# Italian Americans: A poll for you.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-americans-a-poll-for-you/352233
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [April 11, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-americans-a-poll-for-you/352233 "2006-04-11T15:04:22Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Sevastopol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevastopol)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2006, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-americans-a-poll-for-you/352233/21 "2006-04-12T04:58:41Z")
> [@What Exit?](#):
>
> Well, we still have Rudy G. and Mario Cuomo to balance out the Politicals.
> This might interest a few people. [List of some Famous Italian-Americans](http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1y9x03wwcuyky?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=List+of+Italian+Americans&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc07a&linktext=List%20of%20Italian-Americans)
>
> Jim
Yeah, yeah, but you never hear the end of the _right-wing lunatic judge on the US Supreme Court_ stereotype and I for one have had quite enough of it.
Day in, day out, explaining: \*“No, not one of my ‘uncles’ is demented jurist of reactionary inclinations.” \*And _“Cousin Federico? Sure he’s doing law at Colombia, but that doesn’t mean a thing you know.”_ I’m telling you, it has got old.
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2006, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-americans-a-poll-for-you/352233/22 "2006-04-12T05:23:48Z")
My dad and I go over to a freinds house to watch Sopranos each week. Later one week, said freind was talking to somebody and told the guy “Joey P and his dad where over here watching the Sopranos last week” The guy responded “It must be like watching home movies.”
bada bing
BTW, not offended at all. I like the show. My dad also isn’t offended at all, and he actually spent a few years of his life be trailed by the FBI and has been pulled into court a time or two as a witness. Ohh and Paul Castellano’s brother was at my cousin’s weddings. I hear it was a nice wedding, but security was tight (private security).
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### Author:  [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2006, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-americans-a-poll-for-you/352233/23 "2006-04-12T13:23:22Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#):
>
> I forget which Italian comedian it was, but he said that Italians are more offended by The Olive Garden, then The Sopranos.
**The Olive Garden** is to Italian food what **Taco Bell** is to Mexican food.
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### Author:  [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2006, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-americans-a-poll-for-you/352233/24 "2006-04-12T14:18:40Z")
> [@Beware of Doug](#):
>
> I’m somewhat cheesed off by the TV stereotype that everybody Italian comes from NY or NJ and has shiny tacky clothes and a dese-dem-an-dose accent. (All my Italian relatives come from Connecticut, and they don’t look or talk like that.)
I’ll third that.
The Italian-American vision that the Sopranos presents doesn’t offend me, but the fact that this vision is pretty much the **only** one of Italian-Americans that the media offers gets my goat. (I’m sure there are exceptions, but really, how often do you see a refined, well-educated Italian family on TV, where these qualities are taken as a matter of course?)
My father is from Italy (born and raised in Friuli), my mother’s grandfather was from Sicily, and most people in my family have advanced degrees, have travelled all over the world, and are not “goombahs” by any stretch of the imagination. It would be nice to have people like my family show up on TV, instead of mafiosi, guidos, and big-haired gun molls all the frickin’ time.
And for the record, my father does speak with an accent but it is **nothing** like the “that’s-ah a spicy-ah meatball-ah” stereotyped “Italian” accent TV/movies present as canon. That **really** pisses me off.
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### Author:  [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2006, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-americans-a-poll-for-you/352233/25 "2006-04-12T14:19:53Z")
Not that it matters to you, but my mother’s _grandparents_ were from Sicily. She’s half-Sicilian from her father’s side. Just to be accurate.
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### Author:  [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2006, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-americans-a-poll-for-you/352233/26 "2006-04-12T18:56:41Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#):
>
> I forget which Italian comedian it was, but he said that Italians are more offended by The Olive Garden, then The Sopranos.
I agree with this. I am half Italian (half Irish), but I look Italian and grew up and attended the Italian parish school in Manayunk in Philadelphia. Wise guys don’t offend me (though we didn’t know any personally). The Mafia is peopled by guys of Italian descent. It’s a fact, not offensive. And it’s not at all the same as saying all Italians are mobsters. I love _The Sopranos_.
My best buddy (who is Polish), his mom made lasagna when we were kids with–I’m not kidding–cottage cheese. To them it was Italian. My nana and my mom, they both made food that would bring you to heaven. So, yes, The Olive Garden is more offensive than The Sopranos (just kidding–I’ll eat at The Garden, the same way I’ll eat at Taco Bell, but I know it’s not good).
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### Author:  [@vix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vix)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-americans-a-poll-for-you/352233/27 "2006-04-12T19:58:32Z")
I also agree with **Beware of Doug**.
I’ve never watched the Sopranos, but on general principles I feel this way:
> [@gallows fodder](#):
>
> The Italian-American vision that the Sopranos presents doesn’t offend me, but the fact that this vision is pretty much the **only** one of Italian-Americans that the media offers gets my goat. (I’m sure there are exceptions, but really, how often do you see a refined, well-educated Italian family on TV, where these qualities are taken as a matter of course?)
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### Author:  [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2006, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-americans-a-poll-for-you/352233/28 "2006-04-12T20:26:18Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#):
>
> Is George Costanza really supposed to be Italian at all? I know he’s Jewish, and while there are Italian Jews (e.g. Primo Levi) they’re few and far between. To the extent that I’d ever thought about it, I guess I thought George was just Sephardic Jewish.
From [here](http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1001/larry.david.asp):
\*\<\\>\*
I’m not sure what “half-Jewish” means, since wouldn’t it be all or nothing depending on his mom?
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### Author:  [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2006, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-americans-a-poll-for-you/352233/29 "2006-04-12T20:47:46Z")
> [@gigi](#):
>
> From [here](http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1001/larry.david.asp):
> \*\<\
> So then why were the princessy Elaine and Kramer not Jewish either? “Elaine wasn’t Jewish,” David says thoughtfully. “I knew she was from Maryland, and at least in my head she wasn’t Jewish. Costanza’s half-Jewish. And Kramer … hmm … so maybe he wasn’t a Jew? He said he wasn’t Jewish – that was in the show? I wasn’t there [at that point.]” \>\>\*
Ah, thanks – interesting.
> [@](#):
>
> I’m not sure what “half-Jewish” means, since wouldn’t it be all or nothing depending on his mom?
AFAIK, by Jewish religious law, yes, you’re all or nothing depending on what your mother is. But informally people can be half Jewish, a quarter Jewish, etc., depending on the ethnicity of their ancestors.
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### Author:  [@The\_Big\_Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Big_Cheese)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2006, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-americans-a-poll-for-you/352233/30 "2006-04-12T21:38:34Z")
Yes, Italian-American grew up in Milw area.
Not offended at all, but it take a lot to offend me. I can tell the difference between real life and fiction. I love the show. Rent it when it comes out every year. My uncle looks just like Uncle Junior.
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### Author:  [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2006, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-americans-a-poll-for-you/352233/31 "2006-04-12T22:50:02Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#):
>
> My best buddy (who is Polish), his mom made lasagna when we were kids with–I’m not kidding–cottage cheese. To them it was Italian.
Just be glad he wasn’t half Jewish. My old Brooklyn-Jewish boss used to practically _brag_ about using ketchup because they didn’t Know From tomato sauce when he was growing up. I’m not sure what cottage cheese + ketchup adds up to, but it would be several removes from any known lasagna.
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### Author:  [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2006, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-americans-a-poll-for-you/352233/32 "2006-04-12T23:38:27Z")
> [@gallows fodder](#):
>
> And for the record, my father does speak with an accent but it is **nothing** like the “that’s-ah a spicy-ah meatball-ah” stereotyped “Italian” accent TV/movies present as canon. That **really** pisses me off.
Since it’s 2006, and I grew up meeting Italian-Americans who were adults when The Godfather films were released, I have no clue if the accents were partially adopted or not. I can tell you that growing up in Philadelphia, I did meet quite a few folks who were first generation off the boat. Their Italian accents were mighty thick and if they were faking those thick accents, then they all got the same memo.
And yeah, I’ve met plenty of Italians who have a very different accent.
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### Author:  [@caveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveman)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2006, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-americans-a-poll-for-you/352233/33 "2006-04-13T02:32:33Z")
I’m an Italian (and Irish) American raised in Central Texas. I was thiiiiis close to being named “Vincenzo.” I have no problem with _The Sopranos_, which seems to be a quality show with real characters instead of flat stereotypes. And to be fair, my Uncle Jackie has been know to have some shady dealings rarely discussed by the family. My mom, however, has always disliked _The Godfather_, perhaps because she was in school when it came out and with her clearly Italian last name took a bit of ribbing about it. Myself, I rather enjoyed the films, Sofia Coppola nonwithstanding.
As for the buffoon roles, I find them a bit annoying, but, then, I have cousins for whom such characters might hit a bit too close to home.
And Olive Garden is an abomination.
But Mario & Luigi are cool.
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### Author:  [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2006, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-americans-a-poll-for-you/352233/34 "2006-04-13T03:03:32Z")
Based on all the responses in this thread, the National Italian-American Foundation is not representing its constituency very well! I know they’re pretty vigorous about media portrayals of Italians being associated with the mafia.
**Incidentally, a heads up to any of my fellow Italian-Americans who may be in college, or have a relative who is in college** : go to the National Italian-American Foundation website, and look up the Gift of Discovery program. If they’re still running it, it’s a FREE trip to Italy that Italian-American college students can apply for. I won it a couple of years back when it was in its second or third year. There’s a small entrance fee, and the application consisted of writing one or two essays, getting a letter of recommendation, and sending my college transcripts. A couple of months after applying I heard that I was one of about a hundred students who had won. We went as a group (two separate groups of about fifty), for a FREE ten day trip. The itenerary was pretty packed, but it was an amazing experience – we flew into Rome, then took a boat to Sardinia and travelled all over the island (they wanted to take people to less travelled areas so they could get to know the “real” Italy). There was an educational bent to things, and we got to meet with mayors, professors, students, farmers, manufacturers, etc. We went to museums and religious festivals and cities and villages and the beach. We did a ton of things – truly a great experience. And did I mention it was FREE? – airfare, hotel, food, everything. I highly recommend anyone who’s eligible to try out for it.
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### Author:  [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2006, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-americans-a-poll-for-you/352233/35 "2006-04-13T03:58:18Z")
\
A teacher at our school last year took some kids from her various classes on a trip to some places in Europe. An expensive but well worth it fieldtrip during the summer, that included a trip to Italy.
As they are eating in this Italian restaurant, two girls began to complain. “This is disgusting.” one lady protested. “I want _real_ Italian food, like the Olive Garden.”
\
As for me, I’m not Italian, but I have spent enough time around either Italians or people who are not far removed from Italy. The stereotypes don’t bother me at all. Atleast our generalization as a society has progressed, from what I hear was basically blind “they took 'er jahbs!” hatred to now some sort of weird fascination/admiration of the Mafia.
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### Author:  [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2006, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-americans-a-poll-for-you/352233/36 "2006-04-13T11:46:38Z")
I don’t watch TV. I’ve never seen _The Sopranos_.
Anyway, I sing contralto.
That was a joke.
There was a lot of Italian-American protest over Mafia media in 1972 in the wake of _The Godfather_, when it got to the point where Italian-Americans were complaining “If your name ends in a vowel, you’re linked to organized crime.” There was an episode of _All in the Family_ devoted to this very issue. There was a documentary on TV about that time showing the roots of the Mafia in the history of the oppression of peasants in Sicily. It was an attempt to bring a little fact to all the fantasy.
San Francisco mayor Joe Alioto was smeared in the press for alleged Mafia ties. (It was probably one of the Republican “dirty tricks” of that era. My Dad took me to see Alioto speak at a Democratic fundraiser when I was about 12, and damn, was Alioto ever pissed off. (I miss those days when my dad was a Democrat. \<_sigh_\>) Speaking of fantasy, Bob Dylan’s song “Joey” that idealized a mobster as a hero was not exactly one of his finer moments. This was a big issue in the 1970s.
So when the same issue starts up again 30 years later, it just looks like _già veduto_ all over again. I really have to wonder what is the enduring appeal of the Mafia, I sure don’t get it. I got tired of the subject long ago. There are far more interesting things to study about Sicilian history, we had Empedocles, Plato, Archimedes; Sicily was the origin of Italian cuisine, thanks in part to agricultural innovations by the Arabs. Italian poetry including Dante owed its origin to the Sicilian School, which originated in the court of Frederick of Hohenstaufen who blended Islamic culture with European; Sicilian School poetry was the result of using Arabic poetic models in Italian. Ibn Hamdis was a noted poet of Sicily’s Arab period. Sicily contributed the Neapolitan sixth, Alessandro Scarlatti, and Vincenzo Bellini to the world of music. The Greek temples of Selinunte are better preserved than temples in Greece itself. With 3,000 years of civilization, the only thing Sicily is known for is the Mafia? Something’s wrong here.
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### Author:  [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/italian-americans-a-poll-for-you/352233/37 "2006-04-13T18:01:58Z")
No one has a problem with Mario on Niintendo or the Italian guy on the Simpsons? :dubious:
If I had the choice I would go with the Mafioso stereotype rather than the Mario and Luigi stereotype.
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