White people are weird, Or Monkeys being monkeys

[Don Coyote]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x697zEFTpuI

Commercial for the National Italian American Foundation.



This is probably ill-advised do the number of East Coast spags who have some ancestors from Pizzaland, but WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK?????????

I am staying on this fucking coast away from that brand of weirdness.

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

Your heritage, man!

CELEBRATE IT. ENJOY IT. BE PROUD OF SOMETHING IN WHICH YOU HAD NO CHOICE AND STOPPED RESEARCHING WHEN IT BECAME INCONVENIENT!

YOU EARNED IT!

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Dude, I keep trying to tell you.

[PopeTom]

Remember as an American you're better than everyone else in the world.
As an Italian American you're better than everyone else in America!

[Jenne]

Your heritage, man!

CELEBRATE IT. ENJOY IT. BE PROUD OF SOMETHING IN WHICH YOU HAD NO CHOICE AND STOPPED RESEARCHING WHEN IT BECAME INCONVENIENT!

YOU EARNED IT!

THAT is an awesome way to put a lot of that bullshit.

Though I have to say I do enjoy some of it--more as an outsider seeing how one group represents themselves, rather than as an insider revelling in the culture I grew up in, etc.

[Jenne]

Remember as an American you're better than everyone else in the world.
As an Italian American you're better than everyone else in America!

1/8 of me is definitely on board with that.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I loved her statement that she didn't think she would have achieved her goals if she hadn't been Italian

because clearly, her relatively arbitrary genetic makeup is what determined her motivation and ability to pursue accomplishments!

[Doktor Howl]

I loved her statement that she didn't think she would have achieved her goals if she hadn't been Italian

because clearly, her relatively arbitrary genetic makeup is what determined her motivation and ability to pursue accomplishments!

Maybe her goals were to grow 3" of hair on her arms and wear a sweaty black dress.   

[Jenne]

Hey, if the wench can make a good gravy, that's about all the "Italian ancestry's" good deeds I could give a shit about.

*smacks lips*  A good Bolognese goes a long way in my book.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I loved her statement that she didn't think she would have achieved her goals if she hadn't been Italian

because clearly, her relatively arbitrary genetic makeup is what determined her motivation and ability to pursue accomplishments!

Maybe her goals were to grow 3" of hair on her arms and wear a sweaty black dress.   

Oh shit! Tea out the nose! Abort mission! 

[Bruno]

Italians ain't white.

They's Meta-terrarium.

[Suu]

You know...

I see nothing wrong with that video clip.

[Cramulus]

I gotta admit that ethnic pride always weirds me out a little

My ancestors were scottish/english/czech, but I haven't inherited any of their traditions / attitudes / cultural identity. Maybe it's cause my family's been in the united states since before there were states (we're not a mayflower family, but we're close).

When I was growing up, my friends all had these bizarre ethnic traditions that they seemed so proud of. WE'RE ITALIAN SO WE TALKA LIKA THIS. WE IRISH LOVE TO GET DRUNK AND SAD BY NOON. etc etc... I always felt like I was missing out on something. The teacher would ask, "Where's your family from?" and I'd be like, "Connecticut?"

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I gotta admit that ethnic pride always weirds me out a little

My ancestors were scottish/english/czech, but I haven't inherited any of their traditions / attitudes / cultural identity. Maybe it's cause my family's been in the united states since before there were states (we're not a mayflower family, but we're close).

When I was growing up, my friends all had these bizarre ethnic traditions that they seemed so proud of. WE'RE ITALIAN SO WE TALKA LIKA THIS. WE IRISH LOVE TO GET DRUNK AND SAD BY NOON. etc etc... I always felt like I was missing out on something. The teacher would ask, "Where's your family from?" and I'd be like, "Connecticut?"

I think that cultural celebration/pride (depending on how you define pride) is neat and valuable. I'm not all that keen on homogeneity. And when people are still experiencing serious adverse affects from centuries of oppression, stimulating a lacking sense of pride in culture and accomplishments has a positive effect on a troubled population. But that particular video was just kind of bizarre. You want to show pride in your cultural heritage? Then talk about something that matters, not just "I'm really proud of being x heritage and I wouldn't be nearly as awesome if I wasn't x heritage".

Tell a story. Talk about an ancestor who inspired you. Show an artifact or a skill that is intrinsically, distinctly linked to your heritage. Engage the audience in some way besides "Hurrr I'm proud to be Italian".

[Suu]

I'm Italian. I can't really do anything about it, but heck, I am. My family history is sprinkled with the mafia, and I know that the Sicilian side originally came from Castile in the 15th century because of our name alone, but that's all I can find, because Italian ancestral history is very difficult to trace due to bad record keeping pre-unification, and misspellings and such in immigration records here in the states.

I know nothing about my Irish ancestry. Only that we're from County Wexford, left during the famine, and may have been protestant rather than Catholic. My mom never really asked her mom's family much, because they didn't get along, and were unfortunately uneducated Midwestern settlers in Arkansas.

The English side I got the best trace going back to the Oakleys being Norman. So I'm not even English on that line, I'm French Norse a motherfucking Viking when all is said and done (though Dutch married in there for a bit). However, they did maintain the border between England and Wales for like, 300-400 years, and anyone who oppresses the Welsh is obviously awesome.