The newest member of

Mainstream society (but not really) are
the Italians! It seems every group has
it day! I just never saw it coming from
them or guidos, guidettes! And now this
former derogatory terms are becoming
mainstream here. And I'm just taken off
guard because in recent years it was
the Gays and then the Hispanics/Latinos
that took over pop culture. Now its the
Jersey Shore crowd (a MTV reality show
aimed for teens/20 somethings)
causing the ripple affect in pop culture.

So last night I was teaching in NJ and my
students, a large majority are Italians,
it got me wondering how many of them
feel about the show and its affect on
the stereotypes of Italians? According
to the news, most Italian advocacy groups
have their feathers all ruffled! I don't blame
them because what little I've seen, the
tv show New Jersey Shore is yet about
another group of inconsiderate late teens,
20 something year olds only interested in
partying and sex, just like all the rest of
these reality shows. Whether or not Italian, it
seems that's the way of the newer
generations. Not just this group. So I don't
think this show is necessarily making Italians
look bad but youth in general. I am sure
there are some instances from the show
that are rooted in "Guido" behaviors that
are a cause for concern but how damaging
will it be in the long run? So as I looked
around at my students, I wondered how many
watch this show? Somehow, some way I
am going to incorporate this into my
lesson plan and find out their thoughts.
And if I can catch an episode at Baba's
this weekend while visiting, perhaps I
will get a better understanding of what all
the fuss is about?

Funny how former derogatory names have
been reclaimed. For example, within the
Gay community, some will call each other
fags or their women friends fag hags.
In the Black community, some will
call each other Nigger/Nigga or my negro.
But if you are not a member of these
communities you are not allow to use
these terms.
In the Deaf community, the term Deaf is
used with pride and preferred over
the term hearing impaired. But I
haven't seen the Hispanic/Latino
casually throw around spic or the
Jewish community referring to one another
as kikes. So how far will this go, its hard
to predict. And how good or bad is it
on racial/cultural and religious relations
is what the future has yet to reveal....
All I can say is life sure keeps you on
your toes and it seems being PC is
slowly on its way out.