Protesting the Situation in Cincinnati

They're Italian, sure, but if you don't want to be seen as a stereotype, maybe you shouldn't look at the JS cast as one

I might as well shed all of my blogging anonymity today as most of this will come out over the next two days anyway. I keep saying “our city” or “downtown” when referring to where Hairpoof is located but that crypticness isn’t doing me any favors today as I decided to enter a debate on the radio over the Situation this morning.

Hairpoof is based in Cincinnati, Ohio and I recently called into my favorite morning radio show on KISS 107.1 FM to talk to hosts Tim and My Mom Calls Me George (if you have no idea what that’s about, don’t ask…or if you do ask, ask them on their Web site).

As those of you in our tri-state area may know, The Situation is scheduled to be at the Black Finn (on 7th Street)  in downtown Cincinnati tomorrow night starting at 9 p.m. As Hairpoof reported last week,  his visit was rescheduled due to a scheduling conflict with MTV who happened to decide that last Tuesday was the perfect night to have a “Let’s Celebrate JS Season Two” party in New York. While cast members are allowed to make outside personal appearances, MTV’s scheduled appearances take precedence and therefore the Sitch pulled the plug.

To show you just how big of a situation that was in Cincinnati, I’ll just tell you that the Black Finn got the word out about the cancellation in any way possible including a blurb on the 5 o’clock news. But that didn’t stop fans from trying to fist pump downtown. I guess we’ll all just have to try again tomorrow.

Tim and My Mom Calls Me George from Cincinnati's KISS 107

However, that’s not why we called Tim and MMCMG. Instead, our usual commute was disrupted by the fact that I got stuck behind a bus on one of the hilliest roads on the West Side of Cincinnati and it seemed like said bus decided to stop at every valley on my way to the expressway. As much as it annoyed me while it was happening, it must have been fate because it let me hear from Marco on the radio.

Marco called into the KISS to let them know that he was kind of pissed off that Tim and George were giving the Situation and Jersey Shore all kinds of press by talking about his impending visit on the radio.

Marco happens to be Italian American and he’s one of those people who hates that MTV put this horrible, horrible show that portrays racist stereotypes about a subsect of American culture. I mean, really, why would they have ever put this highly successful show on the air?

Marco plans to head on down to the Black Finn with a couple of his buddies tomorrow night to protest the Situation with signs that say “Get out of my city” and the like. He even plans on going inside the bar to meet the Situation head on and generally piss off everyone who doesn’t actually have a problem with JS.

OK, in all honesty, I kind of get it. These kids are Italian (or half-Italian, and maybe a few aren’t even Italian at all *cough* Sammi and Angelina *cough*) and they do some pretty crazy things like GTL all day, and creep on women, and hook up in hot tubs, and wear what doesn’t really amount to clothing… but all we have to say is get over it.

Yes, they are Italian-American, yes, they do engage in some questionable behavior, but really these people are not going out and saying that they are the ultimate Italians in America and every single person of Italian descent acts like they do. In fact, they’ve said that they aren’t representative of any group of people time and time again.

People protest Jersey Shore in NY

I mean really, it’s not just Italians that could be getting a bad rep from Ronnie and the gang. One could make the argument that all 23-year-olds go out and beat the crap out of people. Or that all people going to school to become veterinary assistants are going to get punched in the face. Or that all people with boob jobs cheat on their boyfriends at Karma and then conveniently forget about it the next day.

The cast are young, they’re all in their 20s and they’re all having a good time. They don’t represent any one culture or age group or location. They represent themselves. Anyone who has actually watched the show or any of the cast’s appearances on the Today Show or Leno for more than five seconds would recognize that. So, get over it Marco!

Still, I hope Marco does show up at the Black Finn tomorrow. We’d love to get a few pictures and maybe an interview or two to post on Wednesday morning.

And just to prove that not all people in Cincinnati get worked up enough to protest public appearances by reality TV stars (because that’s a stereotype, and that’s what this entire post is fighting against) I’ll leave you with the info that Tim and George’s poll info on Marco’s Situation.

Protesting Jersey Shore…
If it were my race, I’d protest too – 11.11%
Marco from Bridgetown is a tool – 66.67%
Why doesn’t anyone protest Rock of Love? – 22.22%

Photo credits: MTV, KISS 107.1, Best Week Ever