| 4th | Top anti-ethnic and anti-national terms |
Anti-Italianism is a hostility toward Italian people and Italian culture. It utilizes stereotypes about Italian people with popular ones being that most Italians are naturally violent, ignorant, uncouth or somehow associated with the Mafia[citation needed]. Like most racist and biased sentiments, anti-Italianism often uses discrimination, prejudice, and even violence[citation needed].
Contents
|
Before 1920 the movie industry was based in New York City, with its large Italian community. Italian immigrants were shown as innately violent in early gangster films, After 1915 heartbreaking melodramas of destitution and misfortune adopted instead a combination of muted 'othering' and universal characterizations.[1]
Because of the common association, some Italian Americans see films or shows about the Mafia as potentially harmful to the Italian American community. This became something of an issue for the HBO show The Sopranos when Italian Americans complained about the stereotypical nature of the show. Other Italians feel that such shows are problematic only if they feature the Mafia as a common or accepted part of Italian American life.
However, due possibly in part to the portrayal of the Mafia in the media, Italians have been stereotyped as violent, sociopathic, "knife-wielding" gangsters and street ruffians.[2][3] This stereotype ranges from portraying Italians as working class thugs, to violent "guappo" immigrants, to Mafiosi.
Other stereotypes portray Italians as overly-emotional, melodramatic, plebeian, superstitious, hot-blooded, aggressive, ignorant, obsessed with food, prone to crime and vengeance over trivial slights, or as having an inherent ability of "knowing how to talk to the women", as exemplified by Italian soap-opera Don Juan, Daniele Favilli..[4] The fear of Italians reproducing too much played a small role in Margaret Sanger's drive toward encouraging birth control.[5] Italian males are sometimes stereotyped as "Italian Stallions" while females have been stereotyped as either overly matriarchal or voluptuous, flirtatious, and exotic. Italians have often found themselves at the receiving end of ethnic jokes, parodies, and discrimination due to certain stereotypes.[6]
In America and many other nations, Italians have also been stereotyped as swarthy perpetual foreigners in a lower class, restricted to blue collar jobs. They have been stereotyped working as construction workers, chefs, beggars, peddlers, plumbers, and in other working class jobs.[7] Another stereotype of Italian American is the "goombah" or "guido", a working class or lower class Italian male. In their own community, Italian Americans themselves will sometimes refer to such "buffoon-like" Italian males as “cafoni”. “Cafone” is an Italian word that originally meant peasant, but its meaning evolved to refer to rude, ignorant, uncouth people. Degrading and even dehumanizing images have been prevalent in the perpetuation of ignorance and historical myths.[8]
Many ethnic stereotypes against Italians have been in use for centuries.[citation needed] In the 16th century, John Calvin, the French reformer who helped establish the Reformed Church of Switzerland, condemned Italians as lazy, two-faced and deceitful.[citation needed]
After the American Civil War, some poor Italian immigrants were recruited to fill the place of abolished slave labor by working on Southern plantations, while Italians in the North often worked in sweat shops and factories. The Italian American's role as a hard laborer has contributed to many stereotypes that persist today. In some areas of the South, as well as the North, Italians were “semi-segregated”. Many native Americans viewed Italian immigrants as lowlife criminals and undesirables swarming into North America. In 1921, Congress passed a nationality-based quota which limited the number of aliens, including Italians, that were allowed to immigrate to the United States annually. The quota was not repealed until 1965.[9]
There also became an association in Protestant society between Italians and the negative image of perceived Catholic immorality; specifically gambling, perversion, and violence.
Sociologically speaking, the largest common denominator among anti-Italians is ignorance and parochialism, a relative lack of exposure to other cultures and ways of life. American ethnocentric attitudes and "nativism" — a form of often racially-rooted chauvinism — have contributed greatly to this kind of prejudice.
Irish-American groups have often been mentioned as particularly virulent in their animosity toward Italians (and most "swarthy" or non-British foreigners, a category that includes Greeks and other non-Nordic immigrants), but the claim has not been substantiated as specific to these groups, as this form of rejectionism has been historically documented across all Northern European ethnic groups, and particularly among US Americans of English and Scots-Irish ancestry.
Anti-Italian sentiment includes comparisons of Italians to Jews or the "mulatto myth" that Sicilians are miscegenated people of Africans and Arabic invaders; therefore Italians may be viewed as "non white" or "non Aryan".
In the United States, Italian immigrants were subject to extreme prejudice, racism, and, in many cases, violence. During the 1800s and early 20th century, Italian Americans, seen as non-Anglo and non-white, were the second most likely ethnic group to be lynched.[10]
The largest mass lynching in American history involved the lynching of eleven Italians in the city of New Orleans in 1891.[11] The Italians, who were thought to have assassinated police chief David Hennessy, were arrested and placed in a jail cell before being brutally murdered by a lynch mob that stormed the jailhouse, with witnesses claiming that the cheers "were nearly deafening". Cries of "hang the dagos" were heard throughout the riot. Reporting on the incident, one newspaper reported "The little jail was crowded with Sicilians, whose low, receding foreheads, dark skin, repulsive countenances and slovenly attire proclaimed their brutal nature".[12] Afterwards, hundreds of Italian immigrants, most of whom were not criminals, were arrested by law enforcement. Decades after, an anti-Italian phrase, "Who kill-a the chief?" remained popular in the New Orleans area.[13][14]
In the 1920s, two Italian anarchists, Sacco and Vanzetti, experienced prejudice and ultimately death due to their Italian ancestry and extreme political views. Though not lynched, Sacco and Vanzetti were subject to a mishandled trial, and many historians agree that the judge, jury, and prosecution were extremely biased against the Italian immigrants. Sacco and Vanzetti were eventually put to death, convicted of a murder despite the lack of evidence against them.[15]
Anti-Italianism in Switzerland often cites the 1971 beating death of a recent Italian immigrant named Alfredo Zardini.
In Australia, anti-Italian riots occurred on numerous occasions since Italian immigrants, or "wogs" (an English derogatory term for foreigners, not slang so much as an archaism, once often applied in Australia to Southern Europeans), first began arriving to the country in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Many Australians viewed the Italian immigrants as "immoral", "low", and "dirty".[16]
In Canada, anti-Italian and anti-Jewish riots occurred in Toronto and other major cities in Canada. The Riot at Christie Pits Park was an August 16, 1933 anti-Semitic race riot in Toronto between Anglo-Saxon (and ethnic German) members of a pro-Nazi youth gang called the Anglo-Canadian Pit Gang which was affiliated with the Anglo Anti-Semitic Swastika Clubs, and predominantly Jewish and Italian youth members of the Spadina Avenue Gang. The riot, which occurred over a six hour period, was sparked by a baseball game at Christie Pits between two local clubs, one predominantly Jewish and Italian and one predominantly Anglo-Saxon. About 5 people were arrested and 30 were injured.
The riot occurred the year after Adolf Hitler took power in Germany and in the midsts of the Great Depression in Canada. Anti-Italianism was part of the racist ideology of the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist and nativist group whom hated Italians for being darker skinned and mostly Roman Catholic as opposed to Anglo or "White". A hotbed of anti-italian activity from the KKK was in Southern New Jersey in the mid 1920s, including a mass protest against Italian immigrants in Vineland, New Jersey, where in 1933 Italians made up 20% of the city population. However, during the mass protest the Italians drove the KKK out of town. The KKK soon lost all of their power in Vineland and soon left the town for good as a result of this incident. Today, over a third of the current residents in Vineland are of Italian descent.
As late as the 1940s and '50s, Italian American individuals encountered some acts of verbal insults, physical attacks, harrassment and discrimination like hotels or restaurants in the Palm Springs area refused to serve Frank Sinatra for not appearing "white" or was too Italian. He with his friends billionaire Walter Annenberg, who was Jewish and Sammy Davis Jr. an African-American began to campaign to end racial and ethnic discrimination in public facilities in that community.
During World War II, some Italian citizens who were loyal to Italy were put in internment camps in the U.S. and Canada.
Thousands more Italian citizens suspected of loyalty to Italy were placed under surveillance. Joe DiMaggio's father, who lived in San Francisco, had his boat and house confiscated. Unlike the Japanese Americans, Italian Americans and Italian Canadians have never received reparations, even though President Bill Clinton made a public declaration admitting the US government's misjudgement in the internment.[17]
After Benito Mussolini's alliance with Nazi Germany in the late 1930s, there was a growing hostility toward everything Italian in the United Kingdom. The most famous example is related to the sinking of the steamship SS Arandora Star on 2 July 1940, that resulted in the loss of over 700 lives—including 446 British-Italians being deported as undesirable.[18]
During and after WWII a lot of propaganda was done against the Italian military performance, usually with persistent stereotypes, including that of the "incompetent Italian soldier". These stereotypes are well entrenched in the British literature, as can be read in the following extract from a Lee & Higham's book:
Former Italian communities once thrived in their African colonies of Eritrea, Somalia and Libya, and in the areas at the borders of the Kingdom of Italy. Now these communities are reduced to a few hundreds people, mainly due to violent expulsion and persecution.
Indeed, two countries have shown a huge level of anti-Italianism after WWII: Libya and Yugoslavia.
These two most famous examples are pinpointed so:
In the 1990s and 2000s, Italian Americans began to experience a wave of perceived racism and ethnic stereotyping, that led to new cases of defamation and discrimination against Italian people. These acts if committed against Italians based on ethnicity, may be deemed illegal under federal hate crimes statutes. Sources to document these incidents are groups like the National American Italian Association and the Anti-Defamation League.
In 2004, Daniel Mongiardo, a Democratic Italian American physician and politician, ran against Republican Jim Bunning in the Kentucky Senatorial election. In response to Mongiardo's dark features, Bunning declared that Mongiardo "looked like one of Saddam Hussein's sons".[25] Bunnings later went on to declare that Mongiardo's "thugs" had assaulted his wife. The comments were viewed by many as ethnic slurs[citation needed].
The Blue Collar Comedian Jeff Foxworthy made a stereotypical comment about Italians at the 2004 Country music awards by saying "There's more people in this crowd than at a damn Italian wedding."
Canadian politician Ed Havrot also controversially used anti-Italian slurs while serving in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, referring to one of his Italian-Canadian opponents as a "wop".[26]
In March 2008, Rev. Jeremiah Wright caused controversy when he noted in an article that the Italians looked down their "garlic noses" at the Galileans. The Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans said it was "saddened" by the comment, while the Italian American Human Relations Foundation called it an example of "hatred".[27][28]
In June 2008, golf analyst and commentator Johnny Miller made questionable comments referring to Italian-American golfer Rocco Mediate. Mediate had a one stroke lead over Tiger Woods in the U.S. Open when Miller made the following comments: " He (Mediate) look's like the guy who cleans Tiger's swimming pool."[29] He followed that with, "Guys with the name 'Rocco' don't get on the trophy, do they?"[29] Miller apologized for these comments by stating, "My intention was to convey my affection for Rocco's everyman qualities...and had nothing to do with his ethnicity."[29]
On February 26, 2009 Curtis Sliwa began a discussion on his radio show about an Italian-American museum being granted federal money for its future construction.[30] Sliwa, upon reading the headline stated,
"The Italian-American Museum in Little Italy? What the hell is that? I mean, what do you need an Italian-American Museum in Little Italy for ?... Plus, what do we need to be spending federal tax dollars? You go to the Italian-American Museum, you make a contribution. Or, you have an enforcer there from the Genovese, Gambino, Lucchese, Colombo, Bonanno crime families who forces you to pay a contribution?
In the same conversation Sliwa then went on to state about New York City's borough of Staten Island, where Italian Americans are the largest ethnic group[31], "[I] could swing a dead cat over my head and every fifth person I’d hit [there] would be in organized crime."[30][32]
Sliwa later apologized for the comments he made during this conversation in a letter to the president of the Italian-American museum. He stated in part, "I certainly wouldn't want any of my comments to be construed as my having negative feelings toward the museum or the Italian-American community as a whole." [33]
In early November 2009, MTV began airing controversial promotions for the show, "Jersey Shore." One promotion stated that the show will feature the, "hottest, tannest, craziest Guidos."[34] Another web advertisement for the show states, "[the show]exposes one of the tri-state area's most misunderstood species... the GUIDO. Yes, they really do exist! Our Guidos and Guidettes will move into the ultimate beach house rental and indulge in everything the Seaside Heights, New Jersey scene has to offer."[35]
The Italian American service organization UNICO National[36] was the first major Italian American organization to begin a campaign to stop the program from being shown by contacting MTV prior to the series debut. [37] In a November 24, 2009 letter to MTV CEO Judith McGrath, UNICO National President, Andre' DiMino,[38] an outspoken advocate for Italian American heritage and culture, called the show a "...direct, deliberate and disgraceful attack on Italian Americans..." and demanded that the show be pulled prior to its debut.[39] In addition to UNICO National, Order Sons of Italy in America and the NIAF denounced the show's use of the ethnic slur, "Guido" to describe the show's cast, which is predominately Italian.[40][41] Since its debut, these organizations have called for MTV to cancel the show.[42][43] MTV has refused to cancel the show, issuing the statement, "the Italian-American cast takes pride in their ethnicity. We understand that this show is not intended for every audience and depicts just one aspect of youth culture"[41] Italian-American organizations continue to refuse to accept MTV's use of the term 'guido' as an appropriate means to describe Italians and the Italian American community.
Several prominent national organizations have been established to combat the negative portrayal of Italians and Italian Americans in the media. UNICO National has an Anti-Bias committee dedicated to fighting Italian American stereotyping and discrimintaion. Its chair, Dr. Manny Alfano, has been a leader in the fight against Italian American discrimination and negative portrayals since 1990. [44] Other organizations such as the NIAF and Order Sons of Italy in America both feature anti-discrimination components. The OSIA's Commission for Social Justice ("CSJ) has been an advocate for the Italian American community.[45][46]
There also exists prominent web-based Italian organizations such as the internet watchdog, ItalianAware[47] It is worth noting that ItalianAware's Facebook component, the ARICA (Advancement of Real Italian Culture in America), was cited as a prominent player in the dispute with MTV over its show, "Jersey Shore."[48]
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
   | The Italian-American Experience - Junius Books: Search Results for "cordasco classified bibliographical experience" |
| | Libya - Italian colonization - Libya -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia |
| | Libya cuts ties to mark Italy era - BBC NEWS | Africa | Libya cuts ties to mark Italy era |
| | History in Exile: Memory and Identity at the Borders of the Balkans - Ballinger, P.: History in Exile: Memory and Identity at the Borders of the Balkans. |
| | Election Opens Old Wounds In Trieste - ELECTION OPENS OLD WOUNDS IN TRIESTE - The New York Times |
|
|
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
