>>16946967Nobody (intelligent) in america ever hated italians as a whole - they hated sicilians, essentially.
You can talk to the grandpas who lived through or at least knew from their own parents, the old racism that existed toward italians. The wisemen of their times knew to be suspicious of southerners for their lack of assimilation.
Assimilation meaning not just speaking and eating the local whatever, and partaking of american patriotism, but the MORAL and INTELLECTUAL assimilation displayed by northern italians, who more quickly got on board with anglo-american ideas of law and order, and, given the former adaptations, quickly lost their italian identities.
Which was the goal in old america.
Nowadays if you give up your hyphenated identity you become a gray blob with the ability to cook something interesting once in a while. You don't stand to gain anything real; so you shouldn't bother. Our mexican immigrants who teach their children spanish first are in the right. Our sicilian immigrants who are belligerent and insular, are in the right.
They're protecting their humanity.
