I have just watched this film. I loved it.
It´s a really cool film; plus, it provides a great insight into the porteño mentality.
Living in Buenos Aires, I used to think they were all just paranoid.
Don´t walk around at night, you´ll get mugged!
Don´t keep the windows open, thieves could get in!
Do lock the door at night, see previous..
Keep an eye on your purse, there are pickpockets everywhere!
Do not trust anyone, especially not the taxi-drivers!
And everyone always checking the paper money to see if it´s not fake (ok, I can understand this with 100 pesos bills, but I have seen people importantly squint at 2 pesos bills against the light.. I mean, honestly...
I also understood the change obsession was not really due to the need of coins for the bus ride, but the fear of emerging from an exchange of smaller and larger bills with less money than is due to you, if you are not vivo enough (see the starting scene of Nueve Reinas).
But I refuse to live like that. I think that a certain amount of trust is necessary. Some may call it naiveté, but to me it is a matter of attitude. I can´t live in constant fear of my surroundings. To me, the porteños´ attitude borders on paranoia.
Especially since I did walk around Once alone at night and - nothing, we did keep the windows open, I did not lock the front door at night (though Tina did, so it depended on who got home last:), my purse is so messy that I dare any pickpocket to find anything of value in it - it takes ME ages to fish out my phone or money - and I have never met friendlier taxi drivers than those of Buenos Aires.
Surprisingly, I never even got fake money in change of my 100p bills:)
I found the locals´ paranoia quite amusing, if exasperating at times; I put it down to hard times in the past, and an overall tendency to paint things black. Having seen the film though, I understand much better!
:)))
Friday, April 11, 2008
Paranoid?
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7 comments:
The porteños are very cautious, but I have never in my life had so many people close to me that have been robbed at knife or gun point.
That said I generally feel safe everywhere here, but hopefully I do not leave opportunity to chance.
I'm not so much paranoid about my belongings as I am about my body. Being tall and curvaceous makes me feel a little vulnerable at times... Especially after having a man follow me in his car for 5 blocks down Rivadavia a few weeks ago. :-(
...by the way, it was rather lonely that we were the only ones with our windows wide open during the day, don't you think? Nobody else seemed to want to be able to look at the beautiful pasillo ...
Hum, I would agree with you that perhaps the fear of crime runs much deeper in Latin America in general--not only in Argentina--than in most countries in Europe. I realize that you may think that the fears are unfounded, because you happened to be lucky enough that nothing happened to you. But I do think that when you live all your life in an environment in which violent attacks, crimes, and even kidnapping happen to people you know first hand people start getting much more cautious--and when they are paranoid and mention this to foreigners, they are basically just trying to protect them! I know, since I am Latin American and I have experienced this first hand--living under a constant threat that something can happen, even if at times one would believe that all those fears are an exaggeration. Foreign tourists visiting my country (and others) sometimes declare that they don't see any problem at all; some have run with a lot of luck, others... well, not so much. And in every case, the locals tried to warn them: not to stop them from experimenting and enjoying, but to make that experience a good one, without putting themselves into positions that could be really sad and unfortunate.
Another thing is that you need to put the Argentinean's fears into context: you have to remember that Argentina has always been a relatively rich country for Latin American standards. Moreover, it is one of the most equal societies in the region--the racial issues are not as stringent there as they are, for instant, in the Andean region, where you have 40-60% of the population being indigenous. With that background, the Argies used to feel alwasy very safe... like in Europe. Then, the 2001 crisis came, and that destroyed incomes, people's access to their bank accounts and savings; the possibility of getting a job. Unemployment rose tremendously, poverty an inequality did as well. And crime fluorished. I was in BAs just after the crisis. Every night, you could see herds of piqueteros and other really poor people looting around and looking into huge garbage cans placed one after another in the streets. It was unreal, and very scary. Things have normalized a lot since then, but I think the sudden hike in insecurity experienced by the Argentinean society at the time has entrenched itself in a trauma. They literally went from rich to misery in a short period of time, and while they have recovered considerably since then, the precautions are still there... just in case.
Anyway, in my view, you should be grateful to those who are just trying to make sure that you remain safe and happy while visiting their country. In the end, they know much better than you whether the safety you think you see around you is really there.
My 2 cents.
My dear readers, you must have noticed that this blog contains a fair amount of under- and overstatements; it is just my way of saying things, so don´t take it literally:)
That said, dear Tanguera,
your comment is undoubtedly very true and to the point; I am sure the people who warned me meant very well (actually, there was an awful lot of well-meaning people around, which must have contributed to my not being properly scared). I had also figured out that the crisis must have been an ugly shock which must have affected the people´s thinking - that happens everywhere.
Miss tango, I see what you mean, having such incidents happen to people close to you is really horrible and upsetting.
If I were to play the Devil´s Advocat though, I would say that apparently in many cases being very cautious doesn´t spare you from being robbed...
Which leads me to my point - I know many people will disagree with this (my mother does, for one): of course you needn´t walk around poor neighbourhoods at night, displaying signs of wealth (and if you do, you alone are to blame for whatever happens to you) BUT - being too cautious and wary doesn´t help, either. For one thing, those who steal are likely to notice those who are afraid to be stolen from. And besides, and that´s really all I´ve been trying to say, fussing and worrying about what may happen to you is no use. I think more people probably die of cancer than get mugged and yet, in general, people do not spend their lives in fear of falling ill - because it simply isn´t bearable to live in constant fear.
It is also rather dull:)
But that´s no more than my personal opinion; as my mother says, life will teach me;)
Tina, it was bizarre indeed that nobody would open their windows to enjoy the pasillo.. God knows why though, surely the people living on the first floor weren´t afraid theives would climb in through the open windows?
Maybe they were just afraid of la encargada:)
Yes, you can be overly cautious and many people you can see their fear when they walk. What I left out is being street smart. Which many people lack.
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