Graffiti Is A Crime In The Capital Federal

[Redpossum]

Have you folks been following the local news? One of the things I do to try to get up to speed is buy a newspaper and sit down over a cappucino after breakfast, to try to read the stories as far as I can.

Apparently, there have been two notable cases of vigilantism lately, which have been brought about by the popular perception that the police do nothing.

In the first incident, (assuming I have this right, and it wasn't actually an allegorical story about penguins), a lady came out of a bar somewhat tipsy, and some street punk grabbed her purse. The neighbours chased him down and about 30 of them took turns kicking him in the face until the cops arrived. It took the cops twenty-five minutes to get there. The perp lived, but obviously went to hospital.

The second incident was similar, but apparently the neighbours got the wrong guy, and beat an innocent man to death while the real thief escaped.

Obviously, this needs to stop, but I love the anarchic nature of this city, and I'd hate to see some kind of police crackdown, law and order, blah blah blah, because that's always a cover for repression. Somebody should tell Mom her children are misbehaving.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

Have you folks been following the local news? One of the things I do to try to get up to speed is buy a newspaper and sit down over a cappucino after breakfast, to try to read the stories as far as I can.

Apparently, there have been two notable cases of vigilantism lately, which have been brought about by the popular perception that the police do nothing.

In the first incident, (assuming I have this right, and it wasn't actually an allegorical story about penguins), a lady came out of a bar somewhat tipsy, and some street punk grabbed her purse. The neighbours chased him down and about 30 of them took turns kicking him in the face until the cops arrived. It took the cops twenty-five minutes to get there. The perp lived, but obviously went to hospital.

The second incident was similar, but apparently the neighbours got the wrong guy, and beat an innocent man to death while the real thief escaped.

Obviously, this needs to stop, but I love the anarchic nature of this city, and I'd hate to see some kind of police crackdown, law and order, blah blah blah, because that's always a cover for repression. Somebody should tell Mom her children are misbehaving.

On the other hand, if you'd like to see a professional police force that takes public safety seriously, you needn't worry about seeing it here.

 

[DontMindMe]

In the first incident, (assuming I have this right, and it wasn't actually an allegorical story about penguins), a lady came out of a bar somewhat tipsy, and some street punk grabbed her purse. The neighbours chased him down and about 30 of them took turns kicking him in the face until the cops arrived. It took the cops twenty-five minutes to get there. The perp lived, but obviously went to hospital.

The second incident was similar, but apparently the neighbours got the wrong guy, and beat an innocent man to death while the real thief escaped.

Obviously, this needs to stop, but I love the anarchic nature of this city, and I'd hate to see some kind of police crackdown, law and order, blah blah blah, because that's always a cover for repression. Somebody should tell Mom her children are misbehaving.

I like the idea of people chasing down thieves and holding them until the police arrive, but I despise and am disturbed by the idea of people taking turns kicking them in the face or trying to kill them.

As for the end of your post, I can't help but wonder how long you'll truly love what you call the "anarchic nature" of Buenos Aires once the crime starts affecting you and/or the people you care about. Give it a year or two and come back and tell us how you feel then. Something tells me you might feel a little...repressed.

 

[glasgowjohn]

the guys on the beat are under instructions not to add to the total of denuncias in their comisaria. We should always remember that the boss man gets a bonus if reported crimes are less than the year before...

 

[sleslie23]

I like the idea of people chasing down thieves and holding them until the police arrive, but I despise and am disturbed by the idea of people taking turns kicking them in the face or trying to kill them.

If and when the police take someone into custody, the suspect is pretty much released the same minute. What you are talking about is the result of frustration at the police's lack or will/ability to do anything. Vigilantism generally results when there is no confidence in the "system." HOWEVER, the reality is much more complicated than the "It's not my job" mantra that many expats love to repeat.

 

[johnw100]

Just as well you didnt come across this person a few years ago ;-)

Amazing work I have to say, and they probably cleaned up a few walls with whitewash.
http://vimeo.com/993998

 

[ghost]

Complain all you want. But in 10 years I have not seen any signs of any aspect of Buenos Aires getting better an any aspect. There is an unlimited appetite for reduced expectations.

 

[Gringoboy]

Jantango, if you want your head kicked in for thinking you're doing the right thing, you're going about it the right way.

 

[tapi_2]

I like the graffiti, I see much of it as free art. One of the things that depressed me about BA when I first got here was the lack of color, all the building being a different shade of a grey...but then I started appreciating the graffiti.

Do I have some cheap tag in front of my building? Yes. Do I think it looks nice? Not really, however I think in some way it's kind of cute as it's an exp<b></b>ression of love for a friend. That's another thing about the tags around town, there are plenty that look ugly but say something nice like "Carlos, te amaré toda mi vida!" Of course, there are others that are just plain stupid.

Overall, there is too much lawlessness in the city, I agree. Lack of respect? Not sure, I've felt people here are generally more respectful than back home. Graffiti needing to be our target? I don't think so.

Having an over zealous neighbor try to make sure a kid gets prosecuted on for tagging a building where the owners themselves didn't care much? Sounds like the U.S. to me. That's one of the reasons I left. I got the cops called on me plenty of times for just being the wrong color in the wrong neighborhood, or parking my car in front of a someone's house who was paranoid that I'd parked it there to do a drug deal. Why? Because my car was an older model. That's all it took for me to get pulled over in the wrong neighborhood, meaning middle class paranoid America.

In my experience, I've had much less troubles with the street thugs here than I did back home. I've had better luck here with the street thugs than I did with the cops back home! I've been here for three years by the way.

 

[tapi_2]

Oh yeah, swastikas, I've seen a few around here in BA. I've never personally met a real life self proclaimed Nazi, but I've seen the swastika. To be fair though, I've seen them a few times in relation to defaming a politician, meaning such and such is a Nazi.