Police harassment in BA?

[tangobob]

Seriously? You deliberately act superior to others by planned discourtesy? I hope I've misread this.

I think actually he was acting stupid, not superior. Works well enough for me, although in my case not necessarily an act.

 

[jp]

All fair points celia. But given the luxury of being able to choose (which I've never had back home) it made sense to choose somewhere we both felt safe.

As far as being a victim of crime goes, despite the obvious allure tourists have I think porteños have it a lot harder.

Has anyone had the phone call scam? I got a call from someone claiming to be a friend of my cousin. Knew my name, and the short form of my first name as well which threw me because its not something down on any forms I've signed, and almost nobody has my landline. I was confused and he quickly gave up.

Apparently the usual way the call goes, is that after plugging for some personal info the caller says he's kidnapped one of your relatives. Call made no sense to me, but would have been horrible to receive if it had been plausible.

 

[Napoleon]

Originally Posted by Napoleon
. . . . I immediately broke into English and only later stammered through a bit of Spanish. (Same thing as when I'm trying to jump to the front of a line at a Boliche... because it usually works.) . . .

Seriously? You deliberately act superior to others by planned discourtesy? I hope I've misread this.

I think actually he was acting stupid, not superior. Works well enough for me, although in my case not necessarily an act.

I guess I missed the "deliberately act superior to others" part. I would say I "deliberately act like an extranjero". They can do with me as they choose.

I have a hot (girl) friend who would "deliberately act like a hot girl" when she wanted to get into a boliche free... and surprise, surprise, it almost always worked. This was great for her, because although she's from England, she's an extremely broke college student. But a HOT extremely broke college student.

You use what you have and let the other people make the decisions. If I had been doing this the last 20+ years, I'd be much better off. Instead, I often told myself that I can't do something or something wouldn't work and thus never tried.

I recommend it to all extranjeros. It's a nice perk.

PS- I've been known to co-opt a bit of a southern drawl when I would call airline companies in the States and the phone center was located in Texas or Oklahoma. Sometimes it moves the conversation along much more smoothly. A certain president (William Jefferson Clinton) did the same thing and his constituents loved him for it. His wife tried this and it didn't go over quite as well.

 

[RWS]

I guess I missed the "deliberately act superior to others" part. I would say I "deliberately act like an extranjero". They can do with me as they choose.

Ill-phrased on my part. I simply was surprised that one whom I'd had good regard for (based, of course, on this poor means of acquaintance) would attempt to gain more for himself than those more alert to a sense of equality would struggle against others to gain. Of course, some people will always exploit whatever they can to their own advantage. I guess I've reached an age at which aiding the smooth functioning of society, to the overall benefit of everyone, matters more to me than "getting mine".

 

[Napoleon]

You use what you have and let the other people make the decisions. If I had been doing this the last 20+ years, I'd be much better off. Instead, I often told myself that I can't do something or something wouldn't work and thus never tried.

I guess I've reached an age at which aiding the smooth functioning of society, to the overall benefit of everyone, matters more to me than "getting mine".

I think we're two ships passing in opposite directions. I've spent my whole life NOT doing this kind of stuff. Sacrificing for the sake of others. Doing what's fare. I still forget to be selfish about 98% of the time, but I'm working on that. If I can move that closer to 95% in the next year or two and have it down to 90% in 5 years, then all the better.

I guess I've reached an age at which I've finally realized that occasionally doing what's in my best interest isn't going to really effect the entire world.

I still give exponentially more than I take, but my life isn't over yet.

 

[DuncanMitchel]

Especially for everyone of you that loves Buenos Aires like I do!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmjR_Z2mXBM
Thats me singing about my city Buenos Aires.
This is a song that I wrote about the economy that broke down
in Buenos Aires in 2001. This is for every one of you!
Love out of Amsterdam
Duncan Mitchel

 

[katti]

Last month, my husband was stopped by the police (after making a right turn in Cordoba, where it is not allowed, being sure that with his foreign license plate he could get away with it ). He had to show his pasport and driverslicense, the cop said he could pick up his pasport at the police office in 3 days, unless he paid 1000 $ immediately. Fortunately (!) he forgot his wallet at home. The police insisted, sure you must have something! So my husband asked our son (sitting next to him) if he had 'something' -he had 15€- the police said that that's OK. When my husband tried to give him the money he said "no! put it in your pasport", so he did, and like a real magician and without anyone seeing it, the police took it out and gave the pasport back. My husband frustrated of course, sure that if he would have had only 5€, the cop would have let him go too... Now he decided to cary 5€ with him at all times, who knows maybe some day he will need them again!

 

[2GuysInPM]

Last month, my husband was stopped by the police (after making a right turn in Cordoba, where it is not allowed, being sure that with his foreign license plate he could get away with it ). He had to show his pasport and driverslicense, the cop said he could pick up his pasport at the police office in 3 days, unless he paid 1000 $ immediately. Fortunately (!) he forgot his wallet at home. The police insisted, sure you must have something! So my husband asked our son (sitting next to him) if he had 'something' -he had 15€- the police said that that's OK. When my husband tried to give him the money he said "no! put it in your pasport", so he did, and like a real magician and without anyone seeing it, the police took it out and gave the pasport back. My husband frustrated of course, sure that if he would have had only 5€, the cop would have let him go too... Now he decided to cary 5€ with him at all times, who knows maybe some day he will need them again!

Hmmm... Probably a good reason not to carry your passport with you anywhere in the city. I would never hand mine out to anyone (except a customs agent at a border check). Too much of a valuable document to give out to a corrupt cop or anyone else. Better just to carry a photocopy of it and if you're planning to drive, an International driver's permit or an old copy of your driver's license (if you have one).

 

[Recoleta Carolina]

Last month, my husband was stopped by the police (after making a right turn in Cordoba, where it is not allowed, being sure that with his foreign license plate he could get away with it ). He had to show his pasport and driverslicense, the cop said he could pick up his pasport at the police office in 3 days, unless he paid 1000 $ immediately. Fortunately (!) he forgot his wallet at home. The police insisted, sure you must have something! So my husband asked our son (sitting next to him) if he had 'something' -he had 15€- the police said that that's OK. When my husband tried to give him the money he said "no! put it in your pasport", so he did, and like a real magician and without anyone seeing it, the police took it out and gave the pasport back. My husband frustrated of course, sure that if he would have had only 5€, the cop would have let him go too... Now he decided to cary 5€ with him at all times, who knows maybe some day he will need them again!

You should carry a photo copy of your passport!

 

[balle13112]

Don't keep any cash on you but invite the cop to your house for some cafe con leche