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Everyone knows that the so called " Guido " subculture/sub cultural style is mainly the product of urban working class Italian Americans and the so called " Townie " subculture also seems to be a product of urban working class Irish Americans ...
What's even more relevant is that many different types of mannerisms , ways of dress , and so forth are associated with urban working class Italian and Irish Americans and even still crop up in present day American pop culture productions such as films dealing with traditional organized crime ...
Of course it's also a fact that many things associated with said demographic groups are oftentimes no more than cheap stereotypes , particularly if portrayed in certain pop culture productions , however I don't think anyone can claim that a certain type of subculture/style hasn't arisen from the Irish and Italian American working class neighborhoods that existed in urban areas of the Northeast and Great Lakes States
What puzzles me is the same cannot be really said about working class urban Eastern European descended Americans , even though said population group made/makes up a fairly significant percent of the white working class population in many areas of the Northeast and Great Lakes States , in fact in some areas of the Great Lakes States said group seems to easily outnumber its Irish and Italian counterpart combined ...
Naturally it goes without saying that urban working class " white ethnic " neighborhoods no longer really exist in the USA , however that still doesn't answer the question of how come the Irish and Italian versions of such neighborhoods have left such a mark on American pop culture/arguably society in general , while their Eastern Euro versions have not ...
FWIW I have heard from some people that a disproportionate amount of young working class Eastern European descended males ( along with their White Appalachian counterparts ) gravitated towards the metalhead and biker subcultures in many urban parts of the 1980s Rust Belt , but I think that my point still stands that no particular subculture/subcultural style is associated with Eastern European Americans , like the so called " Guido/Goomba " subculture/subcultural style is associated with Italian Americans ...
So what are the reasons behind this ? I mean how come drinking fruit brandy or frequently using brute force to accomplish relatively simple tasks ( like opening a package ) isn't associated with working class Eastern European Americans the way Dropkick Murphys tunes are associated with working class Irish Americans or saying " Fugedaboudit " is associated with working class Italian Americans ?
Last edited by Khan Vozdig; 04-08-2020 at 08:53 PM..
They have subcultures though. The Vikos, Nikos, Petros, Stavos, and Valdis of the urban northeast do have their own “thing” it’s pretty well known and identifiable ranging from Russian to Greek to Albanian to Polish and on.
They have subcultures though. The Vikos, Nikos, Petros, Stavos, and Valdis of the urban northeast do have their own “thing” it’s pretty well known and identifiable ranging from Russian to Greek to Albanian to Polish and on.
The US born ones largely assimilate to mainstream white culture, and the same is true of Irish and Italians these days
There is a fairly large, and active, Serbian population in Milwaukee. Many of them are fairly wealthy, owning properties (apartment buildings, etc.). They have assimilated, but they also have their own culture.
The US born ones largely assimilate to mainstream white culture, and the same is true of Irish and Italians these days
Yes and no.If they're raised in their enclave you can usually tell a little bit. An Irish person raised in Boston may hold general American values and desires and has the same privileges but I can oftentimes tell from the dress, speech, and sometimes profession that their from "the city". They also might be more likely to have an "ethnic" gaelic/irish name (Niall, Fionn, Finn, Darragh, Siobhan etc). Usually have a gruffer attitude than a suburban WASP-nothing exaggerated just not as smiley and open.
^All of these are gross generalizations, don't lambast me^
One reason is midwestern immigrants were wealthier than their east coast counterparts. Getting passage to New York was cheaper than passage to Chicago or St Louis. A lot of ethnic communities were created out of basically the inability to sustain themselves and the need to rely on each other.
That an religion. The Eastern European group that is most recognizable today is the Polish, Italians and Irish all very Catholic Catholics were mistrusted through the 50s. Greeks, Serbs, Germans weren’t as Catholic.
Some of this a a bit skewed since Greeks and Armenians for example skew more recent than Serbians so their cultures are still pretty distinct at least on the east coast.
Also I wouldn’t be surprised like WWI killed the German Language in America the Cold War has an impact on how Russians expressed their heritage.
Last edited by btownboss4; 04-09-2020 at 11:11 AM..
I think the Russians/Ukranians kind of have; although it is a little more covert. If anything, Russian/Ukranian/Eastern European cultures have somewhat of a stereotype for purposely being more covert (behind the scenes) as to not draw as much attention. The TV show "The Americans" and other popular tv shows, depict Russians blending in undetected with Americans. The "Russian Mob" (which includes former KGB and tons of other syndicates) are reportedly some of the most powerful and hardest to get a hold of, in large part, because they are harder to identify.
Just in general, Chicago having one of the largest Polish populations in the country (myself being 3rd generation Polish American), Eastern European culture tends to be a little more secretive, less conducive to an identifiable subculture.
Yes and no.If they're raised in their enclave you can usually tell a little bit. An Irish person raised in Boston may hold general American values and desires and has the same privileges but I can oftentimes tell from the dress, speech, and sometimes profession that their from "the city". They also might be more likely to have an "ethnic" gaelic/irish name (Niall, Fionn, Finn, Darragh, Siobhan etc). Usually have a gruffer attitude than a suburban WASP-nothing exaggerated just not as smiley and open.
^All of these are gross generalizations, don't lambast me^
I know Irish-Americans who are obsessed with Irish culture and give their children Gaelic names, however they are otherwise no different from other white Americans.
And the Eastern European New Yorkers I know are all indistinguishable from other white Americans, other than the ability to speak Russian if their parents are straight from Russia/Ukraine.
The Jewish ones may or may not identify more with Judaism depending on whether or not they're practicing.
I know Irish-Americans who are obsessed with Irish culture and give their children Gaelic names, however they are otherwise no different from other white Americans.
And the Eastern European New Yorkers I know are all indistinguishable from other white Americans, other than the ability to speak Russian if their parents are straight from Russia/Ukraine.
The Jewish ones may or may not identify more with Judaism depending on whether or not they're practicing.
i know someone like that but some that are not.
Also, there are 198 million white americans they varya a lot. An Irish dude from Dorchester or an Italian dude from Philly probably isn't gonna be all that similar to a white guy from outside Omaha, or one from the Bay Area or one from Minnesota.
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