In America, he’d have thrown a car

I realize it’s not funny that Silvio Berlusconi got his nose broken when a guy threw a statue at him. But I can’t help noting that the incident, or at least the choice of weapon, was so… Italian.

It’s like if somebody threw a cheese at a Frenchman. Or a stein of beer at a German.

In America, it would be a car. Which is probably why it hasn’t happened here. They’re hard to lift.

6 thoughts on “In America, he’d have thrown a car

  1. Steve Gordy

    Berlusconi ought to consider himself lucky. Italians have a long tradition of dealing out summary justice to rulers they hate.

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  2. Brad Warthen

    The shoe was because showing someone the bottom of your shoe is a supreme insult in that culture.

    Speaking of Italian stereotypes… over the weekend my wife made for my son and daughter-in-law (who just had the new baby) a dish that involved stuffing pasta shells with three kinds of cheese and then spaghetti sauce over each layer, and she said she was glad she wasn’t Italian because all of her Italian friends were expected to do this kind of thing all the time.

    It’s so much easy being Irish, because there IS no celebrated national cuisine.

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  3. bud

    What kind of shoe did the guy throw at Bush. Was it a “high heel”, “loafer” or “flip-flop”. Given the character that he possessed any of those would have been appropriate.

    Reply

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