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The Vergognosi of Staten Island
(January 19, 2009)
"Italian Americans for Obama" 2008 presidential campaign sticker.
Again, Italian Americans are involved in racist attacks. Again, it's time to speak up.
It's happened again.
A morning news report on the radio announces a racist attack against blacks, this time on election night, on Staten Island.
Once again, I think, “Italians.”
For in my city, all too many murders of people of color have been at the hands of young Italian-American men.
Willie Turk, 34 (1982) in Gravesend, Brooklyn.
Michael Griffith, 23, (1986) in Howard Beach, Queens.
Yusuf Hawkins, 16 (1989) in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.
Manuel Mayi, 18 (1991) in Corona,Queens.
According to the New York Police Department’s Hate Crimes Task Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, four men – Brian Carranza, 21, Michael Contreras, 18, Bryan Garaventa, 18, and Ralph Nicoletti, 18 – were involved in what The New York Times described as “one of the city’s worst series of hate crimes in years.” The fact that a Latino (nicknamed “Dominican Mike”) has also been implicated in these attacks doesn’t lessen the shame and outrage I feel as an Italian American.
The suspects were charged in federal court of interfering with voting rights during their election night spree. Garaventa pleaded guilty, while the other three pleaded non-guilty. Carranza is out on bail after his mother posted a $200,000 bond by putting up her house as security.
According to the federal indictment, the accused men were so incensed by Barack Obama’s presidential victory that they went on a racist rampage across the borough. In the city’s past, Italian-American youth waged pitched battles with their African-American and Puerto Rican counterparts as part of “turf battles” to defend neighborhood streets. This past November, these men allegedly drove out of their neighborhood in search of people of color to hurt. They are accused of:
- beating Alie Kamara, a seventeen-year-old Muslim immigrant from Liberia, across the head and legs with a metal pipe and a stolen police baton, while shouting “Obama” in Park Hill;
- pushing a black man to the ground in Port Richmond;
- accosting a Latino man, demanding to know who he voted for;
- driving past a hair salon and threatening to kill those inside, using a racial epithet, and cursing Obama; and,
- driving their car into another man dressed in a hooded sweatshirt who they believed was black. Ronald Forte, 38, father of five, was thrown against the window shield, shattering it. The white man was in a coma for forty-five days and now needs extensive physically therapy.
In recent days, Jewish individuals and groups have been discussing the “shanda” (Yiddish for shame, disgrace) engendered by Bernard Madoff’s $50 billion Ponzi scheme and organizing public forums. We Italian Americans share the vergogna (shame) and disgrazie (disgrace) of this heinous racist crime on Staten Island.
I’m fully aware that racism is not the purview of any one group; it is the tragic American legacy. But the fact that three of the accused are Italian Americans demands that we speak up. This is not the time for political distancing with flaccid assertions that these accused men are “aberrations that don’t represent the community,” blah, blah. Larry Ambrosino, head of a Staten Island booster group, spoke plainly, “Unfortunately, knuckleheads come in all sizes, shapes and colors. As a Staten Islander, as an American, as an Italian-American, it disgusts me.” But we Italian Americans need to be more proactive and better organized in condemning such criminal acts. Where are the self-proclaimed leaders and spurious scholars who decry ad nauseam the likes of “The Sopranos?”
Jerry Krase has written thoughtfully about this subject on his i-italy blog:
"I believe that a major reason for the focus upon Italian Americans as epitomizing racial bigotry among white Americans is the reluctance of most Italian-American organizations and their leaders to honestly address the problem of racial and ethnic bias. In most cases Italian-American spokespersons have tended to deny the extent or degree of the problem or to make defensive statements when bias incidents in the community occur. This has resulted in an even greater focus on the community because it projects an appearance of lack of remorse or sympathy for victims of bias-related violence."
In 2005, after an Italian American was arrested in Howard Beach for a hate crime, filmmaker/writer Kym Ragusa, historian Jennifer Guglielmo, and I organized an event entitled “Creative Responses to Race, Violence and Community: A Call for Peace” at New York University’s Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò. The evening of readings and performances by scholars and artists musicians, and the subsequent audience dialogue, sought to find creative and collaborative ways to combat racism.
Yes, Italian Americans can be the new anti-racist front, on this day we honor Martin Luther King, Jr.'s vision and courage, and as we ride the sweeping tide of history that is the Obama presidency.
Related Links
- Christine Hauser & Colin's Moynihan’s “Three Are Charged in Attacks on Election Night,” 01.07.09
- Christine Hauser’s “After a Hate Crime Spree, an Intense Effort to Make Arrests,” 01.11.09
- Pablo Guzman, “FBI: White Man Victim Of Obama Win Bias Attack,” 12.24.08
- Deborah Young & John Annese, “Staten Island's Rosebank residents quick to disown 'Krew',” 01.08.09
- Libero Della Piana’s “Shark Tale Controversy: Are Italians the New Anti-Racist Front?", 10.14.04
Multimedia
Why did Joey Skee vote for Obama?
I am outraged at Joey Skee;s blindly racist and anti-italian article. Yes, anti-Italian!!!!!! The Italians, and then Italian Americans in this country have LONG suffered excruciating prejudices, that were never empathized by any other group of individuals. While I by no means possible condone any racist behavior let us, as part of these aformentioned groups try to keep the Italian "bashing".and disgusting generalizations (which makes you the biggest racist of them all) confined to Hollywood and the networks. You Mr. "Skee" should devote your obvious writing talent to the attention of promoting and recognizing the great things done for all humankind, the generosity, the plight , the struggle to better themselves WITHOUT any special privleges that the Italians and people of Italian heritage have done and endure to this day. Oh by the way the proper articles in this issue that deserve recognition--Holocaust Remembrence;Primo Levi; Italians for Obama; and Dr. Kings Remembrance, all very "tolerant" and empathetic articles So I guess all Italians are altruists.
Brian Carranza pleads guilty
Today's New York Times, what some might call the newspaper of the literati, reported "Man Pleads Guilty in Election Attacks."
"A New York City man pleaded guilty on Monday for his role in attacks on people on election night last year after Barack Obama’s victory.
The man, Brian Carranza, 21, faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to assault Staten Island residents after the nation’s first black president was elected on Nov. 4, prosecutors said.
Mr. Carranza, who is white, and two friends — another white man and a Hispanic man — had been accused of beating a Liberian immigrant teenager, pushing a black man to the ground and driving their car over a white man they thought was black.
The last victim was in a coma for several days but survived.
The two other suspects, Ralph Nicoletti and Michael Contreras, both 18, remained free on bail after pleading not guilty."
John Marzulli of the New York Daily News, what some might call the newspaper of blue collar workers, reported today, "Gang thug pleads guilty in hate attacks after Barack Obama's election." While the headline for the New York Post (another tabloid some might call blue call) article read "SI THUG PLEADS GUILTY TO ELECTION DAY BEATING."
another guilty plea in election night attacks
February 3, 2009 Guilty Plea in Election Night Attacks By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS An 18-year-old man accused of leading a series of election night attacks that left one victim in a coma told a federal judge on Monday that he organized the rampage because he was drunk and angry about Barack Obama’s victory.
The man, Ralph Nicoletti, made the statements in Federal District Court in Brooklyn as he pleaded guilty to assault as a hate crime. He faces 12 years in prison if the judge accepts the plea agreement at sentencing on March 23.
Mr. Nicoletti told Judge Carol Bagley Amon that he and three other men were monitoring election returns on the Internet at a makeshift clubhouse in their Staten Island neighborhood when they decided that if Mr. Obama won, they would “go after black people” they assumed had voted for him.
“I was drunk. I was angry,” Mr. Nicoletti said when asked by the judge why he did it.
The other defendants — two other white men and one Hispanic man — had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges. They each face up to 10 years behind bars.
Prosecutors had accused Mr. Nicoletti of driving the group to a black neighborhood, where they stopped a Liberian immigrant and beat him with a metal pipe and retractable police baton.
They later pushed a black man to the ground, demanded that a Hispanic man tell them how he voted, and yelled profanities about Mr. Obama as they drove past a gathering of black people at a hair salon, court papers said.
Finally, the defendants used their car to run over a white man, Ronald Forte, who they mistakenly believed was black, the papers said. The victim was in a coma for several days but survived.
Mr. Nicoletti admitted on Monday that he was behind the wheel. He said he had originally intended to drive close enough to Mr. Forte so that one of his friends could lean out the car window and hit him. He changed his mind “in the last few seconds” and swerved into the victim, he said.
In a statement, the prosecutor, Benton Campbell, called the crimes “shocking and deplorable.”
“On a night of historical significance,” he said, “these four angry men assaulted their victims in an attempt to punish them for exercising a fundamental right of all Americans — the right to vote.”
No leader here....
I do not understand how you could 'rest your case.' Your case was that Italian Americans turn a blind eye to racism perpetrated by their own kind. I, in turn, made no excuses for racism since none exist. However, I did question how proud you could be of your culture if you were willing to bash it and instantly associate it with hate crimes.
My response to you was never about the severity of hate crimes, but rather the gravity of your comments. Your calling for Italian introspection is a hypocrisy because you could not even gauge the depth of your own words.
I have yet to meet an Italian that condones hate crimes, so why would you become ashamed of your culture because of some rogue fools?
If you need to find the answer as to why Italians lack true leadership, it is because of the constant in-fighting we have. No other person belonging to any other ethnic group would announce that they were ashamed of their heritage, regardless of how violent or ignorant a select few within it should be. Again you are proven to be a hypocrite because you call for leadership and yet are quick to abandon your pride in your heritage at the first onset of trouble.
Moreover, a leader explains why his views are correct. Maybe I disagree with you because I failed to understand something you stated. Instead, you coyly avoided the issue with a sarcastic response rather than go into further detail. Maybe the reason you call for a leader is because you know you haven't the attributes of one.
keep the conversation going...
regardless of how and where some of you might disagree, this conversation needs to move forward, as it seems to be doing. to be sure, the ethnic myopia to which I referred below runs rampant among the self-proclaimed, well-heeled (thus they believe to be the leaders), and self-appointed cherry pickers. they shout it out loud that they are the proponents of "italian" culture, yet they are incapable of pronouncing correctly their own surnames. how, pray tell, can they access the culture of italy when they cannot understand the producers of such culture? not being able to access italy's history and culture places them at a disadvantage to understand italian/american culture. the result, for one, is tom tancredo, a year or so ago, trying to distinguish the italian immigrants of 100 years ago from those coming in through mexico today. the difference, i would submit, is minimal, they were/are both treated the same by our dominant culture mode of thinking... more to come, i think.
followup
--The literature dealing with Italian-American racism is extensive. pardon me I don't supply a selected bibliography in the midst of the digital age.
-- I have met many Italian Americans in NYC who have condoned hate crimes.
-- They are not merely rogue fools. That's the point of my post.
-- "pride" & "heritage" have become hackneyed, hollow terms when used by and about Italian-Americans, the subject at hand.
-- I haven't abandoned anything; I am here (and elsewhere) writing and speaking.
-- I don't beleive there is a single Italian-American culture, history, or experience. I see cultures, histories, or experiences.
--I'm critiquing/criticizing racism, violence, and silence.
There is a deep history of self-criticism in the Jewish and African-American communities, to think of just two.
I found Robert Viscusi's essay "Breaking the Silence: Strategic Imperatives for Italian American Culture" inspirational for the development of a thoughtful analysis of Italian-American histories and cultures.
And in response to your personal attacks, I repeat, buonanotte.
If we are about to cite
If we are about to cite works, then I would suggest you re-read what Richard Gambino wrote in 'Blood of My Blood.' He gives an extensive explanation as to why there are many clashes between Italians and African Americans, and why Italians have friendly relationships with many other ethnic groups. Again, that is not my approving of/ excusing racism. We should all work on our differences, feverishly. However, his work does offer up more than 'Italians are just plain racist.'
To argue that the people who committed these acts through the years are not just 'fools' gives them too much credit and sophistication. These were not coordinated attacks, nor we're they plotted. More to the point, the attacks were never an 'Italians vs. African Americans' connotation. Therefore, you're holding the entire ethnicity responsible for the wrongdoings of a select few. The media has done that to us with Mafia; we do not need to revisit this type of mentality.
However, what strikes me most about your reply is that you claim to have met '..many Italian Americans who condone hate crimes.' In the wake of any of these events, no one in my extended family nor in my circle of friends has ever said that they condone what transpired. To do so would be vile. So, if you do in fact know people who condone this behavior, they are clearly unhinged regardless of their ethnicity. Yet, I find it hard to believe that people openly stated they agreed with the attacking of an innocent black person who was minding his own business. Animals wouldn't approve of such behavior.
Pride and heritage are only hollow terms when the person using them has abandoned them. When taken in its true context, the Italian culture is as rich as any other on the planet. It also has many variations within it, ranging from north to south, which again adds to it being robust. So, maybe I am like you in that I see the Italian culture for all that it has to offer, and not just where my roots are. However, that does not diminish my pride in it. In fact, it has made it stronger. So, I do not believe 'hackneyed' is the appropriate term to use when referring to our true culture.
I believe the personal attacks began when you equated a hate crime with Italians before hearing the rest of the news story. Either you have untapped psychic powers or have come to think that Italians are purely racist. I would like to think it is the former rather than the latter. However, if you are at a point where you feel that Italians are racist, maybe this will help: I am 25 years old, born of Italian immigrants in NYC and I do not condone racism or bias attacks. Many of my friends, ( many Italian) share the same sentiment. We all have a right to be here. The only reason no one notices our behavior is because it isn't news worthy. So , please do not lump us all into one category or feel that young Italians are a lost cause.
- Greg Gattellaro
P.S.- My apologies for not signing the body before, I was placing my name in the 'name field' thinking it would appear in the post.
to Greg...
Greg, Glad to see you posting here. It's always good to have the perspectives of young Italian Americans. It's good to have vigorous debate, too, and this topic -- racism among Italian Americans -- is an important one. I have to agree with Joe here. Conflict between African Americans and Italian Americans sadly is an old story, one that dates back to the era when blacks from the southern states and southern Italian immigrants began to occupy the same urban spaces and found themselves in economic competition. (That's a simplified explanation, but still true, as racism always involves economics.) And as Thomas Guglielmo and other historians have shown, Italians often behaved very badly, driving blacks out of neighborhoods and being militant supporters of residential segregation. During the late 60s and into the 1970s, Italian Americans often were the face of white backlash, e.g., people like Frank Rizzo in Philadelphia and Anthiony Imperiale in Newark. During the 1980s, there were the dramatic instances of violent racial bias -- Gravesend, Howard Beach, Bensonhurst, etc. The Staten Island incident Joe wrote about is just the latest manifestation of an historical pattern. What Joe, and Jerry Krase, whom Joe quoted, are saying is not that Italians are intrinsically racist, horrible people, but that there indeed is a problem of racism that those who claim to lead and speak for Italian Americans have largely ignored or denied. For example, after Yusuf Hawkins was killed in Bensonhurst, the Sons of Italy put out a release listing famous Italians who were not racist. That hardly addresses the problem. What Joe's calling for, and what I support, is a frank and honest confrontation with this issue (which first must be acknowledged) and a response commensurate with the problem instead of denial and defensiveness. As I said in response to Joe's piece when it appeared as a blog posting, I think the situation has changed since the 80s, for various reasons. But as the Staten Island attacks confirmed, some Italian American youth still believe it's OK to commit racist attacks.
a continued dialogue
Greg,
The i-italy flaw in the NAME field is vexing. Thanks for signing your name, again.
Let me dispel a notion you have formed of me that is simply not true: I don't hate being Italian-American, Italian-Americans, or Italian & Italian-American culture. I have never said or written that all Italians and/or Italian-Americans are racist (or any one thing for that matter.)
My dislike for the words "pride" and "heritage" is because they have been used uncritically by self-professed IA leaders and national organizations out of a historical sense of self- inferiority and insecurity. (There's plenty of literature on this as well, some of which I have cited in some of my other posts.) I don't have to wave an Italian flag or "celebrate" an explorer, scientist, athlete, etc., to feel good about being IA.
Gambino's _Blood of My Blood_ is a deeply troubling book, one I disagreed with when I first read it in the early 1980s, a work that trades on essentialist notions of ethnicity, gender, and race. He reduces conflict between IAs and AAs to a racial style wars, e.g., body language, music, etc., and not the economic and political realities of the times. It is a product of its times, i.e., white ethnic revival.
To important books on the subject are:
David R. Roediger's _Working Toward Whiteness: How America's Immigrants Become White_
and
Jennifer Guglielmo & Salvatore Salerno's _Are Italians White?: How Race is Made in America_
I have been researching vernacular/popular/folk IA cultural/artistic practices in Brooklyn for the past 30 years, material that I love deeply, and have listened to unsolicited and endless racist distribes from IAs of all ages.
I'm happy to hear that you and your IA friends repute racist violence. Keep saying it.
Since you are in NYC, I invite you to attend any of the public events I organzie for the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute in midtown Manhattan where I work, events that discuss these and other issues pertaining the diversity and richness of Italian-American history and culture.
Peace,
Joseph Sciorra aka Joey Skee
First, let me say that I
First, let me say that I respect your opinion on the matter deeply; it was just the initial generalization of racism that struck me the wrong way. In either case, I never want to come off as being defensive because it sometimes appears as being close minded. I would imagine that I never 'saw' Italians as racist because, no one that I am related to or associate with is a racist. But, that will not stop me from researching the matter further by reading the books/writings you listed.
I think that we can all agree that the Italian American community does need true leadership and needs to speak in one voice. I had never known about the publishing of non-racist Italians' names in the wake of a bias attack. That, in and of itself, speaks volumes of the sad state our community is in. I also agree with you in that, we need to clean up our act if we ever hope to be portrayed in a more positive light throughout society. Again, this will only come about if true leadership is in place. If we fall as one, then we can rise as one also. I often wonder why we cannot act as one, though. We certainly have the numbers to be a political force and to be able to rectify a lot of the wrongs committed within our group.
Thank you for extending that invitation to me. As soon as things quiet down with school/work I will make sure to attend some of the meetings. It seems as though you do very good work.
If I came off as being ' attacking,' I apologize. It is just that, my entire life I have been said to be associated with matters and people that I never was, on account of my last name. It truly becomes frustrating at times.
Greg Gattellaro
Should IAs speak in one voice?
One aspect of this discussion is particularly interesting to me. It is when Greg says that the Italian American community needs "true leadership" and should "speak in one voice" for "If we fall as one, then we can rise as one also." Are we really sure this is what we need and want? Wouldn't it be rather peculiar if a community as numerous, modern and diverse as IAs spoke in one voice? Isn't it normal that they have a left and a right, and sport conservative, moderate, liberal and radical views? Why should Italian Americans be a "united nation" without divisions, conflicts and -- yes -- "parties"? Since the early stages of immigration Italy produced people so diverse as Sacco and Vanzetti, Angelo Tresca, Vito Marcantonio, Fiorello LaGuardia, Generoso Pope... It seems only natural that they have today Tom Tancredo, Rudolph Giuliani, Mario Cuomo, and Nancy Pelosi. Who should be the leader? Why should there be "one" leader?
As an Italian, when I hear of the need for "leaders able to unify the nation over and above party divisions and make all the people speak in one voice" ... I immediately think of Italy's rehtoric in the 1920s and 1930s... This need for a unified single leadership is typical of emerging nations, when they fight aginst foreign or colonial oppression and thus are in their pre-modern or early-modern stage of nation-building. But later on, when nations develop and modernize, they normally accept the end of their previous, primitive unity; they accept, in other words, divisions and conflicts between classes, groups and parties as a normal and healthy part of their daily life--provided of course that they are managed in a peaceful manner.
So I guess my question is: is the IA community in the U.S. in its primitive stage of "national" development--in which case it may need indeed a unified single leadership, with all the risks that this may entail in terms of suppressing dissenting voices, deviant behavior and "party divisions"? Or is the IA community a modern, developed "nation within the nation", which can afford diversity, pluralism and indeed internal disagreements and even conflicts? I am not sure I have the answer; but I am pretty sure that it is a question to be asked.
Ottorino, those are some
Ottorino, those are some very profound questions, and I hope to answer some of them by clearing up what I stated. When I said that Italian Americans need 'true leadership' I meant that the group needs a figure that the public ( Italians and non-Italians alike) recognizes as a group leader. This leader would be best able to call on Italians to discourage certain behavior ( like the racism issues) and rectify problems within our ethnicity. He would also be able to act as a type of ambassador to other ethnic groups and would personally lobby for the proper portrayal of Italians in the media.
This leader should, in no way, have a political affiliation. His only goal is to improve ethnic relations and ultimately, clean up some of the major problems we have as a group. What I meant by 'one voice,' is that Italians ( like all peoples) are generally good. The 'one voice' would be the voice of the people and is in no way a reference to political leanings. It is more a call for accountability within our own group than anything else.
For example, in NYC, one of the more prominent local Italians around is Rudy Giuliani. Prior to his being mayor of the city and running for president, he was the District Attorney, who made it his mission to attack the Mafia. He did so quite successfully. If he so chose, he would have been able to become 'a true leader' of the Italians because he would have had a track record for defending their reputation. Regardless of whether or not you agree with his politics, any one can agree that his work as the DA was particularly noble to the Italian cause. He has openly stated that the Mafia was not a representation of Italians, but of criminals. Had he never become mayor, he could have become the 'face' of the Italian community, and provided the type of important guidance that we are sorely missing.
So, perhaps our leadership argument becomes an argument about 'guidance with a face.' I do agree with you wholeheartedly; we have a very varied history with many different political affiliations. However, that has not helped us with our dilemma. It is important to have a few highly recognizable people guiding and representing the group in public. However, the tricky part is to ensure that they do not have ulterior political motives in their representing us.
These leaders would not suppress any voices within the community, because they (ideally) should have no political leaning. The leaders should set goals ( racism, media portrayals, relations with other groups etc). Who would dissent with notions like a more favorable portrayal in the media or ending racism? The leaders would appeal to sensibility, not politics. Therefore, Italian Americans would be able to continue to maintain their own, individual political beliefs.
Finally, my speaking of 'unification' was not meant to echo Mussolini. It was meant to bring Italians together to hold ourselves accountable for our own actions and to better represent ourselves in the public's eye. Only a leader or leaders can carry such power so as to deeply impact our culture and bring about social change. You cannot do that with standalone organizations like the NIAF or the OSIA, despite the inherent good they bring about.
~ Greg
I feel like I'm entering
I feel like I'm entering what might be the tail end of a long discussion; however, I just wanted to return our attention to the crux of Joe's blog which is: Where are the anti-defamation groups and self-appointed leaders of the IA community when a racist or otherwise negative incident occurs involving IA? The fact is not that our community lacks leadership - no, we have plenty of IA politicians who will tell you all about their hard-working immigrant parents or grandparents - but, rather we don't have leadership that will articulate a thoughtful position in a time when the community needs to hear something thoughtful. If you need a recipe for pasta con le sarde, they'll give it to you; if you want to make wine, they'll tell you how their father made it; but if you tell them, hey a bunch of IA teenagers were involved in a racist attack on one of the most historically significant presidential elections in US history, they'll tell you, oh don't defame the community! It's as if they see the very recognition of a bad apple in the bunch is some indication that the entire bunch is bad! It's as if we are not a community as any other - with good, with bad, with positives, with negatives - rather we, in their mind, are just a pleasant people who should be respected for our "heritage" and our "culture." This position is unfortunately quite myopic and in my opinion does more to defame us than a complex and nuanced position that would call for a little more self-reflection, a little more self-criticism and a little more bridge-building with other ethnic groups. When IA start talking about heritage and culture, I think it goes to their head and they begin to think, as Robert Viscusi once said, that the achievements of their ancestors are somehow their own achievements. Further, I think we should update our reading list: Blood of My Blood is a nice read if you want to learn about Richard Gambino's childhood experiences, but not on the matter of inter-group relations (or IA history!). That book was written over a generation ago and its take on IA inter-group relations is terribly dated - I would hope that we've evolved as a community! Anthony the Gardener
the holy trinity....
Joey Skee's original post, whose tone and opinion I share, and the follow-up comments, lead me to wonder what aspects of masculinity (Italian American or other) are at play here as well (in the acts of violence perpetuated and in the various leadership roles being critiqued)? And, for that matter, what about the rest of the "holy trinity" of race-class-gender (& sexuality)? There has been academic work done on these connections of course; I'm suggesting we recall them in this context.
Also, as someone situated on the West coast--where, I'm certain I don't need to remind anyone, we have plenty of our own racially-motivated violence--I'm also interested in seeing more analysis about how such examples of Italian American (masculine?) identity and racism may be regional in nature?
Most broadly speaking though, for me this discussion is a reminder of how much historical specificity and cultural knowledge is important to understand and to help do away with ethnic/racial-related violence.
And, I am in agreement with "Anthony the Gardener" about the feeling of coming in at the end of a discussion, and yes, please sign your posts on i-italy. --Laura E. Ruberto
Exactly
"...a complex and nuanced position that would call for a little more self-reflection, a little more self-criticism and a little more bridge-building with other ethnic groups."
Esattamente!
Also agree re Blood of My Blood. It's dated, and as Joe Sciorra noted, essentialist in its view of culture & ethnicity, i.,e., Italians do this, blacks do this, blacks are cool and cat-like, Italians don't move their butts when they dance, ad nauseam. Even for 1974, when analysis of race & ethnicity was generally less sophisticated than today, it was remarkably clueless.
For folks here who'd like to read smarter analysis, I suggest checking out the bibliography of the Italian American Writers Association.
Sign!
Sir, would you please sign your comments?
Hypocrisy...
You managed to promulgate every Italian stereotype with your article; job well done. In fact, you did so in less than three sentences. How can you shamelessly state that the instant you heard there was a hate crime, you knew there was Italian involvement? What is that saying about our culture?
You speak throughout the article on how we as a group should take responsibility for our actions, and address our problems swiftly. Well, how is openly stating that you equate Italians with hate crimes 'responsible' behavior on your part?
The image of the Italian American has been smeared for decades. Because of the Mafia, we have always been portrayed as violent criminals, who have no moral bounds. After we as a group did little to defend ourselves from that image, we were then portrayed as buffoons. Again, we met this action with no response. Now, here you come before the entire world and speak of how Italians are racist. Am I the only one who sees your stance on 'responsible behavior' as hypocrisy? You planted the seed for yet another stereotype.
Moreover, you failed to highlight how many African Americans were a part of hate crimes that did not involve Italians. I am certain the number is larger than the 5 that Italians were involved in. It is fascinating how you hand picked information just to suit your needs.
Lastly, how great is your pride in our culture and heritage if all it took to diminish it was a gang of idiots roaming the streets of Staten Island? In your eyes, their actions wiped clean thousands of years of history and culture? Your convictions must be stronger than that if you are going to make calls for leadership and responsibility amongst Italians.
The Italian American image has enough detractors. Before we pit Italian against Italian in a battle over eradicating racism, we should band together and rectify the way we are portrayed. Or else, the world will continue to view us as violent, ignorant and now, racist individuals.
Incredibly well said. They
Incredibly well said. They all feel this way; just are too "pc" to admit it.
Hypocrisy
I would like to endorse wholeheartedly the following:
"The Italian American image has enough detractors. Before we pit Italian against Italian in a battle over eradicating racism, we should band together and rectify the way we are portrayed. Or else, the world will continue to view us as violent, ignorant and now,racist individuals."
I have lived nearly my entire life fighting against the negative comments, stereotypes, and other forms of defamation, because I am Italian American.
Wake up Italian Americans, and fight harder against all the defamation and discrimination against us!!! Where is your self-esteem!!!
It's not "hypocrisy", it's sidelining ego & being self-critical
rocco, the overall sense of your comments is well taken. however, the operative words in your response are: "we should band together". this, indeed, is the issue at hand; italian americans seem incapable of banding together, in order to engage in dialogue and debate. instead we engage more in denigration and dismissal. for example, someone wants to found a center, only those of his/her ilk can join; someone wants to set up a conference, only someone of his/her ilk can participate; someone wants to have a discussion on discrimination, only those who are one-sided underscoring anti-italian defamation can join in, those who want to look inward and be sure we do not do the same with regard to others are cast aside. these are our issues first and foremost, before we stand on our soap boxes (not you) and denigrate all italian americans who have for one reason or another done films many do not like. last example, the italian/american community was not able to save the ap program in italian precisely because of our history. because we have never had the serious, intellectually based discussion on why our culture is important and why it is important to know, however marginally, italian, and, in the end, to support it financially. as a result, the italian/american community could only raise (and mostly in pledges) circa $600K. but keep on trucking, as we used to say in the 1970s. alla riscossa, anthony
I rest my case
e buonanotte!
alla faccia di...
sciorra is so correct in underscoring the ethnic myopia in some of the so-called power brokers of italian america; so-called, precisely because they are self-appointed individuals who decide to cherry pick the issues to lament and, furthermore, to proceed to self-appoint themselves as the voice of italian america...
So called I-A Racism
Without reiterating all his arguments, I agree with Greg.
Those who find Italian Americans racist are generally the literati in the universities. They talk to themselves and refer to scholarly books written by their colleagues. They talk to themselves not the vast majority of Italian Americans who are ‘blue collar’ workers or hold vocational college degrees, with little education in the humanities and social sciences.
In the 1970’s my wife and I were doing a tourist thing walking about New York in an area that we were told was “Little Italy.” Upon approaching a Catholic Church and school complex, I man came out from between the buildings with a baseball bat and told us to wait. A short time later, a little further down another man with a baseball bat emerged and call that it was “all clear.” The first man waved to us to proceed and explained that there were some ‘mulanjons’ (sp? word means eggplant) in the area. Soon other men came onto the street reporting that “THEY” were gone. In short, what I found out was these Italian American men were protecting their neighborhood church and school that had been vandalized and robbed more than once by ‘eggplants’. These Italian American men ‘banned together’ to protect what they held dear – their ‘Urban Village.’
Italian American literati no doubt would call them racist and apologize to the rest of the world for their behavior. Seemingly, they think that if the vandals and thieves were German or Irish or Chinese, then the Italian Americans would ignore the crimes and let their neighborhood be robbed and vandalized. The literati would have us believe that the only reason these men were on the street with baseball bats was because the criminals were Black. Criminals of other ethnicities would be ignored.
Before you call us (Italian Americans) racist, at least have the intellectual honesty to ask why we do what we do. Then you may find, as Hamlet suggested to his friend: “There are more things in heaven and on earth than exist even in your philosophy.”
Tom Verso
"Literati"
Tom, I applaud your response. Unfortunately the "literati" (I like that conotation) is and will always be a little removed from the "regular" population. As a scientist holding a graduate degree in my field I consider myself somewhat educated. This is why I was amazed, reading all the unilateral responses to this Joey Skee. It made me realize how much of an "Un-literati" I am. I guess I fit somewhere in between academia and turf defenders, as I do among the Italians and the Italian Americans. I completely understand your experience from the 1970's and again applaud you for your interpretation of it, for this is key. I do not think our literati friends can understand; first of all the depth of the survival of the fittest era that our relatively recent genitori experienced, and how their children remain scarred from just the stories, and secondly that defending one's Italian American self does not mean that the same given IA cannot be pro active in any other issue, especially the one's near and dear to our literati friends(and I do mean friends--it's a healthy discussion here.) As for the loss of the AP program, I expected as much, I have often written that banding together for an intangible cause that involves any type of spare time and financial effort can not compete with marble countertops in these parts. Renata Conte
and proud of it
Let me offer some autobiographical information as a very quick reply (I'm rushing out the door for family event and may not be back on line till Sunday) to the last set of comments for those who haven't taken the time to click further than this page.
I'm the son of Italian immigrants who was born and raised in Brooklyn. While I'm losing vocabulary by the day, I's say I'm still more or less fluent in Italian. My life expereinces are those of the racist thugs of Staten Island I wrote about in thi spost. I hung out on those same corners, I was friends with knucklehead hooligans who hated "niggers" with every fiber of being and enjoy going after people of color with baseball bats and chains. The difference was and remains that I did not have the same hatred and feel, and chosoe to lead another life.
I am a scholar. I am an Italian-American scholar. I am an Italian-American scholar of Italian-American Studies. I am an anti-racist Italian-American scholar of Italian-American Studies. And I'm proud of it.
But I am ashamed and embarrassed that I have to make that kind of a statement in 2009 on an Italian/Italian-American themed web site.
As a folklorist/anthropologist, I have been documenting the everyday culture/religious and life histories of Italian Americans in NYC during the past 25 + years (I suggest again reading my other posts). This is not some touristic experience I had one time visiting NYC during the racially charged and incredibly explosive 1970s. My scholarly interests are the working class and lower middle class Italian Americans in NYC and their experiences.
I work at the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, a Queens College research institute, where I program a rich and varied schedule of lectures, conferences, film screenings, book readings, etc. The audience is an exciting mix of young and old, college professors and high school graduates, Manhattanites and neighborhood residents, Italian American and not, who are interested in learning more and entering dialogue with diverse opinions. Out of this work and that of many other initiatives in the city and throughout the country we are collectively moving away from the cloistered campanilismo mentatlity of the Italian-American past and justified racism and hatred to create a fresh vision of what it means to be Italian American.
Joseph Sciorra aka Joey Skee
Anti-Racism is Everywhere
Please don't be ashamed or embarassed you are what you are, aren't we all? I cannot comment on the events you schedule and the audiences they draw, but maybe we could use you here at Stonybrook University. Our events draw only elderly, some 1st but mostly 3rd or 4th generation IAs and Italian majors who seem forced to attend. I'm sure at least one of these aformentioned attendees has a similar life experience out of one of the boroughs. They too are anti-racists,accepting, intelligent and contributing members of their communities. Scholars and professionals, who hold no prejudices, even though life has not been exactly fair to them or their fathers. The difference, and why I need you to come mix it up a little over here is that they realize that racist thugs come in all flavors(and I know you'll say now that offense is my defense), You seem to utterly abandon the words of the great philosopher M.Jackson who pointed out that "One Bad Apple Don't Spoil the Whole Bunch--------Joey Shee . While I'm losing vocabulary by the day, I'd still say I'm more or less fluent in Italian, a scholar, born and raised in Queens with immigrant parents. We're not so different; can't we all just get along.
Regards Renata
au contraire
I'm not ashamed or embarassed of what I am but by Italian-American (and Italian) racists and their apologists.