Speaker. House Concurrent Resolution 4. a bill I introduced at the opening of the 99th Ccngress. would put the Congress on record in opposition to films and television or radio broadcasts which defame. stereotype. demean. or degrade ethnic. racial. or religious groups. As an American and the son of Italian immigrants. I am only too well acquainted with the innuendos. the sick jokes. and the countless other vicious. contemptible. and cruel methods employed by our mass media to degrade members of ethnic and minority groups. It is a tragic commentary upon our times that those ethnic groups and minorities which have managed to retain a vestige of their original national identity. while at the same time assimilating into democratic society and contributing mightily to the strength of our Nation. should be made to suffer most acutely by motion pictures. television programs. radio broadcasts. and periodicals which demean their identity.
Identified stereotypes
Mass media degrades ethnic and minority groups.