I agree that ignorance is the most likely explanation. But it's not like these folks didn't grow up with "Italy" and "Italian" being on the radio/TV all the ti

I agree that ignorance is the most likely explanation. But it's not like these folks didn't grow up with "Italy" and "Italian" being on the radio/TV all the time, spoken correctly by newscasters. So there's a disconnect there, and it's also undeniable that there was an anti-Italian sentiment in the then-previous waves of naturalized immigrants. So I can't say for sure.