Jon Stewart tools on LI as a 51st state, another proud moment for Massapequa proud. (New York: 2009, neighborhoods)

[NYer]

I twas funny.
But why is it ok to slam Italian -Americans?
The WASPs and Jews and Hispanics and AFrican-Americans are funny too.
But you won't see a skit about them.
Long Island is so diverse.
It just hurts after a while- most Italian- Americans are decent people.

[dman72]

Originally Posted by NYer

I twas funny.
But why is it ok to slam Italian -Americans?
The WASPs and Jews and Hispanics and AFrican-Americans are funny too.
But you won't see a skit about them.
Long Island is so diverse.
It just hurts after a while- most Italian- Americans are decent people.

I think it's ok to slam people who are morons, regardless of what race they are. Nobody forced the guidos on LI to act like this..there are plenty of Italian people on LI who don't bow down to their Pacino posters, stock up on hair gel, and tatoo guns on their arms, for goodness sake. If you don't reinforce the stereotype, you shouldn't be bothered by it.

[ambralita]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

That 'knock your head off type' flock to McMansions. Dangle something new and shiny in front of them...next thing you know you have a neighbor whose vocabulary features monosyllabic words and whose lawn is sprouting a Mary on the Half Shell. Before you know it, the fucco company will be slopping up the exterior of the house to give it that nice Piazza d' Long Islanda look..

LOL! love it.

One has to laugh at one's regional stereotypes and cultural idiosyncracies. They are part of every community/state/country. It's hard to be offended by it--they are what they are. I don't think it was a slur against Ital-Americans per se, b/c idiocy crosses cultural/racial boundaries. If anything, this should be PSA for better education in our schools!

[NYer]

Originally Posted by dman72

... If you don't reinforce the stereotype, you shouldn't be bothered by it.

Seriously?


If the show had featured overdressed Jewish women shopping or having their nails done, or fast talking people of color hanging out in Roosevelt, I would be equally offended.

It is still painful.

[tommyc_37]

OK, the term Guido is actually a racist term...it has become such a "mainstream" term, however, that people just associate it with somebody of any nationality who wears gold chains and has spiky hair, I suppose.

By the way, NJ gets the brunt of this stereotype nationwide, yet from my experiences, this type of person is much, much more prevalent in Long Island. It's not fair, really. I don't really see any of these types of people in NJ. Maybe in one small area of NJ, near the GWB and near NYC. The vast, vast majority of NJ residents speak normally (no accent) and are extremely educated.

My favorite is how out of staters' imagery of the Jersey Shore is Seaside Heights, yet literally 80% of the people in Seaside Heights are from Staten Island or Brooklyn. So people associate that accent, and that...fashion sense with NJ residents, when it really couldn't be further from the truth.

So...I can sympathize with LI's perception problems, but in reality, NJ has it 100x worse from a national perspective. Sad. NJ is a gorgeous state with truly nice people (FYI, I am a NY native)

[dman72]

Originally Posted by tommyc_37

OK, the term Guido is actually a racist term...it has become such a "mainstream" term, however, that people just associate it with somebody of any nationality who wears gold chains and has spiky hair, I suppose.

By the way, NJ gets the brunt of this stereotype nationwide, yet from my experiences, this type of person is much, much more prevalent in Long Island. It's not fair, really. I don't really see any of these types of people in NJ. Maybe in one small area of NJ, near the GWB and near NYC. The vast, vast majority of NJ residents speak normally (no accent) and are extremely educated.

My favorite is how out of staters' imagery of the Jersey Shore is Seaside Heights, yet literally 80% of the people in Seaside Heights are from Staten Island or Brooklyn. So people associate that accent, and that...fashion sense with NJ residents, when it really couldn't be further from the truth.

So...I can sympathize with LI's perception problems, but in reality, NJ has it 100x worse from a national perspective. Sad. NJ is a gorgeous state with truly nice people (FYI, I am a NY native)

Tommy Cheese-balls!!! "Hey, who took my ********* cheese-bawls?"

[imissmyson]

I feel sorry for all of you. You are so brainbwashed about Long Island that you can't see the fun side of it anymore. You're all out of your mind to pay the kind of taxes there are, drive in unbearable traffic, and struggle to survive with the cost of things. Get out. There are lots of nicer places, much lower taxes, less traffic, and slightly smaller lawns to mow. I loved Massapequa, and Plainedge. I had a great childhood and teen years there, but I did grow up. Jon Stewart is stupid? Look again. And this time use a mirror.

[imissmyson]

Originally Posted by dman72

I think it's ok to slam people who are morons, regardless of what race they are. Nobody forced the guidos on LI to act like this..there are plenty of Italian people on LI who don't bow down to their Pacino posters, stock up on hair gel, and tatoo guns on their arms, for goodness sake. If you don't reinforce the stereotype, you shouldn't be bothered by it.

Typical Long Islander. An Italian American, which I am is not a race. It is an ethnicity. A moron is someone who doesn't know that.

[llaurenn]

Originally Posted by imissmyson

I feel sorry for all of you. You are so brainbwashed about Long Island that you can't see the fun side of it anymore. You're all out of your mind to pay the kind of taxes there are, drive in unbearable traffic, and struggle to survive with the cost of things. Get out. There are lots of nicer places, much lower taxes, less traffic, and slightly smaller lawns to mow. I loved Massapequa, and Plainedge. I had a great childhood and teen years there, but I did grow up. Jon Stewart is stupid? Look again. And this time use a mirror.

OOF.
Rough words.
FYI, Massapequa and Plainedge do not define Long Island. And the grass is always greener, etc.

[KENNY GUIDO]

Originally Posted by tommyc_37

OK, the term Guido is actually a racist term...it has become such a "mainstream" term, however, that people just associate it with somebody of any nationality who wears gold chains and has spiky hair, I suppose.

By the way, NJ gets the brunt of this stereotype nationwide, yet from my experiences, this type of person is much, much more prevalent in Long Island. It's not fair, really. I don't really see any of these types of people in NJ. Maybe in one small area of NJ, near the GWB and near NYC. The vast, vast majority of NJ residents speak normally (no accent) and are extremely educated.

My favorite is how out of staters' imagery of the Jersey Shore is Seaside Heights, yet literally 80% of the people in Seaside Heights are from Staten Island or Brooklyn. So people associate that accent, and that...fashion sense with NJ residents, when it really couldn't be further from the truth.

So...I can sympathize with LI's perception problems, but in reality, NJ has it 100x worse from a national perspective. Sad. NJ is a gorgeous state with truly nice people (FYI, I am a NY native)

yes, GUIDO was a bad word, I wouldnt say racist because you dont necessarily have to be italian to look like or be one. but just as the blacks have accepted the "N" word in thier everyday language, so have the italians. Im sure its been used a million times in the soprano's.