If you’re like me and consider watching reality television a full-time job, then you’ll be setting your TiVo for the second installment of Jersey Shore tonight on MTV. It’s arguably the worst that television has to offer these days, which is why I love it and cannot wait for tonight’s episode. In fact, it’s so bad (and by “bad”, I mean brilliant) that I’m considering skipping the TiVo and watching it in real time.

MTV has hit pure genius by taking elements of its other shows, namely The Real World and True Life: I Have a Summer Share, to create Jersey Shore. It’s a documentary, of sorts, of eight Italian American twenty-somethings picked from various parts of New York and New Jersey (and Rhode Island) to live and work in the New Jersey shore town of Seaside Heights for the summer. Seems innocent enough, right?

Wrong.

From the first scene of Pauly D. hitting the tanning bed, you realize that you have fallen head first down to the nadir of pop culture. The show is full of sex, alcohol, hot tubs, fist pumps, fist fights and girl fights. It’s almost embarrassing how eight people can have the collective intelligence quotient of one person. Mike consistently refers to himself as “The Situation” and uses any excuse to flash his sixpack abs to men and women alike (cougars included). Vinny wakes up with pinkeye and decides he got it from dancing a little too close to an unidentified, older, larger woman. Needless to say, nobody in this bunch is getting into Mensa.

Similar to the complaints about The Sopranos on HBO, groups like UNICO have protested, claiming that the show perpetuates stereotypes and portrays Italian Americans negatively. As someone who grew up in a predominantly Italian American neighborhood and is proud of my Italian ancestry, I understand this argument. Anyone of Italian descent is used to hearing the mob references and incessant stream of not-so-subtle derogatory comments. Unfortunately, Italian Americans are one of the few groups that are still socially acceptable to ridicule.

But how could UNICO be so upset about a show on MTV? I mean, Jersey Shore continues to demonstrate Italian Americans’ many…uh…accomplishments. For example, they are hard workers. “The Situation” gets to work at a very classy t-shirt shop on the boardwalk and out-sells all the other employees on booty shorts, even getting customers to pay more for the words “I Love the Situation” stamped on the ass. Italian Americans also care about people. “Snooki” takes care of her guy when he throws up all over her after a night of partying, even walking him home in the morning. She’s good to people like that. Finally, Italian Americans understand the importance of family and friends. When some clown shoves his boy Vinny at the club, Pauly D. is quick to exert nine pounds of pressure on that guy’s nose.

In all seriousness, though, if you look past the tanning, the hair gel, and the booty shorts, you actually do see something redeeming about these kids. They revel in their status as guidos and guidettes. They’re quite proud of their heritage. And they are free to be themselves with no apologies. They may be getting drunk and acting like fools, but so is every other kid on summer vacation. Just with less tanning and hair gel.

Italian American groups like UNICO shouldn’t be upset. Because deep down, there’s a part of all of us that secretly wants to be on Jersey Shore, if only for a day. It’s our chance to wear seriously inappropriate clothing, show off our six-pack abs, bust someone’s nose, have a one-night stand with no regrets, and spend our days at the beach and our nights fist pumping at the club. But it’s also our opportunity to belong to a culture that believes in good food, family, friends, and a strong community. And that’s a situation that all Italian Americans can be proud of.

Author’s note: Shout out to the hilarious article by Mark Graham at New York magazine’s blog Vulture that inspired this post.

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