Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!uunet!stanford.edu!agate!gold.cchem.berkeley.edu!marchi
From: marchi@gold.cchem.berkeley.edu (Massimo Marchi)
Newsgroups: trial.soc.culture.italian
Subject: Re: L'Italia vista dagli USA
Message-ID: <1991May2.174327.7475@agate.berkeley.edu>
Date: 2 May 91 17:43:27 GMT
References: <6nygpvj@rpi.edu> <1991May1.202210.21418@agate.berkeley.edu> <1991May2.054523.19908@athena.mit.edu>
Sender: root@agate.berkeley.edu (Charlie Root)
Organization: Dept of Chemistry, University of California at Berkeley
Lines: 39


In article <1991May2.054523.19908@athena.mit.edu> gennaro@athena.mit.edu (Rosario Gennaro) writes:
>In article <1991May1.202210.21418@agate.berkeley.edu> cnrdean@booboo.berkeley.edu () writes:
>>Why is Southern Italy so poor?  The only time I visited Italy, my wife
>>and I drove to Calabria (Castel Silano).  I was amazed at the low
>>standard of living.
>
>>the house (there was snow nearby), no telephones, few light fixtures,...
>
>Gee...when did you go there?
>

I don't think this is really the point. I don't know if today's
Southern Italy is as poor as Samuel describes. It is definetely a poor
region of our country.  What is rather startling to me is that that
surprised him so much. How far has he travelled the world? Has he ever
been to the Appalachian mountains?  Does he think that there the
standard of living is higher than in Calabria?  Too far away he says?
It does not take travelling many miles in this country to find abject
poverty and squallor. Has he ever driven to West or South Oakland (I
gather he lives nearby)? Poverty is a reality in all societies. You can
find it in any other European country as well(*).

I would say that Samuel is either extremely naive or is trying to get a
nasty reaction.

Massimo



(*) In France for instance it is well known that the poorest and most
    squallid part of the country is the Marseille area. In fact people 
    there immigrate to inhospitable places such as the American Midwest, 
    Indiana in particular, to escape poverty, degradation and tasteless 
    food.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Massimo Marchi Lewis-112                         marchi@gold.cchem.berkeley.edu
University of California at Berkeley             marchi@UCBCMSA.bitnet
Berkeley, CA 94720