WSJ.COM | NEWSCORE - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg apologized last month for joking about the drunken condition of St. Patrick's Day celebrants. At the city's parade Thursday, some attendees were still nursing a grudge.
"Go home, mayor!" shouted Kevin Ward, an electrician from upstate New York, as the mayor strolled down Fifth Avenue in the parade.
Ward also rejected the mayor's apology for a joke about the Irish and drunkenness: "I don't really think he meant it."
Last month, when speaking before the American Irish Historical Society, Bloomberg recalled regularly spotting St. Patrick's Day revelers enjoying themselves with a drink or two. "Normally, when I walk by this building there are a bunch of people that are totally inebriated hanging out the window waving," he said.
As the crowd reacted with a mix of laughs and jeers, the mayor continued: "I know, that's a stereotype of the Irish. But nevertheless we Jews from around the corner think this."
On Thursday, before the parade began, a reporter asked the mayor if he viewed the parade as an opportunity to redeem himself. "Told a joke which some people didn't find funny, meant in good spirit," Bloomberg replied. "The bottom line is that the reception I've gotten in St. Patrick's Day parades so far and this morning puts a smile on my face."
"But you know," he added, "this is a day to celebrate. It's a day to celebrate all the cultures that are here. And I'm just thrilled to be invited."
Most of the people protesting the mayor focused their ire on his comments about the Irish. Mike Kelly, who has been attending the parade since he was three years old, called the mayor's remark "disgraceful."
"He should have been impeached. This is a day where bigotry is over and he starts it up all over again," said Kelly, 74 years old, a retired IBM manager from Poughkeepsie. "His remarks were totally out of line, and his apology so weak."
Dennis Dunn, 46 years old from Yonkers, held up a sign that read "Bloomberg You're a Drunk."
"He said it as a joke, but the Irish community doesn't take it as a joke," Dunn said. "We're a little annoyed." Dunn acknowledged that the mayor apologized. "But, you know, it's like, you don't see Irish politicians making cracks about Jews, so why are Jews making cracks about Irish?"
While there were plenty of people unhappy with the mayor, the large majority of attendees appeared pleased to see him. As usual, the mayor declared everyone in the city Irish.
Bloomberg's attempt to get back into the good graces of the city's Irish came as a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday found voters divided on his gaffe.
According to 47 percent of those polled, Irish Americans should be offended by Bloomberg's remarks, while 45 percent said Irish "should laugh it off as a joke among friends."
SOURCE: WSJ.COM
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