Bob touches all the bases, but he really aroused my curiosity with the questions
relating to the Judge, the score, and criteria relating to that "baiting" question.

My I sarcastically thank all those Italian Americans who attack "activists" for being too thin skinned, and encourage us to "ignore" such degredation, which in REALITY only gives "permission" to those people to repeat that behavior, and gives apparent license to their listeners!!! 
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Miss America Organization:
<< info@missamerica.org >> 

    I am given to understand that Miss New Jersey, Alicia Renee Luciano, was asked her views regarding "The Sopranos" television show while competing for the Miss America Crown.  

    What a strange question to ask, especially so when in all the years I have been watching the Miss American contest I have never heard of a Black-American contestant being asked about her thoughts on a similar type of negative stereotype production entitled "Birth of a Nation."  

[RAA NOTE: Being less diplomatic, I would have used "Amos & Andy", or "Stepin Fetchit", or even the "Crips" and "Bloods"]

    One has to wonder why an Italian-American was asked such a question when no other contestant was asked about the show "The Sopranos" nor any other type of negative stereotypical show in keeping with their ethnic or racial ancestry or not in keeping with their ancestry? 

    Further, one has to wonder what the judge thought would have been an appropriate answer to such an ethnic baiting question?  Perhaps you might share with your audience the rating the judge gave Ms. Luciano for her answer and why he chose to give her such a rating and what would have gotten her a higher or lower rating for a different answer then she gave?  

    Is this type of questioning a trend in the Miss American Pageant?  Will Jewish-American contestants be asked what they think about Arafat?  Or, will a contestant from Peru be asked their thoughts on The Shining Path Movement?  

    Not only was it an inappropriate question to ask an Italian-American contestant but a question which showed stereotypical thinking on the part of the judge:  "The Sopranos" is about fictitious Italian-American gangsters and Ms. Luciano is a real Italian-American; ergo, she gets the question about fictitious Italian-American gangsters, who in real life make up only 20/100ths of one percent of the Italian-American population, according to FBI statistics.  With that ratio being the basis for such a question, the judge might as well have asked Ms. Luciano what she thought about her little toe.  

    Hopefully, the Miss American Pageant will either have more sensitive judges or orient them about political correctness, not to mention logic.  

                    Disappointedly yours,
                                    Robert Miriani
                                    St. Joseph, Missouri 64503