C'mon, Dr. Wecht

I am writing in regard to Cyril Wecht's rebuttal ("I Didn't Use 'Goombah' As a Slur," Jan. 27) to the piece by David DeAngelo.

As an Italian-American, I use the word goombah when I greet another person: like, "Hey, goombah" or if you see someone and you can't remember his name, it is "Hey, goombah" or "cuz."

Dr. Wecht said in his article that if he had been referring to Stephen Zappala and Bradley Orsini as Mafioso, he would have said so. Dr. Wecht, you said that all the people you talked to said it means friendship; well then, you should have just said they were friends. Come on, Dr. Wecht, it is one thing to call a friend a goombah, but you were referring to someone you don't like.

 

DOMENIC MARASCO SR.
Morningside