Have You Experienced Prejudice Or Racism In Argentina?

[Gringoboy]

I'm Welsh by blood and when I was incarcerated in English boarding schools, I was often referred to as 'that Welsh wog'.

 

[Gringoboy]

There are no drive-by shootings in Buenos Aires.

That's because they're called drive-in shootings.

 

[Rich One]

I liked the the input from homeinbuenosaires. She also sounds like a babe.

I think like many people have already said, there is racism in every country and in every culture. In some places it's more obvious, and in some places it's looked down upon, but there is a general tendency to trust "your kind" and to distrust "them". Not sure if does any good comparing the racism in one country to another.

I think anyone who watches television in Spanish can clearly see how whiteness is favored, and presented as more beautiful. Anyone whose watched Latin American soap operas (and has never been to whatever country produces that soap opera) would swear that the locals tend to be fair skinned, with colored eyes, fairly affluent etc. The reality is often far different. The television, and magazines favor light skin, and this transmits to the local thinking as well (whiter is righter, haha).

However, my personal theory is that racism now a days has a lot more to do with classism. It's more often than not that the poor are discriminated against regardless of their skin color, though they do tend to be darker. Given that all of Latin America had a population of dark skinned natives, with white skinned colonizers (who ended up being the ruling class) people associated fair skin with wealth and power. There has been a lot of integration here since those days, but on the whole people in Recoleta are lighter than those in Moreno, and those in Recoleta also tend to be wealthier. It's just the result of the history here.

Some darker skinned people have a chip on the shoulder about this. In fact, I know one brown skinned lady who is 10 times more racist against "negros" then anyone else I've met here. I think she feels she has to prove she is not part of "them". The poor can also discriminate against the rich or middle class. It's the same classic trend all over the world.

I remember when I was in school that some kids would get left out of certain things because they couldn't afford to fit in with the in crowd.

I am a little darker than most people in Capital and my accent is such that I often get mistaken for a Peruvian. I find that people instantly relax when they find out I'm not Peruvian. That's given me some insight into how people often view Peruvians. I've had people change their whole attitude towards me, including body language and posture, when they realize that little assumption wasn't true.

I don't often get mistaken for a westener, and so I've also had the opportunity to hear a lot of people complain to me about the US, in particular. I've heard people say very hateful things about the States, for example "I hate that country, it should be wiped off the map." I don't think this reflects the majority of people's thinking and I think they often do treat Westeners very well, but there is definitely some anti-Western sentiment lurking about as well. This is especially true in leftist circles. I think it's the similar kind of thinking that says "that country is what keeps us poor, and they need to go".

Anyhow, I think there is racism here, and it's sucks to be on the receiving end of it. Overall, though, I've been treated very well, and I have felt very little discrimination personally. Some people may have a racist attitude, but they'll often judge people individually (at least once they get to know them a bit).

I've had the odd ball comment here and there, but I understand that before I was exposed to different cultures and ways of thinking that I too had many prejudices. Much of it is just ignorance and lack of exposure.

Brilliant ! best piece on discrimination in Argentina and Latam. It all boils down to European/Blancos y Negros/natives a Continental divide.

Watch all the ads on TV ever seen a darker skinned person with altiplanic features? Ads with children seem like Scandinavian

 

[camino no tomado]

Watch all the ads on TV ever seen a darker skinned person with altiplanic features? Ads with children seem like Scandinavian

That's hilarious. To assist in learning Castellano I've been watching Argentine TV ads on YouTube (by sticking to products that I'm familiar with, like cars, I can recognize much of the vocabulary). Within the first hour or so, I had the impression that all Argentine TV ad production had been outsourced to Sweden!

 

[internationalguy]

That's hilarious. To assist in learning Castellano I've been watching Argentine TV ads on YouTube (by sticking to products that I'm familiar with, like cars, I can recognize much of the vocabulary). Within the first hour or so, I had the impression that all Argentine TV ad production had been outsourced to Sweden!

I beg to differ here. Unlike other countries in Latin America, Argentina in fact has an overwhelming white majority. That's not a good thing, that's not a bad thing. It's just a fact. I'm sure that producers in Peru, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, and whatnot also seek to have TV ads have mostly white people (some clear misconceptions in their head for sure). The thing is that Argentina has a completely different makeup. In fact, compare an average crowd in Buenos Aires and in any American city. There are obvious differences. The language, the way people dress, the things they do, how late they stay out. The most dramatic is though... There are a lot less minority groups in Argentina, compared to an average American crowd, a BA street will have almost no black people, very few Asians, some darker skinned people. But that's it.

According to the CIA World Factbook, this is the racial makeup of Argentina: white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry), Amerindian, or other non-white groups 3%

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ar.html

There's a lot of racism in Argentina. If I had a dollar for every time I've heard someone yell Boliviano de %%$&, to someone just because of skin color, I'd have a crips new Franklin to get prime blue rate with my exchange guy.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

I'm Welsh by blood and when I was incarcerated in English boarding schools, I was often referred to as 'that Welsh wog'.

One of my grad school professors at Berkeley was Welsh, and he told us of being slapped for speaking the language at school in the interwar period.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

According to the CIA World Factbook, this is the racial makeup of Argentina: white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry), Amerindian, or other non-white groups 3%

https://www.cia.gov/...ok/geos/ar.html

The CIA Factbook is spectacularly wrong on this: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0034695. Another study, which I don't have at hand, found that nearly half of all Argentines had indigenous genes.

 

[Gringoboy]

One of my grad school professors at Berkeley was Welsh, and he told us of being slapped for speaking the language at school in the interwar period.

We have Edward I to thank for that.
In a manner of speaking.

 

[homeinbuenosaires]

Arguably, it is more dangerous in California because there are a lot more firearms there. There are no drive-by shootings in Buenos Aires.

Interesting that you also studied at Berkeley (as did I) and would make this observation. I was going to comment that I don't remember even hearing about any drive-bys from my many years in Berkeley and Laguna Beach, but I've definitely heard of a LOT of armed robberies here, more than anywhere I have ever lived! In the space of two or three weeks a couple of years back, it seems that at least half of the businesses in my immediate vicinity (Recoleta) had had some kind of problem.

 

[homeinbuenosaires]

Conversely, there is another class of people who will be rudge and agressive if they perceive you to be wealthy.

Argentina is a very divided society, at the extremes a minority of people become very insular and defensive. It's like an open conflict or fracture in society here.

I have definitely experienced this. On several occasions, I have gone somewhere that I’ve frequented for years - but with a foreign visitor, speaking English - and the very same people who would usually be warm and courteous towards me suddenly become cold and rude. There is definitely a lot of resentment, and given my above-mentioned experiences I can certainly understand why. I have no idea how this can be resolved, because it runs very, very deep.