Argentines Are .... And Some I Assume Are Good People

khairyexpat

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Weird quirk coward thieves.
3rd world chorros pretending to be 1st world class.

For years, I used to sympathize their case.
Always shrugged off and dismissed and excused everything as petty crimes.
Too often, too many times .... risky dangerous violent and close calls, .... way above average !!

Now the shoe is on the other foot.
 
It sure feels different when something unjust or unfair happens to you , for the longest time i gave them the benefit of the doubt and use other excuses such as cultural differences to some how..... reason and understand their attitudes.....but there comes a time to some of us when the wake up call is a very rude awakening, and you have to bite your tongue in more than one occassion when newcomers or ''local professionals'' in their infinite wisdom try to explain to you how wrong you are.........In any case it still refreshing to read young newcomers full of hopes and dreams about this land......i just hope they never have to go thru what some of us had to endure.. :cool:
 
I dont believe in "them"s.
I have run into as many nasty US citizens, Romans, Parisians, and overseas chinese as I have Argentinians.
Sorry if you, personally have had bad experiences, but it wasnt "them".
It was a few individuals, the same kind they have everywhere.
I have had amazing experiences with individual argentines, and I once kicked and beat a moto-chorro with my backpack to get him off a tourist.
Neither was representative of every person in Argentina.
 
Some of the people I most trust are Argentines. At the same time, as a group I have almost no trust in Argentines, just suspicion. I base this on decades of experience in the country and many attempts to cheat me in small and major ways. There is a lot I don't like about the US (and Americans are not my favorite nationality) however the system in the US is more transparent and the day-to-day mentality is much more aboveboard than in Argentina. I have almost never been cheated in everyday transactions in the US and when there is a mistake (especially with credit cards) the error is quickly rectified in my favor. The US is far too litigious but the upside is that the mere threat of a lawsuit is taken seriously because people know that the court system is mostly fair. I say this knowing very well the weaknesses of the US, especially in foreign policy, the lack of a universal health care system, and in the growing power of corporations and ever more concentrated wealth in the hands of a small minority. Despite all of this life is a great deal easier in the US because there is infinitely less corruption on the everyday level - and there are some protections to prevent abuse. I find it ironic that Argentines refer to the US as having "savage capitalism" when in fact that is precisely what I see in Argentina -- people so desperate they have to sell junk on trains and on the street to survive. Then there is a pension system that for most people is totally inadequate and that makes retirement impossible for many people, including many professionals. There are many basics that go neglected in Argentina that lead to people taking devious measures to get through life. But there is also a culture of deceit that goes beyond economic need. Cardinal Bergoglio (now Pope Francis) frequently ranted against the Kirchner government for its corruption and neglect of the poor but he failed to see a fundamental flaw in too many of the people: a tendency to do things in an illicit way, a disregard for rules and a lack of consideration for their fellow citizens. In this sense Argentina is a dog-eat-dog, savage capitalist society encompassing not just corporations but ordinary citizens. After having said all this, I return to my original comment that some of the people I most trust in life are Argentine. They, however, don't consider themselves typical Argentines and wish that their society could have greater solidarity, greater respect for the rights or others and less selfishness.
 
Some of the people I most trust are Argentines. At the same time, as a group I have almost no trust in Argentines, just suspicion. I base this on decades of experience in the country and many attempts to cheat me in small and major ways. There is a lot I don't like about the US (and Americans are not my favorite nationality) however the system in the US is more transparent and the day-to-day mentality is much more aboveboard than in Argentina. I have almost never been cheated in everyday transactions in the US and when there is a mistake (especially with credit cards) the error is quickly rectified in my favor. The US is far too litigious but the upside is that the mere threat of a lawsuit is taken seriously because people know that the court system is mostly fair. I say this knowing very well the weaknesses of the US, especially in foreign policy, the lack of a universal health care system, and in the growing power of corporations and ever more concentrated wealth in the hands of a small minority. Despite all of this life is a great deal easier in the US because there is infinitely less corruption on the everyday level - and there are some protections to prevent abuse. I find it ironic that Argentines refer to the US as having "savage capitalism" when in fact that is precisely what I see in Argentina -- people so desperate they have to sell junk on trains and on the street to survive. Then there is a pension system that for most people is totally inadequate and that makes retirement impossible for many people, including many professionals. There are many basics that go neglected in Argentina that lead to people taking devious measures to get through life. But there is also a culture of deceit that goes beyond economic need. Cardinal Bergoglio (now Pope Francis) frequently ranted against the Kirchner government for its corruption and neglect of the poor but he failed to see a fundamental flaw in too many of the people: a tendency to do things in an illicit way, a disregard for rules and a lack of consideration for their fellow citizens. In this sense Argentina is a dog-eat-dog, savage capitalist society encompassing not just corporations but ordinary citizens. After having said all this, I return to my original comment that some of the people I most trust in life are Argentine. They, however, don't consider themselves typical Argentines and wish that their society could have greater solidarity, greater respect for the rights or others and less selfishness.

AMEN!!!
 
I have to agree with Sergio to a great extent. Some of the dearest people in my life are Argentinos, and they would never miss an opportunity to take advantage of someone. The logic being that everyone does it.

Argentine Golden Rule: Do unto others before they do unto you.
 
@sergio:

Precisely accurate and meticulously articulated.

A compulsory read for every newcomer or old timer.
 
I do not live in BA I live in the sticks out in no mans land and to be honest I find my Argentinian wife, friends and family to be people I would trust with anything. I would take my Argentinian friend over my US friends in a heart beat the same with my wife. I coud into many things but I will not. Big city life is big city life it is the same all over world but Argentines in general outside of BA I have found to the best of people with kind hearts and enduring compassion which brings the best out of humanity.
 
@ Pensador:

If I remember correctly, you were somewhat critical of Argentina when you were living in Uruguay for several years.

Now that you've been back in Argentina for a while, how would you now compare the two countries?

In other words, do you think is Uruguay still worth considering as an expat destination and would it have more appeal to one age/income range than others?
 
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