Throughout the controversy surrounding the ethnic slur that Mayor Richard Daley was alleged to have directed toward the St. Patrick’s Day parade queen, I have been distressed by the apparent compulsion by the press to repeatedly use the slur and the alleged quote verbatim. Being of Italian descent, I am deeply offended by the use of the term in question and of other terms directed toward people of my ethnicity.
I find it bizarre that the same level of sensitivity that is used in other issues pertaining to race or ethnicity is not applied here. I doubt that if the issue centered around derogatory comments pertaining to African-Americans, we would see the “n-word” blaring from the pages of the Tribune. This seems especially true given the fact that there is controversy as to whether it was even said by Daley.
For some reason, people still find the Italian ethnicity to be a “safe” ethnicity to stereotype and/or slur. I have endured many instances in which stereotypical comments have been said to me that ranged from the subdued to the truly tasteless. Frankly, I find it perplexing that this double standard exists. Racial and/or ethnic slurs of any type should not be condoned. Therefore, I think the Tribune should convey the issue at hand in this story without having to repeat verbatim the alleged quote that started the controversy.
