Sunday, March 12, 2006

Et tu Brutus: Jerry Krase believes Italian Defamation is "Much Ado about Nothing"

The ANNOTICO Report

 

Jerry Krase  is a Professor of  Sociology  at Brooklyn College, CUNY.

 

Brooklyn College is NOT an IVY League University, NOT even close :) And those that studied Sociology in College were one step above Physical Education Majors. And those that do, DO, and those that can't Teach.

 

So Krase has many good reason to have an Inferiority Complex, which is the reason I suppose that he is a fanatical and unrepentant Self Promoter. If I have to read one more message about how wonderful Jerry Krase thinks Jerry Krase is, I will vomit !!!

 

Prof. Krase ( pronounced: CRASS) specialities are mere froth like Little Italies, Chinatowns, Coney Island, or Brooklyn, NOT very deep stuff, but that doesn't prevent him from expounding as if he knew something.

 

But, I am Not here to Praise Krase, but to Expose him for the Windbag (Bad Wind) he is.

 

Further,The "almost" Chairman of the Sociology Dept of Brooklyn College,Timothy Shortell considers Prof. Krase a "moral retard".

 

I'm very exasperated with Jerry Krase, who in a most recent post, replicated below, Krase opines that the Sopranos and Italian American Defamation are "Much ado About Nothing".

 

Professor Krase, (claiming a Sicilian mother, and a Polish father?) is a Member of the Board of Directors of the American Italian Historical Association (AIHA) and Editor of it's Online Bulletin Board: History-Italian American (H-ITAM).

 

The stated Mission of H-ITAM is: "a moderated internet discussion forum for scholars and activists relating to the Italian American Experience,... H-ItAm is involved in promoting the study, appreciation, and advancement of Italian American culture at all levels".

 

And Yet, over the Five years I have been reading Krase's H-ITAM Posts, and Editorial comments, he has shown a complete obliviousness to any Defamation or Discrimination vs  Italian Americans and Italians, and the greatest disdain for ANY efforts for ANY Italian American to attempt to combat any Discrimination or Defamation.

 

It is on MULTIPLE levels Enormously  Sad, that Krase is in a position of authority and trust relating to the Appreciation and Advacement of  Italian American Studies, and  (1) chooses to be unaware of Italian American and Italian Discrimination or Defamation, (2) that instead of ignoring or accepting Italian American groups combating that Discrimination and Defamation, Krase instead attacks or demeans those groups or individuals, and even more surprising, that (3) Krase misses few opportunities to degrade Italians or Italian Americans, (4) that Krase uses his position as Editor  of H-ITAM in a despotic manner to opine on articles, while "editing out" views that conflict with his in a "Berlusconi" manner (of controlling the media), (5) while in a most hypocritical manner Krase, frequently attacks Berlusconi for his media control.

 

But in this particular Krase post, supposedly about the "Sopranos" , Krase can not resist also going on a galactic tangential rage to ridicule

Italian Americans that do not agree with his political position, which include  Supreme Court Justices Scalia and Alito,  and political candidates Andrew Cuomo and Thomas Suozzi, and decrys Rudy Giuliani's incredible national popularity.

 

Now, I may be closer to Krase in my political beliefs, than to any of the Italian Americans he mentions above, BUT I STRONGLY OBJECT

to   his USING this Italian American PODIUM to ATTACK Italian American Politicians, for their political Beliefs that have NOTHING to do with the ITALIAN AMERICAN Experience!!!!!!

 

Jerry Krase is Not only an "embarrassment" to the Italian American Community, but he acts like a "saboteur" and his continuing behavior brings his ACTUAL dedication to the Italian American Community into serious Question.

 

His Reply will be, "I as a Historian, I am not here to "White Wash" History" !!!

My response would be: But, Why does it appear that your intent is to "Black Wash"  Italian American History??

 

My question to you would be: "Would your comments/attitude  be acceptable in ANY OTHER Community?????

In the Black, Latino, Asian, Jewish, or ANY OTHER Community???????

 

NO. NO.  NO. They would be Rightfully and Justifiably VILLIFIEDand CRUCIFIED !!!!!!!

To Not Condemn Such Behavior is to Condone it !!!!!

 

Where are the voices of Reason within the American Italian Historical Association??????

 

ALL Minority Studies Programs in EVERY Elementary, Junior High, High School,and College ,were established in order to instill PRIDE in that GROUP!!!!!!!!  

 

EVERY Ethnic Historical Association that I am aware of were established for similar reasons.

 

The AIHA is the only one to my knowledge that has in it's mission statement, that it should avoid "filiopietism", of which the definition is to

CLAIM SUPERIORITY!!!!!!!!     I would not want that claim made either, BUT the actions of several of the AIHA members seem to be to SPOTLIGHT INFERIORITY.  They seem to bend over backwards, to avoid any charge of "filiopietism", to be hyper critical of Italy, Italians and Italian Americans, in perhaps an attempt to elevate themselves in other (non Italian) Academics opinion, so as to be thought of as a "serious" scholar, rather than a mere Cheerleader.

 

But Why? I do not see any Academicians of any other Ethnic programs being "charged" with being "cheer leaders" when they are spotlighting the Accomplishments, Achievements, or the Victimization of their Ethnicity  !!!!!!! 

 

We Italian Americans get MORE Than a SUFFICIENT Amount ( approaching Tsunami proportions) of NEGATIVE Stereotyping, we

REALLY don't NEED Krase's (or any one like him) Venom, Vitriol, Vituperation, in his MISGUIDED feelings that he has a GOD given Mission to give HIS Interpretation of HIS concept of Italian American History!!!!!

 

And we don't need the "SellOut" from Professor Robert Viscusi who is more interested in Italian American Authors selling Books and Italian American Actors getting Jobs, and is entirely INDIFFERENT, in an an amazingly Self Absorbed way,  to Italian American NEGATIVE Stereotyping!!!!!!!

 

Nor do we need the "Self Loathing" that gadfly and Unemployable Professor Italo Savella constantly exhibits, that is detrimental to the Italian American Community.

 

These people in other Communities would be called as were Judas, Brutus, Benedict Arnold, and Quisling: "Betrayer".

 

 

 

[RAA] For those who have read the complete article, you will notice how the comments below are taken out of context, and the thrust of the authors intent completely reversed, and then Krase, as he is prone to do, totally diverges to non sequitors. 

 

UNUSUALLY INTELLIGENT COLUMN ABOUT SOPRANOS

 

By Jerry Krase

Professor at Brooklyn College

Editor

 

Clyde Haberman in the New York Times today (3/10/06) quotes Rudy Giuliani, Helen Barolini, Emanuele Alfano, A. Kenneth Ciongoli, and Robert Viscusi in an acute essay that surveys the debate on "The Sopranos."

 

Haberman writes for example: That's the thing about 'The Sopranos.' Like it  or not, it is often insightful... Robert Viscusi, a professor of English at  Brooklyn College, makes that point in a new book, "Buried Caesars" (State University of New York Press). It is fair to say, Professor Viscusi writes,  that "discrimination inevitably accompanies and draws nourishment" from "The Godfather" and "The Sopranos." But make no mistake about those works, he says. They are, "for good or ill, works of art."

 

If you can't get the paper you can read the column on line at: nytimes.com but you'll have to pay unless you are a subscriber to TimesSelect.

 

For what it's worth and also free, you can read Allessandra Stanley's not so intelligent nytimes review of the season opener. Quoting her "Sadly, this episode marks the beginning of the end. The good news is that it begins with a badda bang."

 

For me "it" has always been much ado about nothing. More interesting are Sylvio Berlusconi's absolution for Benito Mussolini, pledge of celibacy during  the Italian election season, and self-allusions of Napoleanic grandeur which  go virtually unnoticed in the US press.

 

I understand how they can ignore Romano Prodi as he is a very boring guy. Stateside I can't wait to hear how Italian American Supreme Court Justices (Scalia and Alito) vote when the appeal of South Dakota's virtual ban on abortion gets to their desks.

 

Then of course  there is Andrew Cuomo and Thomas Suozzi running for state-wide office in New York, and Rudy Giuliani's incredible national (Presidential) popularity. Then again, no news is perhaps good news?

 

Jerry Krase

 

 

 

Timothy Shortell, an associate professor in the sociology department at  Brooklyn College CUNY, decided to step down as chairman-elect of the department , after the college's president expressed outrage over his views, describing religious people as "moral retards".

 

Shortell wrote in a online journal "Fifteen Credibility Street": "On a personal level, religiosity is merely annoying - like bad taste," he wrote. "This immaturity represents a significant social problem, however, because religious adherents fail to recognize their limitations. So, in the name of their faith, these moral retards are running around pointing fingers and doing real harm to others. One only has to read the newspaper to see the results of their handiwork. They discriminate, exclude, and belittle. They make a virtue of closed-mindedness and virulent ignorance. They are an ugly, violent lot."

Jerry Krase is self described as an "occasionally practicing Roman Catholic", and therefore a "moral retard" by Shortell's guage.

However, Krase, in his blog "The Story of Oh" on Shortell's web site, Krase responds to the outcry to Shortell's "Manifesto", and states he  was quite amused. To Krase's credit, he spends most of the blog castigating his fellow professors for being alarmingly LAZY. 

Apparently Krase distanced himself from the "moral retard label" by confessing to being only "occasionally practicing", although Shortell does not make any such distinction. Shortell doesn't talk about fanatical or fervent religionists, but merely "adherents".  http://shortell.org/storyofoh.html

To give one an idea of the low academic  level prevalent at Brooklyn College, Timothy Shortell, received his Ph.D. in 1993 Ph.D. and since his coming to Brooklyn College in 1998, has had one peer-reviewed article (and no books) published. 7 of his fellow 12 Sociology professors voted for him.