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This blog will be used in the spring of 2008 by 80+ students at Drexel University to investigate the effects of Iraq on culture and the reverse. Our goal will be to better understand why the US is in Iraq, and to question whether literature can help us on this journey.

Weekly plans and other materials will always be posted in Vista, not this blog. So go to Bb Vista to get the discussion prompts and other instructions.

I intend this blog to manage our discussions and track our collective investigation.

You should have received an email from me inviting you to become a contributor to this blog. The email was sent Monday afternoon to your official Drexel email address.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

The self-mythologizing of GUIDOS

So I grew up in the Jersey sub-urbs of NYC, I can see the city from where I live. And of course, you're gonna have the stereotypical "Guidos" Now, let me define a guido. They're not always Italian... Now a days, the majority (at least in jersey) they're half Irish... They won't typically admit it, but they are. And they'll have their gold chains with the bull horn or the crucifix, or both on the same chain. They'll probably have a fitted hat they wear (even over their spiked gelled/waxed hair), or a tee with something italian on it, but my favorite, are the mini italian flags they have on their cars. Someone says Italian, and all of a sudden they have roots back to Sicily, and red sauce vs white sause and bla bla bla. But they forget and pretend they're not half irish, and the full blooded italians will call the half italians out on this. The stereotypical guido from the sopranos.. they exist, they are half balding or receeding hair-lined overweight late 40's cigar smokers. No, they're not all in the mafia, but they like to think they are.

So anyway, the young guidos today like to show their Italian pride by broadcasting it everywhere, like they are a superior race... Irish and Puerto Ricans do the same thing, but not in an arrogant condescending way. So we got the gold chain necklaces, Of course you have the Black Spiked hair. The clubber ones wear the light wash, sand blasted jeans with mirror tinted shades that have no protection from gthe sun, so they can wear them inside. Some go as far as the sweatbands on the head and arms, and if you are a hardcore clubber, you keep on the wristband you got from a 17 and under club you went to 2 weeks prior. and sometimes they roll the bottom of their jeans up and blast the same Cascada that's been playing on Z100 every night for the past 8 years liek it's brand new from their Acura RSX. Most guidos just like to be loud, yea they go tanning, they go to the gym, probably use steroids, (majority of my friends do or did) and talk with an imitation of a brooklyn or long-island accent... You don't pick either of those up in jersey. And they have every techno and rap Remix of every song ever made.

If you haven't seen this video called "My New Haircut" .... Check it out, it's really not that far from the reality..

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4JMOh-cul6M

Side Note: Please do not think I am trying to dishonor or disgrace any other race, every race has a reason to be proud of their heritage. I'm just picking of Guidos, Not Italians.

2 comments:

Gary Chan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Gary Chan said...

Hey Sean, you might like this article

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13708-2003Jul5.html

"Strutting Season: At the Jersey Shore, Guidos are Pumped for the Prime of Their Lives"