Brutally Beaten in Recoleta

[orwellian]

As for the comment about the color of the criminals that did this to him...yes, it is relevant information. It is a description of them! What is the difference about adding that they are young...that is more description. Come on people...certainly we are all trained (at the least the American's here) to be politically correct...and race (especially darker skinned people are off limits) but that is bullshit! He was not making racist comments out of anger but simply giving an detailed account of what happened.

Says the non-PC guy who called me a homophobe just because I used the word gay

 

[bloody_bloo]

As for the comment about the color of the criminals that did this to him...yes, it is relevant information. It is a description of them! What is the difference about adding that they are young...that is more description. Come on people...certainly we are all trained (at the least the American's here) to be politically correct...and race (especially darker skinned people are off limits) but that is bullshit! He was not making racist comments out of anger but simply giving an detailed account of what happened.

Associating a general physical characteristic such as skin color cannot be taken as lightly as a mere description, that would be foolish and unwise for anyone who cared to understand the basis of discrimination. By doing so you encourage a generalized fear towards "a kind of people".

we are all trained (at the least the American's here) to be politically correct...

And you would be an exception?

 

[Ailujjj]

Matt, so sorry to hear about this - but glad that you are ok, overall.

Thanks for posting. It's easy to think, in any city in the world, that your behaviour can affect whether or not you are the victim of crime, when the reality is that it's far more haphazard than we'd like to think.

 

[victoria]

Dear Matt,

I so empathize with your situation ... my son and I have both been crime victims here. It's no fun to be victimized, and you got beat up to boot!

The attitude of, "that's life in the big city" makes it seem that being a crime victim is no big deal. Let me tell you, it has lasting effects. Paranoia, anger, wanting revenge, knowing nothing will be done ... it also assures that that visitor will probably never return (more about that later).

As far as describing the attackers as "brown," that's pertinent information. We know they're not black, white or Asian. As a former police reporter, that's as important to know as the fact that they are young.

We also know they work in groups, attack from behind, ask for a cigarette to approach you (which is how my son got robbed at gunpoint), work late, and don't hesitate to attack in an intersection. All very useful information. Thank you Matt. We all must watch each other's backs.

Buenos Aires is literally shooting itself in the foot for not attempting to remedy the crime situation. This is going to IMPLODE the tourism business when word gets out. You can imagine the economic implications for the city.

 

[jp]

Really sorry to hear about your experience Matt, sounds horrible. Hope you're shaping up ok, and I'm glad it wasn't more serious.

 

[citygirl]

I'm so sorry to hear about this and hope you are feeling a bit better.

did you report it to the police?

 

[bloody_bloo]

As far as describing the attackers as "brown," that's pertinent information. We know they're not black, white or Asian. As a former police reporter, that's as important to know as the fact that they are young.

You are right and the place and time to do that is in the Police Station while you declare what happened, giving details about: skin color, ethnic extraction, t-shirt color, eyes color, hair color,.. But to state "brown" in an open community doesn't strike me as simple describing a fact.

I don't want to start one of those extreme civil libertarian morons speech, but you have to be more careful in how you depict this kind of situation. One thing is what you should tell to the police and other completely different is what you tell to people in general.

I don't mean to lecture anyone about this, but most of people here would react negatively upon such a comment.

Buenos Aires is literally shooting itself in the foot for not attempting to remedy the crime situation. This is going to IMPLODE the tourism business when word gets out. You can imagine the economic implications for the city.

Crime, was, is and would be a problem that can't be solved attacking crime, the roots of the problem lay somewhere else. Tourists travel like flies to shit no matter what. Rio de Janeiro is one of the most important destinations for tourism but there you can find criminals firing rockets to police helicopters. Still.. the flies.. On the other hand, here we get paranoid over petty theft.

As for this bastards that attacked Matt, you can probably find them in the neighborhood, I was a once a victim too and I spent hours looking for them to beat them up (not the most wise decision), I was really angry. I can understand you were helpless and as a native I also feel shame about what you got through. You should go to the police station and state what happened. Matt if you consider it helpful I offer myself to accompany you.

 

[Moonwitch]

Sorry to hear about what happened. It can happen to anybody anywhere. I´ve been involved in a couple of incidents since being in Buenos Aires but luckily I haven´t been hurt.