By Sharron Nelson—Video game character, Mario, of the Super Mario Brothers, has been a beloved icon for at least the last generation, and is on his way to doing the same in Generation Z.
Although I, too, have been a fan, I cannot help but look back at Mario through the lenses of 2019. I now look at the pudgy, mustachioed lover of red, and wonder how his image has affected those who share commonalities with him. I'm speaking, of course, about the real-life Italian plumbers who kill turtles.
Stereotypes are hurtful in that they cause otherwise-intelligent people to attribute characteristics of one person, whether correctly or not, to the entire group. For example, it is not uncommon for people to assume that Italian plumbers who kill an excessive number of turtles are also romantically interested in princesses who get kidnapped over and over again by the same villain. However, while this may be true of some Italian plumbers who murder hordes of turtles and other shelled creatures, this is not true of all of them.
Take Mr. Antonio Colombo of New York City. He has been a plumber for 22 years, and his parents were Italian immigrants. He has been slaughtering turtles since the age of about 12, when he accidentally stepped on one's head. He developed an affinity for the sound that it made, and the way that he was able to sort of bounce off of it and leap back into the air several feet. However, contrary to the stereotype, Mr. Colombo's favorite color is a dark orange, he has never ridden a dinosaur, and he shies away from lava-filled dungeons as much as possible. While it is true that he is romantically involved with a princess at this time, he wants people to know that he collects stamps, enjoys classic literature, and plays bass in a band.
People like Mr. Colombo deserve to be treated as individuals, and I fear that Mario's fame is making it more difficult to see the rest of the turtle-massacring Italian plumbers as the unique people they are. Too easily, such stereotypes can cost them jobs, or make them prey of hate groups who are only too happy to bunch all shell-shredding Italian plumbers together.
Maybe it's time to retire Mario and his brother, and put to rest the notion that all turtle-butchers who clear pipes and are Italian must love red, shoot fire from their hands, or have the ability to walk on clouds.
I, for one, am working to do my part for their proud community.