Ireland's Unending Support For Palestine Represented In Beacon's St. Paddy's Day Parade

March 26, 2024 Katie Hellmuth

It was when someone called my parade car a “bomb” that I decided to open my moonroof to stand out my car during Beacon’s St. Paddy’s Day Parade, wearing my keffiyeh scarf in a traditionally knotted cover over my head, waving the Palestinian flag. My trusty sidekick and lead designer, Allie Bopp, at my side, driving. I’ve reported on racism in Beacon before at A Little Beacon Blog. Racism put upon Black and Brown community members, and racism put upon Arab community members. And then I personally experienced the insult calling in the parade. Most people in Beacon were supportive - giving big smiles and silent thumbs up. Some people called out “KATIE!” and “LITTLE BEACON BLOG!” and cheered. Some people who cheered during Black Lives Matter, were silent this year. New people cheered this year.

I remain proud to have represented Ireland’s unwavering support of Palestine’s freedom and dignity by riding with and waving the Palestinian flag, as Palestinians are murdered by homicidal Zionist maniacs who are in Israel, who are weaponizing the Jewish faith to do so. Some would argue my waving of the Palestinian flag spoke for Jewish people also, who are screaming for this to stop, and who feel that having a state is Israel does not mean protection for them, and has not since its settlement 75 years ago in 1948.

Now that I have “broken the 4th wall” as one reader put it, where I came out front and center on the blog in videos sometimes to talk about Palestine, I have had the racist insults thrown at me. However. Never did I have a better time at Beacon St. Paddy’s Day Parade. I didn’t think anything could top driving through the blizzard, but being called “White Power Hamas” by some racist genocide deniers, while simultaneously being cheered on and given many silent thumbs-ups by Beacon community members - this was something I will never forget.

Reporting on Islamaracism in Beacon and in Palestine has been enormously triggering and healing at the same time. To face it. To call it out. I know I’m not speaking only for myself. From the two speeches I gave at Beacon’s City Council Meetings, being one of 50 people pushing the City Council to draft and pass a Ceasefire Resolution, to reporting on local developments about it.

Ireland’s Consistent, Very Strong Support For A Free Palestine Presented In Instagrams

Anonymous Letter Sent To House

After the parade, an anonymous note written on pink post-it paper was sent to the house. The note asked for no Palestinian flags to be in the parade. At this point in the genocide, and the consistent movement for Palestinian liberation, to not carry a Palestinian flag in a St. Paddy’s Day parade would be uncivilized, and unIrish. Begging the question: why then are you at the parade? Foe the unofficial pub crawl? And the fun floats? Which are both good reasons! But also, Irish Pride includes Falestine Liberation 🇮🇪☘️🇵🇸.

St. Paddy Parade Photos

There were other parade photos. Which were published in another local newspaper. Quite a few of them. But that newspaper didn’t publishing anything about the Palestinian flags waving. It’s like I’ve always said: I’m more interested in what that newspaper doesn’t publish, then what it does. Useful as it is sometimes.