Stereotyping in the Washington Post

Two days ago the Washington Post published a letter from Italy's ambassador to the United States. The Post had previously published an article filled with ethnic stereotypes and playing to American prejudices, intimating that Italy was overrun by Mafia thugs terrorizing the population and that the country was in a state of chaos almost approaching that prevalent in the United States. Knowing full well that any letter to the Post would be ignored, we sent one instead to the Ambassador.

March 9, 2009

The Hon. Giovanni Castellaneta
Ambassador of Italy
Embassy of Italy
3000 Whitehaven Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20008

Dear Dr. Castellaneta:

Congratulations on your letter to the Washington Post of March 9, 2009. It is heartening to see that at least one country is working hard not to let financial and economic hysteria seize control of the situation, and that those who spread damaging (and erroneous) ethnic stereotypes that flood the American media are called to account.

However, I must be frank and say that I doubt that your pointed letter will have the effect that it should have. Stereotypes are embedded more deeply into the American psyche than even the seriously flawed Keynesian economic theories about banking that have caused the current economic situation. This is ironic because much of modern banking theory was worked out in Italy, which presumably knows how to run banks.

That being the case, I think it would be to your advantage to have a talk with Dr. Norman G. Kurland, president of the non-profit Center for Economic and Social Justice ("CESJ"), a think tank headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Dr. Kurland may be able to help you develop a strategy to capitalize on Italy's banking strength and provide an exemplar to the rest of the world, instead of a thinly-veiled excuse to indulge in envy.

A program we've developed called "Capital Homesteading for Every Citizen" should be of particular interest to you. Properly implemented, Capital Homesteading has the potential not only to provide the means whereby every citizen in a country could gain an adequate and secure income, but also undermine the justification of and support for terrorism and organized crime.

I invite you to visit our web site, www.cesj.org, and review the materials on Capital Homesteading. After you've visited the web site, you might want to give Dr. Kurland a telephone call to discuss ways in which CESJ's programs and proposals could be of assistance to Italy. I have enclosed some information on Dr. Kurland, CESJ, and Capital Homesteading.