<p>Dumb–like foxes.</p>
<p>[Bam:</a> ‘Jersey Shore’ season two sets ratings record](<a href=“http://livefeed.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/07/jersey-shore-season-two-sets-ratings-record.html]Bam:”>http://livefeed.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/07/jersey-shore-season-two-sets-ratings-record.html)</p>
<p>Too bad they rang the opening bell at the new york stock exchange a few days ago… gotta love pop culture.</p>
<p>…sigh.</p>
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<p>Want to really feel sad? Go talk to most couples with elementary school children and ask them to name three people from the Jersey Shore cast. Then ask them to name three athletes who play for their sports team’s biggest rival. Then ask them to name three Hollywood couples that broke up over the last year. They’ll think its fun, and be real excited and happy when they can answer all three questions.</p>
<p>Then ask them to name three of the child’s teachers from last year. Watch the look on their faces as they get stumped. Then watch the look on their faces as they can’t figure out why YOU look disgusted and sad. Give them a few minutes; I bet at lest 40% will finally figure out why they should be embarrassed for themselves.</p>
<p>Then walk away and try not to get even more depressed…</p>
<p>I inadvertently ran across this show for the first time the other day when I was bored and channel surfing. I don’t know if I hit at a particularly appalling 5 minutes but I was quite disgusted by the nastiness of the way they treated each other and, er, some other behavior. I will certainly avoid it like the plague (or the STDs probably linked with the participants based on the “some other behavior”) in the future. Why would anyone want to watch that. Blech.</p>
<p>[Reality</a> TV docks at Jersey shore, gives rise to new stars - USATODAY.com](<a href=“http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2010-07-30-jerseytvNEW_ST_N.htm]Reality”>http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2010-07-30-jerseytvNEW_ST_N.htm)</p>
<p>[Show</a> by show, the state of Jersey reality - USATODAY.com](<a href=“http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2010-07-30-jerseytvPARTII_ST_N.htm?csp=obnetwork]Show”>http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2010-07-30-jerseytvPARTII_ST_N.htm?csp=obnetwork)</p>
<p>Interesting that we refer to these people as “kids.” All are adults; the oldest is 30, another 28, two are 25 y/o, and the rest are 22 to 23 years old. I did watch this last week because my daughter had it on, and after watching 15 minutes of their immature, overly dramatic behavior, I said to her, “Geez, these people act like they’re still in high school.” I guess that explains the “kid” label.</p>
<p>This show is offensive to Italian Americans who have worked so hard to educate their children so that sterotypes like this show could no longer hold them down. I always wonder why we don’t see shows about other groups portrayed in such a demeaning way…we are living in a politically correct society but someone forgot that bashing the Italians should have ended a long time ago.</p>
<p>By the way this cast should not be referred to as kids. They act like morons but that does not make them kids anymore. Time to grow up.</p>
<p>momma-three, I’ve never seen the show, of course I’ve heard about it, but it would never occur to me that they were stereotyping Italian Americans. I just thought they were a bunch of dumb young people (who just happen to be from New Jersey). Perhaps those from the NY/NJ area see the stereotype, but I don’t know if the rest of the country would. But like I said, I’ve never watched, just heard too much about it.</p>
<p>I’m also not of Italian descent, I’m sure if I think about it I can come up with lots of stereotypical Irish drunks!</p>
<p>NJ? Puleeeeeze. Only one of those money making dimwits is from New Jersey.</p>
<p>My children told me to never never watch Jersey Shore. Of course… I was sorry, they got to say “I told you so” and now I wonder what happens when I tell them not to do something.</p>
<p>Hahaa parents need to relax! Teenagers watch the show to LAUGH at the cast’s stupidity - we aren’t trying to emmulate their actions.</p>
<p>mamabear1234…The show makes it clear that all of the adults are Italian and they use the word guido (an Italian slur) that lost popularity a few years back. Thanks to this show, young Italians are once again portrayed as being uneducated baffoons that are not capable of having an intelligent thought. The second and third generation Italians have worked very hard to get their kids away from the jobs that their grandparents took when they arrived to this country not speaking English. It is an insult to a group of people that have endured the prejudice of those who saw non English speaking people as being uneducated and incapable of achieving success through brains and not brawn.</p>
<p>The popularity of this show IMHO is partly because it is one of the last groups that have tolerated being portrayed in such a way. The Italian American leaders should put a stop to this type of insulting garbage.</p>
<p>Mom3, I think you meant they were portrayed as “uneducated BUFFOONS” or “uneducated BABOONS”, rather than uneducated baffoons.</p>
<p>Momma-three, i disagree. The cast members paint themselves as unintelligent, not an entire nationality of people. I watch every episode and I have not lost an ounce of respect for Italians. Americans watch it for entertainment value to see what these idiots will do next. Nobody finishes an episode with a disgusted view of Italian Americans.</p>
<p>I have never seen this show and don’t know what it is. I’ve heard the title before. Can someone summarize what this is?</p>
<p>I saw a headline today of someone from this show being arrested. I guess I don’t get out much but I really don’t know a thing about this show.</p>
<p>It’s about 8 young adults from the Northeast who are really superficial and go out clubbing everynight. It’s really just another MTV reality show about hooking up, drama, and being irresponsible. But what makes it hilarious is how seriously these people take themselves lol !</p>
<p>Thanks elbeeen. So, they are just some regular young adults who are not actors who the TV show follows each week? I wonder how the show found them. And I wonder what the concept was behind the idea for the show. But I gather it is a popular show and so maybe producers knew what people want to watch! I barely ever watch TV and so thanks for cluing me in.</p>
<p>Thanks for the correction younghorse…a buffoon was the word I obviously meant to write.</p>
<p>If I was Italian-American, I’d definitely feel lampooned by these folks. As a New Jerseyan, i am glad that, apparently except for one, they’re not.</p>
<p>Which is obvious, since if they were, they’d know it’s “THE Jersey Shore.”</p>
<p>BTW, people I know who have to put up with them and the whole circus on their section of the Jersey Shore are just disgusted by the whole deal.</p>
<p>In this politically correct environment that we are all embracing I can’t help but feel that Italian Americans need a louder voice to stop this type of trash. If this was a show about any other group there would be news of it all over the newspapers, television, and radio. The show is without a doubt insulting to Italians and any other show that mocked any other groups have been long removed. There are laws against words of hate yet this show perpetuates the old sterotypes that so many people have long proved to be untrue. When you look at shows like the “Jersey Housewives”, “The Jersey Shore”, “The Sopranos”, I would say that Italians are clearly being portrayed as dumb, criminal, uneducated, and unsophisticated. Why are these messages so hurtful to many Italians…well the mafia is no secret and neither is the fact that when the original Italian immigrants came to the U.S they took labor jobs because many other immigrants (Irish) at the time spoke English and as a result assimilated much quicker to the American lifestyle. The Italians just seem to be one of those groups that are still permitting slurs against them.</p>