Opinion: Calling Someone Fredo Isn’t Racist
I knew Chris Cuomo’s father quite well. For several years I was one of his media shadows. He wasn’t an easy fellow to get along with but in some moments away from the news of the day he could be very pleasant (he liked talking football with me). As he was toying with the notion of running for President before 1992 he had been labeled mafia by a girlfriend of Bill Clinton.
They tell me Cuomo and other liberals deserve the abuse. Which is an argument the left makes about the right.
Cuomo wasn’t pleased and he told me even reasonable people would hear an Italian name and make assumptions. I knew intelligent people who harbored the stereotype. One even told me Cuomo wouldn’t seek the highest office in America because he would be outed. Apparently, being the Governor of a very large state didn’t bring the same attention.
I don’t believe the name Fredo (the weak-minded son in the Godfather series) is racist. Chris Cuomo gets called it a lot by political enemies and has even joked about its use in the past, however.
The man shouldn’t be blamed for blowing up when someone baited him with the name. It was a public setting where Cuomo was shopping with family (let’s hope he avoids the fresh oranges).
We’ve seen conservatives harassed in restaurants and at their homes. Being a conservative, I don’t like what I’m hearing from some of my own. They tell me Cuomo and other liberals deserve the abuse. Which is an argument the left makes about the right.
I’m a small town radio announcer but even I’ve taken public abuse. Many years ago it happened on a street. The language was especially foul.
This is reaching a boiling point. Maybe in the near future a member of the media or government will be in public with family and some loudmouth will be perceived as a threat. “Bang!!!” Then what? Reprisals?