Democracy Has Prevailed.

January 24, 2010

Today's P-G

It has the usual stuff (news, rational commentary, Jack Kelly, etc) and then there's this.

Here's the headline:
On goombahs and guidos
Classic stereotypes of Italian-Americans just keep stalking us, writes Pittsburgh blogger DAVID DEANGELO
WTF? Who gave that guy some column space??

14 comments:

Sherry Pasquarello said...

i read this in the paper- a ig thank you!!!!

these types always made my grandparents , especially my grandfather just cringe a bit.

they make me want to scream!

and shows like this new one, oh god- it's like jerry springer with italian americans- cringeworthy.

Sue said...

Nicely done. Congrats.

Maria said...

BRAVO! BRAVO!

Bram Reichbaum said...

I'm amazed that no one has ever gone after the Mario Bros. franchise -- which after all is about two Italian plumbers -- for having an enemy charcter named the "Little Goombah".

Tell me, are the terms Guido and Goombah something Italian-Americans "own", that is, feel they are allowed to use, or are they something that on the whole they have no interest in?

Sherry Pasquarello said...

i have no problem with mario bros.

i do have a problem with people that romanticise the mob and that's what this is. it's selling some young italian americans a false idea of what gangsters are like. it's a sterotype that people have fought against and tried to live down for 100 years.

true story- my grandparents oved from sharpsburg to aspinwall when my mom and her brothers were young.

mom and her brothers were born here. when the family moved a mile up the road and bought a very nice home the neighbor family put 7 locks (yes i said seven)on their door and bought a gun.
they ended up being very good friends later by the way and i was raised in that house with the 7 locks after my parents bought it years later. i'm 58.
my grandparents quietly and with dignity fought against that sterotype crap and now it's "cool" gawd.

anyone, ask yourselves, what if it were your etnic group that this "thing" was back, sterotyping your young adults and worse- teenagers?

rant over

Infinonymous said...

The record should reflect that Agent Orsini and District Attorney Zappala have ample conduct for which they deserve to be, but seem unlikely to be, held accountable. Cyril Wecht appears to have at least as much entitlement to outrage as do those understandably offended by stereotypes maligning Italian-Americans.

Sherry Pasquarello said...

that's fine by me.

just don't like sterotyping and "names" that are offensive.

Maria said...

Bram,

I hate to admit that I've used those words myself on the rare occasion and feel some guilt when I have. I don't like non Italians using them and I really don't like seeing Italians embracing the terms. But, what I really, really hate is seeing MTV profit from it.

Sherry Pasquarello said...

my thoughts exactly maria.

Sherry Pasquarello said...

btw, i never ever had a problem with the "speecy spicy meatball" commercial- i thought it was cute.

Ol' Froth said...

A number of years ago, I was introduced to our (now-ex) sheriff, a prominent Italian-American politician. He was wearing pointed shoes, gigantic designer glasses, and a freshly waxed shiny suit.

I'm not Italian, and all I could think was "Wow, Pete, way to re-enforce the stereotype,"

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