Today L. and I attend our first class of the year at Media Scuola Dante Aleghieri. The class is “Italiano per Stranieri” (“Italian for Foreigners”). We had been hipped to this program by Rosa at the end of last year, attended two or three sessions, but things were so crazy in the run-up to X-Mas that we never got to really sink our teeth in. The professoressa is very good. She speaks Italian clearly and beautifully-we can understand every word she says-and is excellent at giving examples of usage. I’m ashamed to say I don’t have her name at hand. We call her “signora” and the kids call her “maestra“.

Our fellow stranieri are so cool! Most are in their early teens and it’s a true global spread; an Iranian boy, three kids from the African continent, a girl from Sri Lanka, two from South America, a woman probably in her twenties from China, a Moroccan boy who grew up in France, and another boy from Afghanistan who looks positively Ghenghis Khan-ian with his broad Eastern mask and wispy beard. L. and I are somewhat more advanced in our knowledge of proper Italian than our classmates. We’ve studied the rules longer, working from an already firm grammatical base in English. Helps, too, that we write using the Latin alphabet. We’re kind of like those held-back kids you remember from 8th Grade, the ones with the stubble (seems like they were always boys) and post-puberty voices who everyone knew had problems, but who always seemed more “with it” if only by virtue of their extra years.

As Americans, we have a rock star status as well. All the kids want to ask us about the USA, they know names of famous cities and wonder if we’ve been there. There’s not a hint of animosity in their attitude towards us. Strange how our country can do so much ugly stuff in the world and yet still shine in the global imagination. A couple of kids mention Bush, who we are quick to disavow, and you can tell they see him as a malign force. It’s true of every Italian we’ve spoken to as well. They can’t understand what’s going on with this horrible man and his shameful deeds, but they don’t necessarily blame us personally. L. and I often feel bad getting a pass on this. Folks tell us it’s not us Americans, it’s Bush doing all the harm in the world but you know what? We Americans like a good old war and we like a big fat enemy to rally around. We don’t know squat about the rest of the world and we’d rather not bother and so we crash around like a great bloody bull and fob it off with protestations that we really meant well all along.

It’s crazy to reflect on the nativist ugliness here in Verona, especially after this experience with “Italiano per Stranieri“. The new mayor, Flavio Tosi, plastered signs all over Verona during the elections last year trumpeting how he would send the illegals back home. His party, Lega Nord, used images of scowling Middle-Eastern men crammed onto a boat to illustrate the danger Italy faces in the current environment. There was no attempt to show consideration for the feelings of the many people who have legally immigrated to Italy from other countries. His campaign to chase away the guys who sell counterfeit Prada bags and similar crap on Via Mazzini featured a big signboard on Piazza delle Erbe with a photo of a black-skinned fellow glumly hawking his wares on sunny pavement, as much as to say “you blacks and your cheap Chinese knock-offs must go!”

Here at the Dante Alleghieri the focus is on tolerance and integration, not cheap, short-term political gain at the expense of common sense and humanity. No one will deny that Italy is a small country and very much strained by the new globalization. Something sensible must be done to control the flow of people in and out of the country, that’s just obvious. Something must be done to heal this staggering economy as well. Admittedly, I have no firm solutions of my own at hand. But seeing these kids, these “stranieri” in our Italian class, so young and vibrant and standing on the curb of life’s rushing road, you have an object lesson in common humanity. In our enthusiasm, our need to laugh and joke around, our need to be confident and to cut a good figure at the right moment, we are entirely the same. Racism, nativism, snobbishness, and judgementalism- these are the tools of ugly politics and are used to keep the rich rich and the powerful enthroned. The great shame is how well these tools continue to work in spite of all best efforts. In any case, we say “bravo, Dante! Vai avanti!”