.::GIUGNO 2008::.

IS PREJUDICE ALWAYS NEGATIVE?

di Teresa Maria Russo

The image of Tony Soprano driving along the New Jersey Turnpike has been become synonymous with not only the image of the Italian-American gangster but also, and perhaps more importantly, the ongoing controversy over the way Italian-Americans are portrayed in the media.  We have all heard the arguments against perpetuating stereotypes that lead to myopic interpretations of our culture.  Don Corleone, Henry Hill, and Tony Soprano are just a few of the characters that exemplify the American obsession with the Italian-American mobster.  But by vociferously arguing against such misrepresentations are we belaboring a point, harping on what once was and no longer is a real ethnic concern?  Have we been so consumed by the idea of “negative stereotyping” that we have forgotten to search for the positive?  We need not focus on how these generalizations represent us but instead realize the implications of being stereotyped in the first place.  An odd argument, to say the least; however one that I believe will have further reaching positive influences on our community than any mass media protest we could assemble. Bias still exists and always will.  Not just for Italian-Americans but for every ethnic and racial group in America and across the world.  It is human nature to fear the unknown and unfortunately we have not perfected the art overcoming what for some might feel to be a natural skepticism of anything or anyone not like ourselves.  These irrational fears are the sentiments that have spawned such hideous acts as the 1851 New Orleans lynching of eleven Italian-Americans thought to be criminals more for their Italian characteristics than for their actions and the prejudicial mishandling of the Sacco and Vanzetti case outside of Boston .  However, we have come a long way since the turn of the twentieth century.  We have achieved the American Dreams of our ancestors and having been living them for decades now.  Consequently, the fact that we are being stereotyped still today says something about the strength of our culture.  It is a positive thing that we are being classified based on our ethnicity, albeit it misrepresented.  This is not to say I condone stereotyping or racial profiling in any way.  I merely want us to take a second look at what it means to be classified based on our ethnicity.  We are, for the most part, no longer faced with such extreme bias and discrimination; however, we are not yet so assimilated into American culture that we are indistinguishable from the masses.  I would hope we can all see the positive in that. I have been blessed to have recently begun a career in education as a private tutor (perhaps fighting against the abounding anti-educated Italian-American sentiment in my own small way).  A few weeks ago, I laughed when my supervisor told me that as he was recommending me to a potential student’s mother, explaining my academic background and achievements, she responded to him “Yes, but isn’t she Italian?”  She could not reconcile the two not being mutually exclusive.  Probably the closest I will ever come to experiencing any sort of discrimination based on my ethnicity, the experience left me ambivalent.  Was I dismayed to know that people really do harbor such ignorant feelings toward Italian-Americans or was I just happy to be classified as part of a greater culture?  In a way, the comment made me feel proud of what we have done.  To know that I personally have lived above that misconceived generalization that all Italian-Americans are uneducated made me smile.  I realized how sad it must be for that parent to still believe such ridiculous claims when the real truth is so clear.  The prejudices that my grandparents’ generation fought against when they came to America in the 1920s were not done so in vain.  We accomplished what we set out to.  It is important for us never forget that. Remembering our past humbles us.  It allows us to see where we have been and reexamine where we are going.  We discuss Sacco and Vanzetti in a historical context in order to shed light on the immigrant experience.  But we cannot get stuck in the past.  We must use it as a springboard off of which to move forward.  When I hear the term “guinea” used affectionately (oddly enough) among my peers no longer do I think of the origins of the ethnic slur.  I do not consider the reference to coastal Africans and think what the term implied for my ancestors 90 years ago.  But nor should I.  I have a far greater responsibility to my culture than to fight against prejudices based on generalizations formed decades ago.  When I hear the term “guinea” I hear someone who understands me, who knows where I come from.  It allows me to realize that we all have the responsibility of helping to preserve our heritage and educate others about it as well.

When I examine my own generation, I see an overwhelming majority of young, twenty-somethings who do not know more than three words of broken Italian, who have never seen a Milan-Juventus match or never had an ice cold Chinotto.  But rest assured they all know the Gotti brothers and are disconcerted by the way they portray the Italian-Americans.  What this generation does not know is more important than what they do.  They are proud to have the connectedness that comes with being an ethnic minority but many of them, through no fault of their own, have lost a link to their past.  That is dangerous when the alternative means clinging to outdated misconceptions of who we were once perceived to be.  We must find a happy medium, one in which we live our Italianità and live above the labels we know do not belong.  It is good we recognize the negative labels but it is better we search for ways to collectively replace them. So what if Tony Soprano and a hundred other ostensibly Italian gangsters perpetuate the idea that Italian-Americans all have ties to organized crime?  We know we are not and I, being an eternal optimist, would like to believe deep down so does the rest of America .  The controversy has been played out by the media; it is now time for a different course of action.  In response to the negative portrayal of Italian-Americans in the mass media and contemporary society in general, I can prescribe two humble solutions that could quell any residual frustrations we may have.  First, look at what we have achieved.  Teach by example.  Immerse ourselves in what it means to be an Italian-American.  Prove them wrong.  We must ask ourselves by living above generalizations would we be ignoring the writing on the wall or has it been washed away with time (and a lot of hard work)?  Second, be thankful that we are still being portrayed as Italian-Americans.  The labels being placed on us may be ill conceived but as sad as it is, once stereotypes are not being made it means we may take one further step in losing our sense of ethnic identity, and I can safely assume that none of us want to suffer such a fate.