March 4,2021

Good morning everyone, hope all is well. Today is Thursday Marcus 4,, 2020. Forecast a little colder than yesterday so dress warmer when you go out. Yesterday’s adventures took me all over Essex county finally ending up in Summit where I took a nice walk. I have really never taken the time to see all the stores there. It was very nice. As usual I always find a place to buy something for Rocco and Dario, I found a small candy store and just fell in, a likely story. Hell I went in to purposely buy a treat but I was amazed at all they had. I selected 2 chocolate lollipops. It gives me great pleasure to spoil them, I feel it is my prerogative as a grandfather to give them what I want. Is that the right attitude, I don’t know it’s just the way I am. I was that way with my wife and my children and they don’t seem so bad. Let that be the worst thing they can say about me, is that I spoiled them. In the movie “ The Godfather” when Don Corleone is in the garden with his grandson and they are picking the tomatoes is one of the best scenes to me. It just invoked such love to me. I love the movie “The Godfather “ and go from scene to scene and line for line and still could not pick out the best but it does show the love the loveItalian families have for each other but it also shows a much darker side of Italians. Hollywood has made millions on movies that dipict italians in an unsavory way. Which brings me to my post today, yesterday we spoke about the racism and stereotyping by wearing black face. How completely wrong and insulting such a thing is. But stereotyping , make no mistake is alive and living among us everyday. Right now we are seeing the governor of New York’s career in jeopardy. I am in no way condoning anything he has done, it is wrong and he should resign if in fact it is all true. What has me upset is I heard a conversation between 2 young women maybe 35, I was was easdrpping
which maybe I shouldn’t have done but when I heard where the conversation was going I couldn’t stop, they were discussing Cuomo and his situation even before the sexual harassment allegations came out and one said what do you expect he’s a mobster, he used intimidation to get what he wants. Threats, like all Italians do , who would even want to be Italian that’s all they are. Now it 2021 and people still believe things like that.that is stereotyping to the enth degree. Make no mistake , around dinner tables across America Italians are still considered mobster and garlic eaters. Every time I feel that is not true any longer it sort of smacks me in the face again. I once had coffee with a very influential man and he said to me if you and I watch movies such as The Godfather or shows like the Sopranos we see it one way because we are Italian but middle America just catorgorizes us as all gangsters. When I was much younger I got a new car and some one said to me dou you book, I asked what and said are you a bookie to afford that car. I was insenced that someone should ask me that question , I have said hear how hard I worked from a young kid sometimes 3 or 4 jobs at a time to be insulted like that. Stereotyping is hurtful and degrading. For years my wife and I have belonged to an organization to prevent this treatment of Italians. Once Ragu had an ad for a new tomatoe sauce. It was all women yelling and caring on it was insulting this orghad the ad pulled and redone.
For years I have said education is the key to end bigotry. So that is what we must do. That’s why heritage is so important to me, the immigrant experience also important. Children must be taught what contributions Italians have made to the world in the last 3000 years. That is why I created the blog page to post relevant things, poetry , quotes and other things. Please truly and read it not just the post the other articles there it makes us think. I posted this before on refections of a life but I am going to put it on again today. So we can really see what Italian Americans have done.
It’s chilly today so be careful, it’s an Emily Day enjoy it Til Tomorrow!