got harassed by the cops last night

[EliA]

I feel bad for the negative rep the cops here get. I've never had them be anything but respectful and helpful to me. A little slow to react at times maybe but I prefer that to a trigger-happy cop.

Arty, if they took no money and didn't rough you up, sounds like they were just doing their job, and well I might add.

 

[arty]

well, i was def. stumbling drunk and from what i recall he was asking me something about my knife but i wasn't in handcuffs so i guess that's fine.

i say i was harassed b/c anything more than a cop asking me for a light I consider harassment. i've been harassed by cops in the usa on more than 1 occasion so i don't like any interaction with them. in mexico it's easy, all you need to do is have a little cash and it's ok. this is my first interaction with the police here and i spoke to my local friends and they told me you have to really be a fucking prick to get arrested, esp if you are not from here. but any time I am bent over a cop car with them going through my pockets I feel like I am harassed.

And I know that if I was in the usa I would 100% been taken to the drunk tank and possibly arrested depending on what city I was in.

ACAB

 

[pandulf.ironhead]

Yes, he should be thankful he was not thrown in jail for having had a few drinks; he should also be thankful he was not beaten, robbed, raped, etc.

When cops act like overlords in the US I'm always grateful they stop at routine attempted humiliation and don't actually break my skull, etc.; after all, cut them some slack, they have a tough day of handing out jaywalking tickets and searching the ever dangerous students-in-blazers demographic for concealed weapons.

Cops are the same everywhere...do next to nothing about crime, spend the whole day harassing people they know don't pose any danger. Those cops should have been making Plaza Once or Constitucion safe to walk at night.

I'm wondering if anyone else here has been approached by the police recently. They never used to bother foreigners at all (except Peruvians, etc.) I suspect that lately they've started to do this kind of crap as part of the recent Argentine crackdown on the evil of Tourism (300 peso fees, making people go through the painful residency process, etc.); it ranks near the other genius idea they had of taxing exports...

 

[Attorney in BA]

Those cops should have been making Plaza Once or Constitucion safe to walk at night.

In fact, they were making Lavalle street safe to walk at night...

Also, in another thread you posted today, you inform this forum that you also got drunk and were very obnoxious, to the point where you were asked to leave the restaurant you were in. Part of the police's work is to control people that behave in such a way.

I'm wondering if anyone else here has been approached by the police recently. They never used to bother foreigners at all (except Peruvians, etc.)

All foreigners and Argentine citizens have the same constitutional rights. By your comment, do you mean to say that if a foreigner comes from the US, Canada, Europe, etc. they should have a different set of rights than one that comes from Peru, etc.?

I personally find this line of thought very disturbing.

I suspect that lately they've started to do this kind of crap as part of the recent Argentine crackdown on the evil of Tourism (300 peso fees, making people go through the painful residency process, etc.); it ranks near the other genius idea they had of taxing exports...

There is no such crackdown and Argentina does not consider tourism evil. Entrance fee requirements for US, Canadian and Australian citizens is a political decision (with which you may agree or not) and has nothing to do with police work.

 

[pandulf.ironhead]

In fact, they were making Lavalle street safe to walk at night...

Also, in another thread you posted today, you inform this forum that you also got drunk and were very obnoxious, to the point where you were asked to leave the restaurant you were in. Part of the police's work is to control people that behave in such a way.

Yes the police have the tough job of making Lavalle and Callao streets safe from somewhat drunk and obnoxious American tourists leaving restaurants and night clubs...this is what my Argentine friends complain about all the time, you see. They say...Buenos Aires has become so dangerous at night...American tourists after a couple of shots of vodka are making our streets uninhabitable...thank God the police is dealing with this mess...

All foreigners and Argentine citizens have the same constitutional rights. By your comment, do you mean to say that if a foreigner comes from the US, Canada, Europe, etc. they should have a different set of rights than one that comes from Peru, etc.?

I personally find this line of thought very disturbing.

Then you should take it up with the BsAs police because they're the ones targeting Peruvian and Bolivian "immigrants" and usually (up to now) leaving US, German, etc., tourists alone. I was making an observation of a fact...I know this is difficult to understand for pedantic, indignant lawyers; but, especially in a country like Argentina, you should understand the difference between a written constitution and real life...

There is no such crackdown and Argentina does not consider tourism evil. Entrance fee requirements for US, Canadian and Australian citizens is a political decision (with which you may agree or not) and has nothing to do with police work.

There is indeed a recent crackdown on long-term tourists of all kinds here...a higher fee for overstaying or renewing the visa (so much so that it's cheaper to go to Colonia now rather than renew), a crackdown on long-term tourists that no longer allows them to exit and enter the country for visa renewal but forces them to go through the residency process (which is a nightmare from what I hear), and so on.

So again, I am wondering if other foreigners have been harassed by the police recently; that would be a change in their habits, and it would indicate that indeed, this crackdown on the Evil of Tourism is now taking place in more ways than one.

Next up: the Kirschner regime tackles the dangerous scourge of foreigners investing in real estate.

 

[Liam3494]

I despair of North American's at time - Some of you insist on making you all seem like absolute eejits. (I add here that I have a huge number of North American friends who are far from being eejits, and are great folk, I said SOME here!).

So, its perfectly OK for a North American here to get smashed drunk and be obnoxious to all around him - thats just a tourist thing..... And the police shouldn't interfere with your arrogant right to get drunk and be a prat - Must have missed that amendment to the constitution....

As for a crackdown on long stay tourists - What's actually wrong with that? Have you been to any other countries which are actually so lax that you can wander in and out without any comments about your residency. Believe me, come to Europe and overstay your welcome and see what the reaction will be. It won't cost you less than 100 US dollars in fines.... And I'm guessing that The US authrities would ask questions on someone coming in and out of Canada every once in a while to get another 90 days (mind you, the jury may be out on that one right now!).... From memory, one extension of 90 days is all you are allowed to the US, and again from memory, 183 days in a year is the max you can stay.

Yes, the paperwork is tough here, but it's also tough everywhere else. I looked into applying for a US Visa some years ago, and the process was equally as difficult (at least it was then - it may be easier now, i can't comment on today). Maybe it's because the process is carried out in Castellano makes it harder, strange that they use their own language I guess, it would be so much easier for us if they had everything done in english....

 

[pandulf.ironhead]

I despair of North American's at time - Some of you insist on making you all seem like absolute eejits. (I add here that I have a huge number of North American friends who are far from being eejits, and are great folk, I said SOME here!).

So, its perfectly OK for a North American here to get smashed drunk and be obnoxious to all around him - thats just a tourist thing..... And the police shouldn't interfere with your arrogant right to get drunk and be a prat - Must have missed that amendment to the constitution....

As for a crackdown on long stay tourists - What's actually wrong with that? Have you been to any other countries which are actually so lax that you can wander in and out without any comments about your residency. Believe me, come to Europe and overstay your welcome and see what the reaction will be. It won't cost you less than 100 US dollars in fines.... And I'm guessing that The US authrities would ask questions on someone coming in and out of Canada every once in a while to get another 90 days (mind you, the jury may be out on that one right now!).... From memory, one extension of 90 days is all you are allowed to the US, and again from memory, 183 days in a year is the max you can stay.

Yes, the paperwork is tough here, but it's also tough everywhere else. I looked into applying for a US Visa some years ago, and the process was equally as difficult (at least it was then - it may be easier now, i can't comment on today). Maybe it's because the process is carried out in Castellano makes it harder, strange that they use their own language I guess, it would be so much easier for us if they had everything done in english....

Argentina is not the US or EU, it needs tourists and tourism.

And by the way...there was no police in MY incident...that's another thread. This is about arty's thread, and there's no indication he was being obnoxious to anyone.

 

[arty]

So, its perfectly OK for a North American here to get smashed drunk and be obnoxious to all around him - thats just a tourist thing..... And the police shouldn't interfere with your arrogant right to get drunk and be a prat - Must have missed that amendment to the constitution....

not every north american who gets smashed drunk is obnoxious; I loose the ability to talk after a certain point. I have some porteno friends that have made me feel embarrassed at times. From my many international travels its always the british that are the worst when it comes to being drunk in public. but that's just my experience.

and for the record I was not obnoxious. I was at the club, lost my friends and went home. I was just zigzagging a bit too much. I'm sure if I really did do something to deserve getting in trouble I would not be here typing this.

 

[Liam3494]

Well, I'm not British Arty, and so I exclude myself from that remark, and I appreciate you have a point about the Brits abroad, however that was not the point I was making.

My reference to the obnoxious behaviour referred to Mr Ironheads own admission of his own performance, although I accept that was on another thread, but as the topics are closely related, and he refered to it himself, I was being more critical of his behaviour, rather than your own.

What I am critical of in your own case is the use of the term harassment, as have others. It seems from what you say, that no harm befell you from your meeting with the authorities, you were not taken away, given a beating, shaken down for "fines", but you were checked out when drunk, and then sent on your way, probably with the hope that you might learn a little lesson about being the worse for wear - Seems the guys were doing their job, and despite the negative press they regularly get, they were reasonably courteous and did nothing wrong.

As for the comments regarding tourists and Argentina needing them, are long stay tourists really what the country is looking for? If you plan on staying for years, then apply for a Visa, its not that hard in truth. If you are staying for a month, or coming here from a cruise ship, then no problem, no fines, no overstaying tourist Visas.

As for the reciprocity fee for US, Canadian & Australian visitors, I agree it is a little short sighted when it comes to encouraging tourists, but the fees are only set at the same level that Argentine citizens have to pay to travel the other way - Although it is a little of "I'm taking my ball home, if you don't let me play".

 

[arty]

I say I was hassled b/c to me it was a hassle. like when I go to the market to buy food, that's almost always some type of hassle when I got some old lady who cuts in front of me claiming to be cripple or the people wait until all their stuff is rung up before they start to bag it or even have their money ready. oh, and the guy who is never at the meat/veggie counter. I had to stop en-route home, empty my pockets, get some type of lecture or something about my knife and have my info taken down. Maybe others enjoy having this happen to them when they are drunk and the only place they want to be is in their bed. But I don't and from my many, many, negative experiences in the usa I already have distrust of the police.

but as i said before, I wasn't arrested of beaten. so it wasn't bad, just a hassle. If I said I had a bad experience I would of been worse for wear and had some lumps and maybe a mugshot to add to the collection. If they were really that worried about me, they would of given me a lift home. I carry a piece of paper in my wallet with my address on it just for that reason. You guys need to take a chill pill. It was a hassle to me.