Christopher Cuomo is an embarrassment to Italians

CNN's Christopher Cuomo, brother of N.Y. governor Andrew Cuomo and son of former N.Y. governor Mario Cuomo, objected to a man who called him Fredo. He threatened to punch out and throw the man down the steps. He then repeatedly used the F-word against the man and, even more bizarre, said the term "Fredo" is a slur against Italians comparable to the N-word against blacks. As an American of Italian descent, I don't know any Italian, other than Fredo Cuomo, who thinks "Fredo" is a slur against Italians. Certainly, it is not remotely close to the N-word.

"Fredo" has entered the popular culture to refer to a dim-witted man who gets by because of family connections such as having a smarter brother or father paving the way for his success. As everyone knows, the brilliant actor John Cazale played Fredo in The Godfather 1 and 2. Fredo Corleone was upset that his younger brother, Michael, had the brains and guts to take over the family business. For example, in the TV show Married with Children, the character Bud says in one episode: "I mean, I'm not Fredo!" Fredo Cuomo should not be upset. He knows he got the CNN gig because of his brother and father, not to mention getting accepted at Yale University. There are plenty of Fredos in politics and business. For example, Senator Ted Kennedy got elected because of his father's money and his brother, JFK. But there are better names for Teddy, such as Ted the Swimmer, so why waste Fredo on Teddy? Or there is former California Governor Jerry Brown who got elected because his father, Pat, had served as governor of California. But Jerry had the nickname "Moonbeam" thanks to columnist Mike Royko, so why waste Fredo when you have Moonbeam? Chris Cuomo isn't very bright. The brilliant and fearless Kellyanne Conway wiped the floor with Cuomo when he tried to debate her on border security. Cuomo knows that "Fredo" is not a slur against Italians. It is a reference to stupid, weak men who get by because of family connections. Cuomo got his job at CNN because of his ability to trash Trump and parrot the CNN line, and mainly because of Andrew and Mario Cuomo. But he chose to pose as a victim subject to nonexistent ethnic slurs. This is ridiculous and an insult to Italians who faced real ethnic slurs, and an insult to blacks to compare the word "Fredo" with the N-word. Moreover, Fredo Cuomo joked that he is "Fredo" during a radio interview with Curtiss Sliwa in 2010. Cuomo pretends "Fredo" is a slur against Italians, so he reacts to the word "Fredo" by threatening and swearing like the Joe Pesci character in Goodfellas or like Robert DeNiro in real life threatening President Trump. Cuomo acts like a cheap, vulgar thug. Fredo Cuomo is an embarrassment to Italians. He acted like a cafone, Italian for a boorish, ill mannered, and uncouth person. Image: ShowTime via YouTube.