As there was a nullification of nationality and ethnicity on this day, a major noticeable alteration in common societal norms became evident. The removal of race prejudice unfortunately needs to be glorified, but being that there was no racism, the normal social hierarchy wasn’t used as a critiquing tool. There was one specific instant that will forever be embedded in my mind and remind me that the usual egocentric, white collar, ignorant stereotype can change just as much as lower class member can lose their labeling. I was sitting at a quieter bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village, the focal section of the city’s individualism. The bar was The Four-Faced Liar a popular bar among the normal hipster-genre culture of people. While sitting away from my party, taking periodical gulps of beer while I fidgeted in my stool. To the left of me approached, Arthur, a 60+ year old, African descent male, who through conversation explained he was from an underdeveloped section of the city. As I spoke to Arthur, to the right of me was this guy named Chad, a young, white, Wall Street prodigy. You could tell Chad was well off in life even for his young age. He was drinking expensive and was full of confidence. Intoxicated Chad began flaunting his money and was telling the bar to keep shots for the stool sitters. No one denied the shots except Arthur. Not that Arthur didn’t want it or had the funds to pass it up. Arthur turned to Chad and said: “Thanks, but no thanks. It was a gracious offer but today, no matter how much money you have to throw around or if you re scraping for quarters. We are all on the same level today, no matter who, what, where, when or why, everyone is Irish just for one day. Now let me buy you a drink.”
That moment opened my eyes. There were no differences, we were just people. Then and there was the first time I can say accounting for my whole life, a point where the commercialization and the lack of traditional practice made us more animalistic. Not used pessimistically, but to demonstrate our natural ability to recognize that we are all human, abiding by instinct. Saint Patrick’s Day in New York City is something you will never forget. Whether like my older sister and her friends who enjoy the social aspects and physical pleasure it may bring, or like my personal experience and the revitalizing the hope of peace between man, although scattered in location, class, and social norms.
