short term memory issues?

I was talking with a middle aged lady on Thursday evening. She noticed my accent and asked what part of Ireland I was from. She then informed me, in her strong London accent, that she was Irish too. I looked at her, smiled and asked what part she was from. She replied that her grandparents were from Athenry. *laugh*

My mother used to tell me there are two types of people on this planet; those who are Irish and those who wish to be. I think of that saying when I hear statements like I heard from this lady.

But that wasn't the point of this piece. She pulled me to one side when she overheard me asking for the interpreter for a patient I was caring for. She told me that if the patient couldn't speak English then that was her tough luck. I was very shocked to hear this. She then went onto say that if she went to that patients country she bet that they wouldn't find an interpreter for her. I had to mentally restrain myself at this point. I patiently informed her that health services differed throughout the world. I reminded her if she was in Ireland that she would have to pay for every service she received here in the UK for no charge. I couldn't believe this attitude.

For Christs sake it wasn't that long ago when there were signs outside public buildings stating "No Blacks, No Irish, No Dogs". Just because things have become easier and these kinds of attitudes are no longer acceptable, does this give us "ethnic minorities" some kind of justification for having the same kind of narrow minded prejudice that our people suffered from years ago? No of course it bloody doesn't. It really makes me angry at the f*cking ignorance of some people.

She wasn't the first and I'm pretty sure not the last of these small minded attitudes I will come across.