I would agree. Who claimed anyone was being held hostage?
Its a form of social control, propagated largely by (gasp) whites, who want to both assuage their guilt and promote "social harmony."
Obviously political correctness is an invention of 'white' leadership. Otehrwise it would've never gained a toehold. You do not go far enough with your analysis, though. PC equals political power.
What Ponder says is very much correct: Why is the St. Paddy's day parade "accepted" while a Middle Eastern parade is not?
I'm still unclear regarding this point - cinco de mayo & chinese new year are not accepted? What is meant by 'accepted'? Do you mean they are more widely acknowleged?
Very few things are overt anymore (and I'm not suggesting we return to those day, BTW).
But one can't help but notice the subtle differences.
I was at a St. Patrick's Day celebration once in my city. It was quite festive. The dancers and entertainers wore green. And they wore red wigs and painted freckles on thier faces and did traditional Irish dances. And the general public was quite supportive and attended en masse.
Cinco de Mayo... well.... it's accepted in a sense when people discuss a reason for drinking and such. But if there was a parade in which it celebrated Mexican culture, it just doesn't have that same level or feel or support of being part of Americana as St. Patrick's day.