I've been amused at some of the statements made during the last election.
Example Beppe Grillo stated the other day - "PD ha la faccia come il culo" .
If it had been in another country, I wonder at the outcry. Are Italians more liberated? or merely loud mouths?
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Italy is not an outlier. Italian politics are more civilized than certain other countries.
Perhaps Grillo seems shocking to some because he's the first guy in a while willing to speak the truth. Not to say Grillo has any real answers to solve Italy's problems, but the political parties who've been running things for a while now are not exactly doing a great job.
Bob
America seems like a dream to me now.
I have the impression this was not meant to be a question about politics...but a question about whether Italians are less PC, with Grillo just being used as an example.
My opinion is that Italians are in general less PC...actually most countries outside of the United States seem less PC...
http://tinaferraritango.com http://tinatangos.wordpress.com/
The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives swears like a drunk sailor. The former U.S. Vice President used the same language while in office.
Here's one of America's most popular radio personalities speaking in 2012.
Anybody seriously want to keep debating this? It's trivially easy to provide as many examples as anyone could want about Americans speaking, er, "colorfully."
I was not commenting on politics as such, and only using it as an example of "no public reaction". At least I have not read any outcries of "apologize/resign", etc as I see in the US press.
Every time there is a deviation in utterances from the normally polite in other countries I see "must resign", castigation and scolding.
There have been resginations over virtual sex thoughts (other times not). In Italy it's more of a "so what", next one attitude.
This is Grillo’s persona and this is how he is – people expect these comments from him so there is very little reaction. Italians generally don’t expect that much from their politicians so for the most part are not too bothered by what they say – right now they are too bust taking care of themselves and their families.
Principal Relocation
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BBC Watcher, I'm not talking about swearing. I'm talking about saying things that are unacceptable in a deeper sense.
For example, on TV the other week Luciana Littizzetto said, casually, that all Asians look the same. That would NEVER go over well on American television. (and it really shouldn't go over well anywhere!) but nobody in the Italian audience seemed to notice. That's what I meant by "less PC". Swearing has nothing to do with being PC/un-PC in my opinion.
(Editing to add: ) Another example: I dance and teach tango. In Italy and Argentina, the roles in the dance are that of the "man" and the "woman". When I taught in Seattle, I learned quickly that that was very un-PC and I had to say "leader and follower" and not apply gender, lest I offend a woman who likes leading, etc.
http://tinaferraritango.com http://tinatangos.wordpress.com/
Even Telecom Italia uses non Asians dressed up as Asians in their commercials – this would so not work in other markets. Italian politicians refer to minorities very often in the most offensive ways - terminology that would lead to their resignation in other countries!
Principal Relocation
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P.S.
I guess what makes me think Italy is less PC than the U.S. is that there is less of an "offended" reaction in Italy, compared to the U.S.
http://tinaferraritango.com http://tinatangos.wordpress.com/
Bellissima Tina understands what I am asking. For example a friend who is Asian in US terminology told me that saying "Chinese" is not PC and that the correct word was "Asian". My question was then what about people who originated in the Asian part of the USSR, India, Iran, etc, as they "Asian" too, and how can I make a distinction? I didn't get much of an answer.
As Tina pointed out there are the gender issues as well. On the one hand some people would classify Italy as homophobic, on the other hand Nichi Vendola is openly gay and a prominent politician (for now) from southern Italy which is supposed to be more conservative.
And as Tina pointed out - the reaction to "being offended", that's also important.
I recall when Spitzer resigned as Gov. of NY, I asked a friend who was a Democrat, why should he resign when Vitter from the Senate hasn't resigned? He was shocked that anyone should evern consider the option of staying in office and riding it out.
I don't see the media hounding public figures like they are hounded in the US. Yet on the other hand the US has great tolerance for the Lindsay Lohan and can't get enough of them as role-models.
It's more of a cultural question that I am asking rather than a political question.
On the other hand (and maybe I am wrong); I think that there may be more prosecution of business transgressors of laws in Italy than in the US. If you think of the big banks, AIG, etc. in the US who appear not to have caught the eye of the law, Italy appears to take more action against those caught up in financial matters. The legal system is slow and different, but it appears to go after big names.
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