ITALIAN-AMERICANS are speaking out. They are complaining about a stereotype they just can’t stand. One that they find inaccurate and misleading. One that is constantly shown on television, much to their disgust. They are unhappy. They are at their wit’s end. They are fed up.

No, I’m not talking about “The Sopranos.” When that notorious series returns to HBO–after the longest hiatus in the history of Mafia-themed TV–the debate over its characterization of Italian-Americans will no doubt break out again, with much finger-pointing on both sides. But who cares? “The Sopranos” is not the problem. Not at all. The show’s images are benign compared with the real menace in our midst.