First, Don Martin, a columnist with the Calgary Herald.
Second, Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee 
Third, Chicago Commission on Human Relations
Finally, AIDA's lawsuit against HBO-Time Warner and “The Sopranos.”  

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Sermpre Avanti

THE TIDE BEGINS TO TURN....[?]

by Bill Dal Cerro

I open my anti-defamation column this month with three small victories and a 
possible big one. 

First, kudos to a combined “North American” effort in successfully 
addressing an anti-Italian slur in a Canadian newspaper. Don Martin, a 
columnist with the Calgary Herald, referred to a local Italian-Canadian 
politician as a “Godfather type.”... Martin was flooded with e-mails, and 
even responded personally to our own Walter Santi of Bloomingdale, who 
reminded Martin that “99.9 percent of us are NOT Godfather types.” Martin 
apologized for his lapse, saying that he was referring to “(Gagliano’s) 
style rather than his heritage.”

Second, a “Viva Italia” Fest held at the Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee  in 
mid-June boasted some tasteful newspaper ads, but the PR people who handled 
the radio ones fell into the old routine. As noted by activists, the radio 
pieces featured a deze-demz-doze type of actor making apparent gangster 
references. After calls and e-mails, the people involved pulled the ads 
immediately. Bravo!

Third, the Commission on Human Relations for the city of Chicago sent a 
letter to the American Italian Defense Association of Chicago, offering to 
translate a recent Adjudication Fact Sheet for new immigrants into the 
Italian language. The fact sheet had already been translated into 19 other 
languages, from Polish to Urdu, advising recent arrivals on how to handle 
acts of discrimination within the city of Chicago. Thanks to a very polite 
and thoughtful letter from AIDA President Michael Polelle, Ken Gunn of the 
commission office offered to work with AIDA in completing a translation for 
the Italian-American community as well.

Speaking of Professor Polelle, that brings me to my fourth item, and a 
potentially huge one: On Wednesday, June 19, Polelle and AIDA co-counsel 
Enrico Mirabelli faced a panel of three judges in their appeal of the lawsuit 
against HBO-Time Warner and “The Sopranos.”  Although the lawyers for 
Time-Warner had already won the first round of the lawsuit back in September 
of 2001, when Cook County Circuit Judge Richard Siebel dismissed it with 
prejudice, this was AIDA’s chance to reiterate their arguments, particularly 
the First Amendment issues. The judges will take a few weeks to arrive at a 
final decision. If their decision is nay, the lawsuit goes no further. But, 
if it’s a yay, AIDA proceeds to a full trial, which means bringing the issues 
of Italian stereotyping and the First Amendment to the marketplace of ideas … 
a marketplace currently dominated by megacorporations like HBO-Time Warner.

Sempre avanti indeed!

And one final thought: It must be noted that in the first three “success” 
stories listed above, all of the offending parties involved had no idea that 
what they were doing was offensive. This underscores a point made by Dona 
DeSanctis of the Order Sons of Italy in America in last month’s column: 
Activists should be educators as well as defenders. 

Since half of our community seems to revel in these demeaning stereotypes and 
the other half simply zip their lips and walk away, it’s no wonder that the 
mainstream doesn’t see anything wrong with these negative portrayals, 
especially since the main purveyors are fellow Italian Americans.

When you combine that with the almost narcotic combination of sex and 
violence, humor and passion, that suffuse these portrayals, it’s no wonder 
that America has had such an enduring love affair with the media-generated 
Italian-American mobster.

So when the media, the entertainment industry, or people we know get 
negative, our best bet is not to beat them over the head, but to get 
positive. You know what they say, it’s easier to attract flies with honey 
instead of vinegar. In short, let’s educate. 

For every John Gotti and Tony Soprano who captures the national imagination, 
there are literally thousands of Rudy Giulianis, Stanley Tuccis and countless 
lesser luminaries who are sources of pride, both for Italian Americans and 
the society at large.

We have an overwhelmingly positive, amazing and “totally cool” culture. 
Let’s spread the word!
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Distributed with Permission, From Paul Basile, Editor
(Copyright 2002, Fra Noi News Service, a division of Fra Noi Inc.)