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Who stole me lucky hate symbol?
Mar. 17, 2000
Anti-PC hysteria has reached new heights on Boston’s South Side. An urban legend running wild in Southie is that the Boston Housing Authority has banned shamrocks in the projects — as a hate symbol. A weary BHA spokesperson wrote that the supposed ban “is totally and completely false and has been fueled by very biased and incorrect reports,” reports SALON. But that didn’t stop newspapers from the South Boston Tribune to the Dublin Tribune from reporting the myth as fact.
The story apparently got started during a diversity training session, when somebody suggested non-Irish people — especially Puerto Ricans — might not appreciate the shamrock symbols plastering public housing in the traditionally Irish neighborhood. After a BHA staffer failed to deny the supposed shamrock ban, the story blew up — and hasn’t been quelled since.
—KS
