this post was submitted on 24 Feb 2025
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"or should I say us ๐ฎ๐น"
"Sopranos was my favorite show"
Oof. Imagine saying "roots was my favorite show so it makes sense my great great great grandparent was black"
I have Italian ancestry and I've always found these guys to be cringe, but I also get why they do it . Many people in the United States yearn for meaning and interpersonal connection in their lives. "Being an Italian" provides a prepackaged, very commercialized possibility of community with little effort required - you're just born to it, so instant acceptance, right?
The reality is often less Soprano's chic and more "nonno and nonnina were illiterate farmhands who moved to the US for a better life. Nonno died from mystery cancer and all of nonnina's bones dissolved after birthing her 15th child at 24. Now chew nonnina's birthday cake for her".
We need to do a better job of teaching people to approach community groups with respect and as themselves. I'm a severe introvert so it took me way too long to figure that out but it's really that simple. There are no shortcuts, be nice to people, ask respectful questions, befriend them, and suddenly you're invited to the party/dinner.
This is 100% true. Usually the line between cultural appropriation and sharing/taking part in the culture is based on how respectful the person approaches the subject.