The Term "Paddy Wagon" Is Considered Insulting By Some Drunken Irish-American Micks

C. Virginia FieldsDemocratic candidate for mayor C. Virginia Fields is apologizing for using the term "Paddy Wagon" in an interview last week. In Alabama on Friday, the Manhattan borough president talked about being arrested during a civil rights protest in 1963. In her comments, she described police vans as "Paddy Wagons" – a term that's considered offensive by some Irish-Americans.(Actually, Were Kind Of Proud Of Having It Named After Us) "Paddy" is a word used in the past as a pejorative to insult Irish people. "We marched to mid-block at best and the paddy wagon was there and we were told we were marching without a permit and we could either turn around or we would be arrested," said Fields in the interview last Friday. "We fell on our knees and we were put into the paddy wagon." Fields' campaign spokeswoman released a statement saying, "Obviously she did not mean to offend anyone. If she did, she is very sorry." Fields' campaign had already been facing controversy over a campaign flier that used a photo of Fields surrounded by multicultural supporters. That photo was later revealed to be a composite of four separate photos. In the wake of that incident, Fields fired her top campaign consultant, Joe Mercurio, on Friday. Polls show Fields running second in the four-way Democratic primary race.