Keep in mind that the Irish used to be negro. Below negro actually. That was back when the Irish lived with and like American blacks. Then the Irish changed and adopted mainstream culture. Then they became known as white. The white/negro distinction was thought of in terms of culture, not skin. The emphasis on skin color is new and it began to dominate when communism collapsed and then postmodernism had to adopt a new form of the communist ethos. It went from being about the bourgeoisie (oppressor) vs. the proletariat (oppressed) to being about the white working Christian (oppressor) vs. the minority (oppressed).