L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019 LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D ear readers, Italian Heritage Month is a good time to share some random thoughts with you. First of all, is the thought that we as parents or grand parents should teach our little "bambini" simple little nursery rhymes to remind them that they do have an Italian Heritage despite the fact that, be- cause of intermarriage, it has been watered down since their great grandparents stepped off the boat. Here are a couple: "Giro Tondo" is a sort of Ital- ian "Ring Around the Rosey." It is chanted as the children join hands and go around in a circle. H ere it is in Italian and my rough translation. GIRO TONDO Giro, giro tondo Quanto è bello il mondo! I prati son fioriti Balliamo tutti uniti. Round, Round "Tondo" How beautiful il the "mondo" (world) The fields are "fioriti" (in bloom) Let us dance all "uniti" (unit- ed). *** CANTILENA Stella stellina la notte s'avvicina; la fiamma traballa la mucca è nella stalla; la mucca e il vitello la pecora e l'agnello; la chioccia e il pulcino, ognuno ha il suo bambino ognuno ha la sua mamma, e tutti fan la nanna. LULLABY Star, little star the night is near the flame flickers; the cow is in the shed the cow and the calf the sheep and the lamb the hen and the chick, everybody has a child; everybody has a mother; and all go to sleep. *** W h e n t h e M a y o r o f N e w O r l e a n s L a T o y a C o n t r e l l , issued a proclamation earlier this year apologizing for the 1891 lynching of Italians in New Orleans over a hundred years ago, I for one was happy to get it, because at least the Mayor made an effort to acknowledge that our community deserved an apology, and for over 100 years no public official had bothered to do so. Do you realize how shabbily we Italian Americans have been treated when it comes to public apologies? I do realize that with a public apology and no bus fare you will not be riding on the bus, however, I find it very sad that when it comes to Italian A m e r i c a n s , w e c a n s t i l l b e insulted with impunity with no political or public repercussions. Unfortunately, things have not improved, when president Richard Nixon (1969-1974) was in office he was heard on tape saying "the Italians, trouble is you can't find an honest one of them," or in 1992 NY Governor Mario Cuomo was slurred as a "Mafia type" by Bill Clinton; during her run as Vice President, Geraldine Ferraro had to con- tend with completely unfounded Mafia allegations against her husband. *** In San Francisco in 1978, when the Board of Education selected a school superintendent with an Italian surname, he was attacked in the Black press, by writer Thomas Fleming, (Bay Area Sun Reporter), who dis- a g r e e d w i t h S t e v e n A l i o t o ' s t r e a t m e n t o f a B l a c k s c h o o l administrator. He did not accuse him of having Mafia ties, but of having possible ties to member of an Italian invading army in Ethiopia. " I t s e e m s A l i o t o , w h o s e ancestors came here from that selection of Europe which is just west of the Balkans, the histori- cal trouble spot in Europe, is attempting to Balkanize the San Francisco public schools. Italy is next door to the Balkans, and it could be that Alioto is a descen- dant of one of those members of the Italian army, who were sent t o E t h i o p i a t o c o n q u e r t h a t nation and, in the process, add more real estate to the bankrupt kingdom of Italy, whose rulers suffered from a type of megalo- mania that viewed Italy as the hub of an inchoate empire. "Italy's army was equipped with the same modern arms of that day as were the armies of other European nations. Italy had a considerable army, mil- lions of men mobilized for war. The Ethiopians had no united professional army, by European standards. It was a ragtag collec- tion of Blacks armed mostly with spears, bows and arrows, and ancient fowling pieces that might blow up in the face of the warrior who was issued such a weapon. Haile Selassie, the emperor of Ethiopia, led his troops on the battlefield and the ill-equipped Ethiopians stunned the white world when they inflicted a rout on the Italians at Diradawa the one major battle in that war. All the Italian prisoners captured by the Ethiopians were castrated on the benign philosophy of their captors that such ill-equipped men could not father any male offspring who might return to E t h i o p i a s o m e d a y b e n t o f revenge upon the Ethiopians. Alioto, if he is a descendant or a relative of one of the captured Italians, is using greater finesse in his disdain of Black people. He avoids getting in the brawl- i n g p h y s i c a l c o n t e s t , b u t h e attempts to place roadblocks in the path of Blacks who, by their achievements mount upward in the educational hierarchy." When a few Italian Ameri- cans spoke to Editor-Publisher Dr. Carlton Goodlet demanding an apology they were told to for- g e t i t , a s w a s " j u s t T h o m a s being Thomas" no apology... *** Indigenous People Activists wrongfully attached Columbus and, by historical extension, many of our Columbus Day Cel- ebrations Books in schools and parades. If they were looking for a " p a l e f a c e " t o b l a m e , t h e y should have begun by refusing to carry $20 dollar bills in their wallets, for it is our 7th presi- dent, Andrew Jackson — who served from 1829 to 1837 — to be pictured on them. Prior to b e i n g e l e c t e d U S P r e s i d e n t Andrew Jackson, (1767-1845) was known as General Jackson and busy invading Florida in the Seminole War. After he was victorious, he became Governor of that territo- ry. The Seminole War, the most costly Indian War in the United States lasted until 1842, when the main body of the tribe was removed to Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. Furthermore, many Indian Wars continued until 1942. Our 7th President Andrew Jackson (1829-1837), 8 t h P r e s i d e n t M a r t i n o V a n Buren, 9th President William H a r r i s o n ( w h o d i e d a f t e r 1 month in office and 10th Presi- dent John Tyler (1841-1845) all had to deal with Indian Wars. T a r g e t i n g C o l u m b u s a s t h e source of all evil that has befall- en Indigenous People is a gross miscarriage of Justice.

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