Research the topic "SACCO and VANZETTI"
Make sure to take notes about the time and location of the event.
Connect in your mind this historical episode with the "Wall Street" article in the assignment and the character of Tony-the-Anarchist in L'emigrante.
COMMENT: what were your reactions to learning about this episode? Did it trigger any questions, curiosity, interest?
REPLY to a COMMENT posted after yours: choose something original you had not thought about.
The Sacco and Vanzetti case was a surprise to learn about. Injustice a difficult subject to learn about. We all believe we are not apart of it however, we all contribute to it. This society has murdered these two innocent men and now we look back and there's nothing to say. One of my reactions were scared because it seems this way with muslims today. Are we necessarily past this kind of ostracizing people for their beliefs. the two men were anarchists and during the red scare this made them huge targets of hate between the society and government. Being singled out for voicing your beliefs is cruel and hopefully those days are coming closer to an end.
ReplyDeleteSacco & Vanzetti was an interesting story to read about, especially with how it turns out in the end (and they could have possibly been innocent). This article also with the one of the bombings on Wall Street were both very cruel crimes. I feel as though Tony from the movie and the Wall Street bombings were very similar. They were alike not only for the obvious reason of the frequent use of bombs, but they both used this method for revenge and to stand up for what they believed in. Tony used the bombs to help Peppino escape and get away from the rich people that he hated, and the bombers on Wall Street used the bombs to get revenge because the government had deported some of the members of their group and put them in jail.
ReplyDeleteOne question that this triggered was that were Sacco & Vanzetti sentienced To the death penalty because they were Italian Americans? So they were not given a more in depth look Into their case to prove their innocence?
Reading about the Sacco and Vanzetti case unfortunately did not surprise me at all. In this class, I am learning a lot about Italian Americans and their hardships when they arrived to America. Therefore, reading an article about an unfair and injustice trial of two Italian American anarchists isn't shocking. These men believed in revolutionary violence to hopefully change the way Italian Americans were perceived and treated. They believed that the Italian Americans should be liberated by their oppressor (America). My question is: why did it take seven years for both men to be executed?
ReplyDeleteBut you're missing the fact that these men may not have been a part of the crime at all. Many called for their innocence both in the U.S. and around the world. While it is obvious that they adhered to an anarchist cause, it seems that there was plenty of evidence to support their lack of involvement with the robbery. My question is, what would someone gain by executing and persecuting these men? And who are they?
DeleteThe Sacco and Vanzetti case explains the wrongful trial and execution of two Italian anarchists. The two men were accused of killing a guard during a robbery. Many have condemned their execution as the "evidence" was not strong enough for their conviction. A strong anti-radical sentiment in the U.S. helped put these men behind bars since they were seen as anarchists. Tony, the anarchist, was an example of this depiction. However, reading about this I am very concerned about how strong the anti-Italian sentiment in the U.S. We have discussed this in class, but I wonder how many other men were wrongly accused?
ReplyDeleteIt seems the Sacco and Vanzetti case had a motive outside of seeking justice. There was plenty of evidence and appeals made by not only common people, but celebrated writers, academics, and even a Harvard Law professor. Yet the verdict was upheld. It makes me wonder who benefited from their executions and persecutions. It seems that these anarchist movements always ended in failure. The bombings do little to further their cause and in the case of the Wall Street bombing, it seemed to increase the power and reach of the government's intelligence agencies.
ReplyDeleteNow, the anarchist in L'emigrante is shown as a desperate, ideological and unattractive man. But despite this, he sticks to his morals and even gives his life for his friend Peppino. He has quite the reputation, considering he's been arrested 27 times since he's been to America. However, we never see him place a successful attack in the movie, except when saving Peppino from the police. It seemed as though he was a metaphor for Anarchists, dirty, grungy and unsuccessful, however their ideology and hearts may have been in the right place, to stop an cruel and oppressive government.
I agree. The cases had a common problem, while Tony was the complete opposite. It's almost unfair to the Italians that were persecuted to be put in the same comparison with Tony because they were innocent and wrongly accused and executed.
DeleteLearning about Sacco and Vanzetti really helped tie together some of the hardships Italian Americans dealt with when they came to America. Because of their views about anarchy, they were given the death sentence even though there was no substantial evidence proving they had killed a guard. America must have generalized them to seem like Tony the Anarchist from the film. They figured that all Italian Americans must be like him and the situations happening around that time (Wall street bombing, murder of Ms Hall) must of instilled an anti-Italian sentiment in America during the time.
ReplyDeleteSacco and Vanzetti tie together with the Wall Street case in the sense that Italians were wrongly accused and persecuted despite the lack of sufficient evidence. However, Tony is clearly an anarchist who admits to being caught 27 times in the act of acting out against the government. These are quite different themes. The first two exemplify the xenophobia toward innocent Italian immigrants and the corruption of the American justice system, and the latter shows Tony humorously setting bombs either in protest or to save Peppino. They are very different.
ReplyDeleteLearning about this is extremely shocking, it is as if I'm reading current terrorism around the world. Also, it exposed to what extent the Italians were fed up with poverty and the wealthy. I was curious to know how they organized themselves and educated themselves in explosives and if anyone in power helped them.
ReplyDelete