cptgaio

Alessio, why do you have to take everything as a personal attack? It was a joke, I even included the emoticon... come on. And what’s there to be ashamed of in knowing you're in love? (I didn't name anyone, especially since I don't know her). It's the most beautiful thing in the world! (After West Ham, Dream I’m waiting for the invitation!)

Sid: well, I find that talking is never wrong, and if man were to stop in front of every different background, we would still be living in caves. Regarding the nickname conversation, I can agree with you; the point is that (aside from "sensitive data") I think that anyone who knows me on these pages knows very well what my general thoughts are, so there's little room for being misunderstood. One thing I know for sure: telling me that I am not Neapolitan therefore I will never be able to understand (generally, not in the specific case of Naples) many things is not the same as telling me that I have a different background. I don't think I need to tell you what that means.

Dream, let me point out that (as your comment also suggests) it's the Neapolitans who seem to "enjoy" more the fact of being (and allow me the cliché) "commonplace," at least that's what many comments imply. My question is: are there more people in Naples who think like you or more like Alessio? Because if the former is the correct answer, it means that Naples is not drowning in its self-satisfaction of being a "difficult" city; if it's the latter, there's no point in discussing it.

Sid, they are called "dialectic" and "arguing," and no one wants to solve anything with a few discussions (or "psychologizing")—there's an effort to make sense of that human need called "to communicate with one's peers." I'm sorry you find all of this trivial.

Alessio, not to sound "experienced," but you are young and in your own way idealistic, and I think that one day on point 4 you will definitely change your mind, especially when your sweetheart (I know you're in love ;-) ) convinces you to unleash your genetic legacy (and trust me, no matter how punk your sweet girl is, this will happen sooner or later). On point 2, I am speaking candidly to you and I think you said something extremely foolish: not about Naples per se but about the survival of children because then I would have you speak with some mothers from Sudan (to mention just one place among many) to change your mind. Point 1: In fact, I didn't compare them to Naples; I was talking about the fact that crime doesn't only exist in Naples, and even if it did, it wouldn’t be something to be proud of, as it seems you are. Point 3) To declare? If I also said that this is my personal view, I assure you that there is a lot of Naples (in the sense of Neapolitans) in Veneto (and that’s a positive thing), so I’ve heard plenty of bells. Point 5) On DeBaser, there aren’t only Neapolitans; if you find it difficult to talk to “others” (you see, are you self-ghettoizing?) you should put a disclaimer at the beginning of each review: "read if only Neapolitans."

In short: I think that this "ghettoizing," as you call it, is more of a "self-ghettoizing."

But you see, you always go back to the same point: you call the lack of life what might just be normality, and you call life what is, at least from your stories, an abnormal situation. You attach a negative meaning to the fact that in many regions what people want is simply to live, work, and raise their children away from difficult circumstances, while you consider positive the fact that a Neapolitan knows well what "criminality" means, whereas someone from Veneto (or Emilia, Lombardy, etc.) does not (though that may not be exactly true; I would invite you to visit certain areas of Padua, with all the "respect" for the greater danger of Neapolitan neighborhoods). This is what I don't understand: how will you resolve your problems if you give them a positive meaning and experience them with nostalgia when you're away? I'm increasingly convinced that Naples will change only if the Neapolitan wants it to change, and no national effort will ever be rewarded because you will always experience it as contrary to your "normality."

Alessio, I don’t agree with what you say in comment 56. Isn't it that, without any intention of starting a debate, you sort of take pleasure in feeling like a "reject" (and I don't think you are at all, just to be clear) and perhaps you are not very objective in your assessments of how certain situations are viewed by the rest of Italy? Do you want me to start rattling off clichés about Venetians that a lot of Italians approve of? Come on ;-)

Well, I don't think I'm among those who show certain "feelings." If it has happened (here or elsewhere on the site), I assure you it was not my intention. The point you make is valid; "mariuoli" are everywhere (in the world). However, reading between the lines of many comments left by Neapolitans, it seems you have a dangerous tendency to glorify the "romantic" side (let's call it that) of organized crime (let's call it that) or the struggles of your city—as if they were medals to pin to your chest rather than issues to fight against. Furthermore, I still don't understand why, when you talk about your problems, they all seem to stem from situations outside of Naples. Now, I'm not saying that national politics has no responsibilities (it has huge ones), but there must be some intrinsic reason in Naples that is causing the city to experience certain hardships. I live in Vicenza; 90% of Vicenza's problems are caused by those who live here, not by national politics. I hope I have made myself clear.

Anyway, for a while now, whenever the conversation turns to Naples, I notice a certain anti-Italian sentiment that is quite incomprehensible (at least from my point of view), as if Naples had made an enemy of the whole of Italy and its virtues were the exclusive heritage of Neapolitans, while all its problems were caused by (and thus a burden on) the rest of the nation. Perhaps even Belluno, Vercelli, or Crotone have their own virtues and problems, but they experience them in a way that is not so melodramatic and maybe they tend to "restart" from their own resources (obviously helped as it should be by the rest of the nation) because I still haven't figured out what the average Neapolitan wants from this country, and I think I'm not the only one still in the dark about this...