, not one I would have made.

My grandmother told me rumors of having "Black Irish" in our family from Mexico from years back. Apparently her family's name, Ocampo, at one time may have been O'Campo.


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## applejuice (Oct 8, 2002)

I had been told that the "black irish" were descendants of the survivors of the Spanish Armada, which was defeated and sunk by the British in the English Channel in 1588.

The Spanish sailors settled in the Southern end of Ireland, and blended in well...

My own maternal grandfather claimed to be one, although his family is from Northern Ireland, but he was Catholic and swarthy.


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## applejuice (Oct 8, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Momtwice*
I read somewhere that another reason for potatoes being the main Irish food was the nasty English habit of burning their crops that grew above the ground.

I would not doubt it.


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## DebraBaker (Jan 9, 2002)

My Irish grandmom was typically Irish (blue eyes, light complexion, freckles) my mom, however, looked "black Irish" Dark hair, dark eyes, not pale (but not dark) no freckles.

DB


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