Guido loving? I think not: slaughtering stupid stereotypes

You mean the Jersey Shore isn’t a haven to the greasy, fist-pumping, muscle shirt wearing gang that I see on TV and in movies? Those proud Italian thugs that have trickled down along the shoreline don’t contaminate the whole coastal front? What?! Stereotypes aren’t always accurate? Naw, I don’t believe it, I guess I’ll have to see it.

People have asked me how my trip to the shore was, and laugh when I respond with, “Loved it, I had an amazing time, hanging out and just kickin’ it with some chill homies.”

“The Guido homies?” They chuckle, immediately picturing a dready skallywagon getting funky with the stereotypical Jersey Shore meathead.

Yes, there are those kinds, but they don’t make up the whole. Hidden behind the stench of Axe cologne and the caked on make-up, resides a hidden subculture of truly down-to-earth people, who could be mistaken for the free-spirited, cliché of the community nestled in the rolling hills of the Green Mountains of Vermont (another stereotype, my bad).

These kids I hung out with didn’t care about looking fly; they cared about living life and loving it in the process. One evening we decided to roll on over to what we thought was an open mike night at a local restaurant, in the hopes that their band could play. With “Cold Rain & Snow” (a Grateful Dead song) blaring, we pulled up to Kaya’s Kitchen, a vegan and vegetarian restaurant. We strolled through the door, Long Trail Double Bags in hand, and were not disappointed to find out that it wasn’t an open mike after all. Instead we were greeted with a local band, including a one fourth of Ween. For the rest of the night we shot the shit and ran around with Grateful Dead covers as our live soundtrack. Is that what people picture going on at the Jersey Shore? Forget about it.

I despise stereotypes. I spit in their general direction, and so do the people from the Shore. When some of these kids travel and tell folks that they’re from the Jersey Shore, they can’t believe it. Honestly, I wouldn’t have at first either. We only hear about and mock the Guidos that are supposedly the only genre of people inhabiting the area. Shore residents are not the only people susceptible to labeling, it occurs all the time. When people constantly judge others based on appearance, what can you expect?

While making my way slowly back to Vermont, one bus ride to the next, I spent a brief time stuck in Albany. I was repeatedly asked by fellow stranded souls if I “enjoyed the show.”

“The Phish show? No, sir, f**k Phish.”

Once again I was pelted with laughter. “Oh yeah, like you’re not a Phish fan, look at you.”

Homes, stereotyping isn’t cool. Dreads, plus flannel, plus corduroy does not equal Phish head. Sorry, your math skills are a little off kilter. Get back into the classroom.

A kid with a beard and scraggly hair approached me. “Hey do you have any rolling papers? I got some hash; if you got some green we could roll a joint.”

“No, sorry. I don’t smoke weed.”

“Ha, ha. Ok. Well, do you have any glass?”

“Homey, once again: Don’t smoke weed.”

He eventually left, disappointed that his stoner radar was off. Why is this so funny to people? Is it just some kind of big joke when people don’t live up to what their image assumes about them? Sometimes I almost feel guilty, as if I’m deceiving the world by how I present myself. Then I realize that it’s not my problem, it’s theirs for being so delusional and thick-skulled.

I turn to my friend, “He should have asked those kids,” I say, as two dready kids saunter into the bus station, drenched in crystal wraps and Jerry hand patches. I immediately slap my self in the head, God damn hypocrite.

We all do it. It’s hard not to, but just because it’s hard doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Vamanos muchachos! Off we go to break stereotypes one group at a time. Not all kids with dreads smoke weed and worship Phish, and not all people from the Shore are techno-loving, club hopping douche bags.

A valuable lesson has been learned, and maybe one day it will sink into our materialistic society… yeah, right. And there I go again, stereotyping the stubborn nature of our country.

Short URL: http://www.themountaineer.org/?p=1112

Posted by Emma Binnie on Dec 9, 2009 Filed under First-Person. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry