P.C. Police Beware: Some Take Pride in Stereotypes

ITALIANO, the sweat shirt declares. Much like a dictionary, this shirt also provides the pronunciation(e-tal-e-a-no) and a definition.

An Italian, it declares, is a “consumer of mass quantities of pasta and pizza.” (Actually, images represent the pasta and pizza.) Moreover, an Italian is “blessed with good looks” and is a “strong believer in family.” Finally, an Italian is “known to be a , not a fighter.”

Now, Rocky Marciano and Jake LaMotta might have punched out anyone who suggested that Italians wimp out when the going gets tough. Then again, Italy has a mixed record in warfare, and no list of Italians would be complete without mention of such lovable icons as Romeo, Casanova and Gina Lollobrigida.

One person’s stereotype may be another’s source of pride. This much is obvious in a visit to Nationalities, an apparel shop at Northridge Fashion Plaza that peddles symbols of ethnic esteem.

The Czechs, according to Nationalities, have a great sense of humor. The Irish have quick tempers. Poles are hard workers. Mexicans have a “spirit like pistols a-blazin’.” The French are romantic. And so on.

“The emphasis is on the good,” explains Daniel Uhlenbrock, the half-German, half-Italian, all-American manager of Nationalities. For instance, he says, the sweat shirt for Germans calls them “stubborn and organized.”

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The extremists of political correctness would have you believe that all stereotypes are evil. But really, now. In these multicultural and sensitive times, stereotypes still come in three basic forms: the good, the bad and the ugly. The latter tend to be obvious; they may be disdained or used in poor taste. But good and bad tend to be a matter of perspective.

It seems funny to me, rather than offensive, that the Germans are proudly stubborn and the Irish proudly feisty. Friends returning from vacations in Paris tell me the French even seem proud of their fabled rudeness.

But maybe that’s because I’m Scotch-Irish. Do you know what the Nationalities store’s Scottish sweat shirts say about my people?

That we’re thrifty.

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If the experience of Nationalities is any indication, many Americans of European ancestry long for an identity that is richer than Wonder Bread. Mike Uhlenbrock, Daniel’s brother, started the business with just a small variety of shirts in an Omaha shopping mall five years ago. This Christmas, Nationalities had about a dozen outlets scattered throughout the country, including six permanent locations.

Nationalities, as one might expect, has run afoul of modern sensibilities. Their Czech and Irish sweat shirts, for example, used to feature beer mugs to extol a favorite pastime. The design was changed after parents told them they wouldn’t buy such shirts for their children.

“But now we have people saying, ‘I want the shirt with the beer drinker,’ ” Mike sighs.

There’s no pleasing everybody. To be frank, the Northridge store has disappointed many people--not because it exploits ethnic stereotypes, but because it falls far short of reflecting L.A.’s extraordinary diversity.

They have more than 70 nationalities--but they’re out of Chinese shirts and have nothing for such huge communities as the Salvadorans or the Armenians.

“I probably see 20 people a day that say, ‘Got Armenian?’ ” Daniel admits.

Those shirts, he said, should be ready in the spring.