President: Giampaolo Pioli   |   Editor in Chief: Stefano Vaccara

  • Login
VNY La Voce di New York

The First Italian English Digital Daily Newspaper in the US

  • English Edition
  • Letters
  • New York
  • U.N.
  • News
  • People
  • Arts
  • Lifestyles
  • Food & Wine
  • Travel
  • Italian Edition
No Result
View All Result
VNY
  • English Edition
  • Letters
  • New York
  • U.N.
  • News
  • People
  • Arts
  • Lifestyles
  • Food & Wine
  • Travel
  • Italian Edition
No Result
View All Result
VNY La Voce di New York
No Result
View All Result
in Homepage
January 5, 2017
in Homepage
January 5, 2017
0

Carl Paladino’s Racism: Where Is the Outrage?

Carl Paladino cannot in any manner represent the socio-cultural legacy that is both Italian and Italian American

Anthony Julian TamburribyAnthony Julian Tamburri
Time: 3 mins read

Former Republican candidate for governor of New York in 2010, Carl Paladino, had already demonstrated racial and ethnic insensitivity during his campaign, and I have in mind his emails that went public at that time. They were egregious enough, most would claim, to have disqualified him from the possibility of holding public office. But that did not happen. After a brief brouhaha, the campaign continued and, of course, he lost.

Most recently, now in his roles as (1) board member of a majority minority school district in Buffalo, and (2) chair of Trump’s New York campaign before the election, he has proven once more to be shamefully bigoted and, further still, sexist. At this juncture, his comments couched as “desires for 2017” have been well publicized, and we need not repeat them here.

Such comments, to be sure, contradict all that is decent, civil, and, of course, humane in our society today. Hence, it is most disturbing that someone who articulates such racist vitriol is a member of a school board, the ruling entity of a school system that sets policy for the education of future generations. And let us not forget that education refers to (1) the imparting of knowledge ― facts and the like ― to members of our future leaders through a systematic instruction, and (2) the literacy and enlightenment of our social codes and mores at the most basic of levels. Mr. Paladino’s comments defy all of this and, to boot, are vile and horrid, and thus, shamefully odious. There is no room in our society for such vitriol, the original name for sulfuric acid, a compound that burns through basically everything. To be sure, Mr. Paladino’s desires for 2017 burn through the basic moral fabric upon which our twenty-first century was built, especially given the foundational civil rights movements of mid-twentieth century.

As both a member of society at large, and, in addition, as an Italian American who has spent the past four decades studying and promoting the culture of Italy and Italians in America, for me Carl Paladino, who readily identifies as Italian American, cannot in any manner whatsoever represent the socio-cultural legacy that is both Italian and Italian American. This is especially true with regard to the legacy of the turn of the twentieth-century Italian immigrants who suffered, at that time, equally repellent and hateful commentary from the hegemonic structure that kept them on the sidelines for so long.

Numerous Italian-American organizations have complained about fictional representations of Italians as Mafiosi. They have gone on to condemn filmmakers such as Coppola, Scorsese, and Chase, to name a few, and the numerous Italian-American actors and actresses who took roles in such films. Yet, they seem to remain silent on such real-life incidents as those involving the likes of Paladino. I would hope that all Italian Americans, regardless of political affiliation and ideology, notwithstanding differences in socio-economic status and gender, would join in and condemn such racist statements.

We simply cannot hope to move forward when people who spew forth such vitriolic statements occupy positions on education boards or represent, in this case, the president-elect. To remain silent is both to disrespect the history of degradation that our ancestors endured and to disgrace the millions of Italian Americans in this country who surely think otherwise.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Anthony Julian Tamburri

Anthony Julian Tamburri

DELLO STESSO AUTORE

Quel Bronx contro Colombo: quelli che vogliono cacciare il navigatore da New York

Profs. Tamburri vs Connell Over Columbus Statues and New Orleans Lynchings

byAnthony Julian Tamburri
San Gennaro a New York al tempo del covid, ma quella sua è “grazia” o “vendetta”?

More Graduate Italian-American Studies to Bridge the Gap of Our Cultural Knowledge

byAnthony Julian Tamburri

A PROPOSITO DI...

Tags: Carl PaladinoComunità italo-americanaItalian AmericanItalian American politiciansracismrazzismo in America
Previous Post

La peste che sta cogliendo l’Italia

Next Post

UNSC: Sweden Starts Presidency with Optimism, but Forgets Libya

Discussion about this post

DELLO STESSO AUTORE

Remembering Robert Viscusi: Erudition, Largesse, Beneficence

Nearly Two Years on from His Death, We Recall Robert Viscusi’s Wise Words

byAnthony Julian Tamburri
In Memoriam, Professor Gerald Meyer of CUNY, Hostos Community College

In Memoriam, Professor Gerald Meyer of CUNY, Hostos Community College

byAnthony Julian Tamburri

Latest News

Maggio-Luglio 1992, la guerra Mafia-Stato con un solo vincitore: Matteo 

Maggio-Luglio 1992, la guerra Mafia-Stato con un solo vincitore: Matteo 

byStefano Vaccara
On Italian American Identity Without Catholicism

On Italian American Identity Without Catholicism

byDonna Chirico

New York

Dopo de Blasio il diluvio o il rinascimento? Il futuro di New York e la corsa a sindaco

Bill de Blasio indomito: adesso punta al Congresso

byMassimo Jaus
Usa: 16enne uccisa e due feriti da pallottole vaganti a Ny

Staten Island, paziente ubriaco spara a infermiere sull’ambulanza

byLa Voce di New York

Italiany

Design Day: il made in Italy mette al primo posto la sostenibilità

Design Day: il made in Italy mette al primo posto la sostenibilità

byEmma Pistarino
Su Madison Avenue rivive “La Dolce Vita”  con la festa del Made in Italy

Madison Avenue Relives “La Dolce Vita” with a Party for ‘Made in Italy’

byValeria Robecco
Next Post
Olof Skoog Sweden

UNSC: Sweden Starts Presidency with Optimism, but Forgets Libya

La Voce di New York

President: Giampaolo Pioli   |   Editor in Chief: Stefano Vaccara

  • New York
    • Eventi
  • Onu
  • News
    • Primo Piano
    • Politica
    • Voto Estero
    • Economia
    • First Amendment
  • People
    • EXPAT
  • Arts
    • Arte e Design
    • Spettacolo
    • Musica
    • Libri
    • Lingua Italiana
  • Lifestyles
    • Fashion
    • Scienza e Salute
    • Sport
    • Religioni
  • Food & Wine
  • Travel
    • Italia
  • Mediterraneo
  • English
  • Search/Archive
  • About us
    • Editorial Staff
    • President
    • Administration
    • Advertising

VNY Media La Voce di New York © 2016 - 2022
Main Office: 230 Park Avenue, 21floor, New York, NY 10169 | Editorial Office/Redazione: UN Secretariat Building, International Press Corps S-301, New York, NY 10017

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • New York
  • Onu
  • News
    • Primo Piano
    • Politica
    • Economia
    • First Amendment
  • Arts
    • Arte e Design
    • Spettacolo
    • Musica
    • Libri
  • Lingua Italiana
  • Lifestyles
    • Fashion
    • Scienza e Salute
    • Sport
    • Religioni
  • Food & Wine
    • Cucina Italiana
  • Travel
    • Italia
  • English

© 2016/2022 VNY Media La Voce di New York

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In