Hi Chris,

Thank you for reading and taking the time to respond.

That's a good point. I never said I wasn't at fault myself and regret not trying harder when I was younger. I definitely should have tried better and I stress effort a lot more than natural talent now.

The bigger point is the environment of expectation and pressure a stereotype like this breeds, and rationally you get embarrassed if other people think you don't represent your race well, and I was trying to play down the social justice and identity politics angle of this a bit.

I was trying to get across that is that a different kind of messaging works better for impressionable youth and for their futures, but I understand it's not a perfect world.

For the record, I didn't even know the Italians and organized crime stereotype was a thing, so I guess I've been living under a rock for a long time.

Ryan