Midwestern Italian Sandwiches, Hold the Slurs

I’ve struggled for a number of years with how, or even whether, to approach this subject. Way back in 2015, when I was researching an Italian sausage sandwich from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan called a Cudighi–which was similar, I thought, to a South Side Chicago Italian sausage sandwich called a Freddy–I learned of a few other Midwestern Italian sausage sandwiches with… less savory names, involving words that are commonly considered slurs against Italian-Americans. I agonized then over whether to add these sandwiches to the List, and ultimately chose not to. Then a few years ago when a sandwich from the Florida panhandle was added to the Wikipedia List of Sandwiches–this one named after a slur against Arab-Americans–the subject came up again, and once again after some soul searching I elected to continue omitting the sandwiches rather than celebrate them. Then last year, out of the blue, my old boss who I hadn’t spoken with in years texted me, saying: Making Gizmo Sandwiches for…