Look at present day America today.
White kids are taught their ancestors were drooling, evil, ignorant savages. How can you perform with that nonsense being drilled into your head?
Here in 2008 America, look at all of the negative Italian sterotypes. And if your kids have any Eastern European blood in them, there’s bad sterotypes about them too. Lots of these video games for example involve shooting at Germans and Eastern Europeans. They involve Italian thugs killing people.
Italian Americans who insist on referring to themselves as "Italian" (even though they have never been to Italy or speak the language) act like wannabe Tony Sopranos, and spend their teen and adult years getting drunk at the shore don't get ahead in life.
I am of Polish and Italian ancestry, but I wouldn't be caught dead referring to myself as anything but American, nor do I really give a sh-t about the Mafia (a dying organization stateside anyway) or negative images in the media in general (I rarely watch television).