What drives Jersey Italians batshit

They watch (0.00 / 0)

so you don't have to:

http://gawker.com/5429740/jers...

As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.

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by: Jersey Shore John @ Sun Dec 20, 2009 at 17:08:52 PM UTC

P. S.: (0.00 / 0)

I don't believe any of them are FROM the Jersey shore. Staten Island, Long Island. Not New Jersey.

As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.

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by: Jersey Shore John @ Sun Dec 20, 2009 at 17:10:22 PM UTC

Snooki's from Albany (0.00 / 0)

But you couldn't sell this show if it was called Albany. Albany has no commercially-accepted personality. Nor does the greater Rensselaer-area and mise-en-scene.

No, you want to make stupid people believable, you drop them into a house in New Jersey, and the entire country will come and drool for more.

Aggravating.


It's not a particularly snappy signature, but here's what I think we need in the next NJ Democratic State Chair.  

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by: Rosi Efthim @ Sun Dec 20, 2009 at 18:13:48 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

2 of them are from Jersey (0.00 / 0)

I think The Situation and Sammi Sweatheart.

I can't get enough of this show, it's hilarious!

"Give me a lever long enough... and I shall move the world." - Archimedes

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by: mconvente @ Sun Dec 20, 2009 at 18:18:11 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

The Situation ... (0.00 / 0)

Intrigued only by somebody named The Situation ... That would have to be interesting.

It's not a particularly snappy signature, but here's what I think we need in the next NJ Democratic State Chair.  

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by: Rosi Efthim @ Sun Dec 20, 2009 at 18:28:18 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I have the world's smallest violin between my thumb and forefinger... (4.00 / 1)

...and I am playing it for Jersey Italians who are driven batshit by Jersey Shore.

I have watched less than 10 minutes of Jersey Shore, but what I have seen is enough to know that it is without a doubt the worst reality show in the history of the worst genre, if you can call reality television a genre, in the history of television.

That said, I have no sympathy for Jersey Italians who complain about how they are portrayed on this show in the same way that I have no sympathy for any group of people who don't like how they are portrayed by a communications medium that is as geared towards appealling to the lowest common denominator as television has been.

With regards to this, Jersey Italians seem to be even more whiny about this than most. When I was working on Congressman Bill Pascrell Jr.'s re-election campaign in 2000, I was embarrassed to learn that he actually spent precious Congressional time to complain about how Jersey Italians were portrayed by the TV show, The Sopranos.

It was one thing when he and former Governor Jim Florio made a stink during the 2000 Senatorial primary election campaign about reports that Jon Corzine had made disparaging remarks about Italians, which was fair game, but does he really think that most people inside and outside New Jersey think that all Jersey Italians have mob ties?  That is only slightly more ludicrous than the assumption that all Jersey Italians are guidos like the cast members of Jersey Shore, especially when the guido phenomenon in our state has long since expanded outside the Italian-American cultural limits.

As unfortunate as most cultural stereotypes are, they exist because a significant number of people exhibit the qualities that define the stereotypes, and more often than not, some aspect of our mass media latches onto them and makes them iconic.  This is especially true with regards to guidos to the point that there are just as many guidos (if not more) in the world who are not Italian as there are guidos who are.

If I was a Jersey Italian, I would be more concerned about people like State Senators Girgenti and Sarlo creating an image of Jersey Italians as being bigoted, cowardly, homophobes by their inability or unwillingness to support marriage equality legislation than how Jersey Italians are portrayed by a TV show as irrelevant and worthless as Jersey Shore.

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by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Mon Dec 21, 2009 at 05:14:34 AM UTC

As A New Jerseyan Of Italian Ancestry..... (0.00 / 0)

...I, more or less, agree with Bertin on this non issue.

There is plenty of ignorance, bigotry and sheer stupidity to find across the board.

I agree with him less when he says,

"I would be more concerned about people like State Senators Girgenti and Sarlo creating an image of Jersey Italians as being bigoted, cowardly, homophobes by their inability or unwillingness to support marriage equality legislation than how Jersey Italians are portrayed by a TV show as irrelevant and worthless as Jersey Shore."

Girgenti and Sarlo are what they are independent and aside from their Italian "identity".

Sadly homophobia/bigotry crosses all of these silly "identity" lines we draw........as I've said before, it's even WORSE if these opponents actually aren't bigots....because then they're guilty of a purely cold calculated appeal to the bigot vote.

As for the argument that they are voting their "consciences" that's simply not credible when you look at the way NJ politics is run.  

Both of these Democrats need to be challenged by a Real Democrat in the next primary.

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by: Nick Lento @ Mon Dec 21, 2009 at 17:10:28 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

you omitted a few important words (0.00 / 0)

I don't think that Girgenti and Sarlo are who they are because of their Italian "identity".

My point was more that if I was a Jersey Italian, I would be more concerned about the images and stereotypes fostered by their behavior than the behavior of a few neanderthals on a reality TV show.

It is with respect to this point that I could also say that if I were African-American, I would be more concerned about the images and stereotypes fostered by the behavior of Dana Redd, Ron Rice Sr., and Shirley Turner than those of hardcore gangsta rappers on MTV.

As a converse to these points, I could also say that as someone who is Jewish, I am proud of the images and stereotypes fostered by Loretta Weinberg every day that she is who she is and does what she does.  She is the ultimate Jewish grandmother and I love her for it.

Maybe NJN or NJ12 should create a reality TV show around her day-to-day life so that even more people could realize how truly wonderful a person she is.

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by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Thu Dec 24, 2009 at 08:42:07 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I thought I was watching (0.00 / 0)

My Name is Earl - the Northern edition. Wow. I would be embarassed if they were from Jersey. Blessedly, they aren't.

One Vote.  Yours.  It really does matter.

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by: carolh @ Tue Dec 22, 2009 at 19:57:51 PM UTC