The San Francisco Chronicle on November 25th printed Bill Del Cerro's Letter 
to the Editor, regarding the "The Secret History" Article, the Chronicle printed 
on October 21st. (published here on 10/22)

Bill justifiably applauds the author, then ironically remarks that I-As have gone 
from being stigmatized by the Government to being stigmatized by the Media.

He then makes a further comment about Osama bin Laden that deserves your 
Careful Consideration. I also ask why????
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Bill writes:

I very seldom choke up at newspaper articles, but your recent piece on "Una 
Storia Segreta" was moving and eloquent beyond belief. You are a credit to 
your profession. As we say in Italian, "Brava!" 

Incidentally, I'd like to bring to your attention that this very real "stigmatizing" 
of Italian Americans continues to this day, with Hollywood (rather than the 
U.S. government) continuing this ignoble tradition. 

Fifty years ago, we were "enemy aliens." Today, in Hollywood, we are 
"dysfunctional Americans." 

Keep up the great work! 

(P.S. After the September 11 bombings, Hollywood admirably pulled films 
featuring Arabs as terrorists, an enlightened attitude which I, as a teacher, 
applaud. 

However, there have been seven films released since then which portray 
Italians as crude, fictional, murderous criminals. And don't forget 
"The Sopranos" for its further perpetuation of such 19th century stereotypes. 

Why is the stigmatizing of Arabic culture a no-no while doing so to Italian 
culture is not? Why is the phrase "organized crime" not invoked to describe 
Osama bin Laden's international, highly organized criminal network?) 

Bill Dal Cerro 
Chicago