I recently received a comment from a reader, called Natalia De Luca on the subject of Gli Alpini, about which I recently wrote a series of articles. The comment comes in the form of a question:
"Why are woman [sic.] and non registered military people allowed to join an alpini regiment, some are even of another race? I disagree with this vehemently. They have even been given a sacred hat to wear. None of these people were ever in the military and are a discrase [sic.] to that group. Can they be outed [sic.]?"
Here is my reply:
Salve Natalia De Luca,
I’m not sure that I completely understand your question. Let’s put aside for a moment the matter of "woman" (I believe you meant to write ‘women’), and concentrate on the second half of that sentence. It simply doesn’t make sense to ask "why are non registered military people allowed to join an alpini regiment?". Everyone, until they join a military regiment such as the Alpini, is a civilian, or non registered military person. Perhaps you are confusing the Alpini regiment with ‘Il Coro Degli Alpini’ which, as I wrote in my blog, is a choir, consisting mostly of ex-Alpini, that sings Alpini songs.
I don’t really want to enter into a debate about the racial and sexist related nature of your comment, however offensive I may find it. However, as I have never been in the military, and have, therefore, no first hand experience in these matters, I thought it would be interesting to phone my friend Giuseppe, who was an officer in the Alpini, in order to ask his opinion about your comment. His initial reaction was one of shock that such a question should be asked (especially by a woman!).
Here is a summary of his reply:
| Mamma mia, che domanda! Per quanto riguarda il Coro degli Alpini, l’importante è essere un simpatizzante degli Alpini e avere la passione per il canto. Le donne per ora non fanno parte dei Cori degli Alpini perché tradizionalmente sono solo voci maschili, ma è probabile che un giorno questa regola cambierà dal momento che ora le donne sono entrate nel corpo degli Alpini. |
| Wow, what a question! Regarding the Alpini choir, the most important requirement is to be a sympathizer of the Alpini, and to have a passion for singing. Women, for now, aren’t included in the Alpini choirs because traditionally they are composed of male voices only, but probably one day this rule will change since women are now part of the Military Alpine Corps. |
| Per quanto riguarda il fatto che le donne fanno parte del corpo degli Alpini, questo è un fatto che riflette i cambiamenti nella nostra società moderna e il raggiungimento della parità dei diritti. Per poter entrare negli Alpini bisogna avere certi requisiti e passare delle selezioni precise, che sono uguali sia per gli uomini che per le donne. |
| As regards the fact that women make up part of the Alpine Corps, well this is a fact that reflects the changes in our modern society, and the realization of equal opportunities. To be able to enter the Alpini it is necessary to have certain qualities, and to pass rigorous selection tests, which are the same for both men and women. |
| Non ho presente persone di altre razze negli Alpini, ma comunque non si può fare un discorso razzista. Se uno è cittadino italiano può entrare negli Alpini, non importa di quale origine etnica sia, l’importante è che abbia i requisiti giusti. |
| I can’t recall people of other races in the Alpini but nevertheless, racism doesn’t enter into it. If someone is an Italian citizen they can enter the Alpini, it doesn’t matter what their ethnic origin is, the important thing is to have the right qualities. |
Allora Natalia, ora tocca a te!
Cordiali saluti da Serena
What are your opinions dear readers? I’d be very interested to hear them, so please leave a comment.
