I'm from the East Bronx, Oli. Born and raised on Arthur Avenue, and I currently live in the Throggs Neck/Country Club section of the Bronx.

Yeah, unfortunately I heard the "moolie" a lot growing up. It was often used by Italian Americans in my neighborhood instead of the N word. Not that it's any less hateful, because it's not. I've never come across a single person who interpreted the word to be okay because it's actual meaning is eggplant. Think about it. You'd be telling a guy that the color of his skin resembles an eggplant. Eggplants are actually a deep shade of purple, and I've yet to meet a purple person. To justify it that way is silly. Even worse was the word tizzune, which is the actual Italian equivalant of the N word. That word is probably even more hateful.

I'm not blind to the fact that there was lots of racial tension (and outright) hate between blacks and Italians back then, but I'm not proud of it either.