PUSHING CREDIT

Once upon a time, not all that long ago, a relative worked in a telecentre flogging credit cards to unsuspecting customers.

Patrick's Day was approaching and the company came up with a wheeze. A green Emerald Credit Card particularly aimed at the Irish in America. Americans with Irish sounding names were targetted.

The call to America went something like this:

Caller: Hello, I wonder if you would be interested in taking a credit card to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

Response: I don't really think so.

Caller: Are you sure? It's a once off offer and the terms are good. You would be supporting an Irish company and participating in the national festivities.

Response: No, I really don't think so.

[The conversation went on a little further and the caller was still encountering resistence and impatience from the responder. So the caller resorted to the last shot in his armoury.]

Caller: Surely with an Irish name like Reilly you must really think seriously about our offer?

Response: THAT'S MY SLAVE NAME.

Well, there's clearly no coming back from there and my mortified relative hung up the phone.

Two parting remarks from me.

I know the above conversation is over simplified but then I was never trained in telecentre sales technique. I'm sure my relation was more assertive and cajoling but you'll get the drift and it does illustrate a point.

This MOPE nation needs to get its head around its complicity in Empire, subjection, and even slavery if it is ever properly to come to terms with its past. We were not always the victim. We also have our share of perpetrators, probably starting with those who kidnapped St. Patrick.

This post is intended as a contribution to the decade of centenaries where we are hopefully coming to terms with our nation's past based on reality rather than myth.