First, search on the U.S. Census website the number of Americans of Italian descent (self reported, thus approximate, but those are the best data available.)
Second: search on the FBI website the estimate on the number of active members of Italian American organized crime (Mafia, the mob, Cosa Nostra, however you want to call it.)
Now, find out the percentage of Italian Americans that are considered to be active members of the mob.
DO NOT DISCLOSE THE DATA (you will answer a question in the final) but you are welcome to comment/reply here --- are you surprised at what you found out?
================
I am not surprised at all about what I found out especially since despite the fact that I lived in Bensonhurst as a kid (which was then all Italian, and not Chinese like it is now) it took me almost 30 yrs. to "meet someone" that had any "connection" to the mafia - and that only happened because they film Mob Wives around the block from me! The media shapes ethnic images and if what the public is being fed is an array of "The Godfather", "Goodfellas", "The Sopranos", "Jersey Shore" and every other movie or TV show depicting Italians as mafiosos or criminals mainstream America will latch onto this image believing that it must be everyone. Conversely, I have never been to an Italian house where the mother wasn't an amazing cook ... but of course that isn't something that is portrayed all over. [In fact, even most of the Italian guys I know will put women of other ethnicities to shame with their cooking skills!]
ReplyDeleteI'll try not to give anything away...Knowing how prevalent gangs are in this country, I was pretty surprised. Also, compared to how it was in The Godfather, the locations of the "mafia" today are very different than what I was expecting on the FBI website. I went to a Catholic high school where some of the sons of some "suspected" members went. I never thought twice about it, even with The Soprano's airing back then. That was until I saw an article in a local paper, about 6 months ago, which had a list of active members who just got arrested for racketeering and other stuff associated with the mafia. That was pretty surprising, and although I went through the names, I didn't recognize anyone.
ReplyDeleteI actually wasn't surprised by the amounts, however I was more surprised that there weren't more. I guess because of the way the media has presented the mafia, I expected it to be larger than what it really is. The most shocking was the fact that the FBI's data was very specific, however I am still unsure how they reach these estimates. If they have these suspected affiliates why are they not doing anything to arrest them or catch them, which seems to be much easier with all the technology in this day and age.
ReplyDeleteThe most surprising aspect of this research was comparing the amount of Mafia members to the total population and getting that percentage. It seems like the media and local Italian culture puffed up the Mafia to be a gigantic underworld organization, but in reality it only holds a small aspect of the criminal world.
ReplyDeleteI like your last sentence. The percentage of ItAms in the mafia is an extremely small percentage. But the percentage of Mafiosi out of the entire criminal world is also a rather small percentage. No matter how you look at it, the media and the press over exaggerate these statistics drastically.
DeleteI agree Will, I think it just goes to show how the image of the Mafia was used to isolate and ostracize Italian-Americans. If you were a "real" American, why would you associate with criminals?
DeleteI’m not very surprised at the data that I uncovered. I knew that there weren’t too many ItAms affiliated with the mafia. Not only is it a small percentage, but it’s an isolated, underground segment. We’ve just seen The Godfather (1972), and then there’s the high profile TV show The Sopranos (which I never watched), and to some extent, these shows offend me. All of my family and ItAm friends are all part of large, hard-working families with no mob connections whatsoever. We have interests, lives, hobbies, and aspirations that have absolutely nothing to do with crime. Much more prevalent are other tribes’ love affairs with their gangs and criminal elements. There was never a mafia float in the Columbus Day parade, as there are gangs that march, sanctioned, in the parades of other tribes on the streets of NYC.
ReplyDeleteConsidering the fact that the mafia is secret - making a float and marching at a parade would definitely break the code of omertà! On the other hand, gangs usually parade around in certain color clothes and wear certain symbols etc. and have no problems showing who they are so that is a bit different I suppose.
DeleteThroughout this semester, many works of literature that we read, as well as movies that we watched strongly portrayed the mob as being an active group among the Italian community. Thus, I was extremely shocked by the numbers I saw when I researched how much people are actually involved with the mob. I honestly expected it to be so much more, but then again, it's no surprise that the media tends to bend the truth at times.
ReplyDeleteAlethia,
DeleteIn this case bending the truth is an understatement. The numbers are pretty amazing.
Even as an Italian myself, I was expecting a MUCH bigger number. Unfortunately, the ignorant people who should see these numbers never will. I think we all know the type of scared, sheltered people that cling to stereotypes instead of embracing change.
DeleteI was a bit surprised by the numbers. Although I didn't think the percentage to be very high, I expected it to be higher than this. As Joseph said, the media has definitely done a good job at hyping up the mafia.
ReplyDeleteNot surprised at the numbers. Think in a way that because the stereotype that Italian American are associated with the Mafia, in the back of our heads, and even though we know differently, that the numbers might somehow justify the stereotype.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised at all by the numbers, and I'm not exactly surprised that everyone expected the number to be higher than it was. Our media heavily exaggerates the nature of any threat to stir up emotions. It reminds me of an episode of South Park where a TV reporter was standing outside the town saying that "raping and pillaging" was going on inside the town. The news host responds incredulously, "You've actually SEEN raping and pillaging going on‽" The TV reporter answers, "Of course not, I'm just reporting it." Likewise, we are fed a very specific image of the Mafia world (one that "sells") but the realty is incredibly different.
ReplyDeleteHere's a link to that clip: South Park: Whose to Blame
DeleteI just wonder if this is an aspect of modern media (1960's to now) or has sensationalism always been rooted in reporting?
DeleteIt would be interesting to see magazine articles and newspaper reportings of Mafia activity pre-60's and compare them to post-60's popular literature.
I personally don't think that there would be that much of a change!
Joseph, this may be of interest to you - http://italic.org/mediaWatch/filmStudy.php - I find "The Godfather effect" quite interesting. I remember seeing an even better one with an even better breakdown of statistics. Hopefully I'll find it again.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe numbers really wasn't surprising. Stereotyping that Italians involved in Mafia somehow was based on fact. Maybe not now, but definitely before.
ReplyDelete