Why are Argentines so arrogant???

[bigbadwolf]

I’m an Argentine living in Buenos Aires and can’t help but notice the arrogance of my fellow countrymen. Everyone here is always bragging about how they are better at this or that…
According to the average Argentine:
-We have the best landscapes/women/food etc in the world.
-We are the smartest people on Earth. We are so smart that we can cheat, lie, steal and get away with it (known as “viveza criolla”).
-We are always right. Foreigners are wrong.
-All expats in Argentina should worship the Argentine culture. Otherwise, they must shut up and go back to their countries.
-No-one should ever criticize us. We are perfect.
-God is Argentine………………
I could go on for ages. Still, many locals deny this and say that Argentines are not arrogant at all. They say it’s the expats who criticize that are arrogant. Shame on them…

You're being too harsh on Argentines. The "arrogance" and the machismo are there to compensate for deep-seated inferiority complexes and profound doubts about ethnic and cultural identity. Hence the ofttimes hysterical claims to be ethnically European and having a European culture. Top dogs tend not to be arrogant -- at least outwardly: there's nothing to prove: everyone knows they're at the top of the pecking order, or food chain (or whatever metaphor you want to use).

If anything, it's so-called "expats" who come down hardest on any criticism of Argentina and its people. There's an iron-willed and manic refusal to face up to the facts of life in Argentina among many foreigners. One rabid lunatic -- who has since had his a$$ ignominiously booted off this forum -- used to hysterically attack anyone who said anything critical about Argentina (I believe this loony now has his own blog, where he targets posts and posters on baexpats). In contrast, I find Argentines amenable to reason and constructive criticism.

To the moderators: please do not edit this post.

 

[Grazie]

Here, Here!
No sagacious words have ever been truly spoken than yours bigbadwolf. BTW, good to see you are back, with much vigor.

 

[igor]

One rabid lunatic -- who has since had his a$$ ignominiously booted off this forum ...

(This is my personal view only)
He was not booted, actually. I assume he just decided that blog format where he can broadcast his opinion only and delete comments that he does not like better fits his personal style.
The story is that 4 month ago or so he suddenly demanded that

1. we must kick all the Argentines from the site;
2. we must also kick out all the foreigners who don't live in Buenos Aires (even if they lived here for years);
3. we must edit/delete people's postings and don't allow anything negative to ever get published here.

Naturally, we refused.
And after all this time he still can not get over it. Now he runs a baexpats hate blog with all the necessary attributes like a pathetic "Stop baexpats" sign on the top
You can google for it if you need a little guidance in your life in terms of what to say and what not to say, what to love and what not to love. I must admit, I visit his blog from time to time myself, and every time I do the famous phrase from the Blues Brothers comes up to my mind.
I believe you can guess which one: illnazis.wav (50kb).

 

[bf4]

Arrogant? Said by who? Don't make me laugh people...

Americans in their own land will boast
a)the best education systems (but when it comes to international exams nordics, swedish, koreans, average europeans will let them watching...) I've shared college with all of them mmmmm americanos a tus zapatos.., even if they have the english competitive advantage, the koreans would leave them far behind
b)best crime rates (another laugh) most northern europe countries and even some european countries fare better. But there is no safer place to live than the USA!.jjajja)!
c) best health systems.....(third laugh) Other countries have longer life expectancies at half a price and for everybody

but they live in the best country in the world.......where the accomplishments done outside are worthless, where why bother with anything than english if english rules the world? Please a little bit of cargo de conciencia and then let it all come out.
P.S: I don't believe Argentina is the best country in the world, it is the country i chose to live with all its FAULTS, DEFECTS, CORRUPTION, should I choose other it won't be the USA, that's for sure, not for arrogance, it depends on what life means to you Now let's us all think aloud is hte USA, specially lately free from corruption, from elite management..........from its very centre?
Best sundays to all and start a good week!

 

[danish_boy]

Yes, Argentines are one of the most arrogant people I’ve ever seen. Most of them are extremely chauvinistic. Everything has to be Argentine… Until very recently, they wouldn’t even let people put their kids foreign names. Not sure if it changed though. But bottom line is they are an arrogant bunch and don’t want to admit it.
What I don’t understand is why they are always comparing themselves to the US. Inferiority complex maybe?

 

[Paul_NL]

Yes, Argentines are one of the most arrogant people I’ve ever seen. Most of them are extremely chauvinistic. Everything has to be Argentine… Until very recently, they wouldn’t even let people put their kids foreign names. Not sure if it changed though. But bottom line is they are an arrogant bunch and don’t want to admit it.
What I don’t understand is why they are always comparing themselves to the US. Inferiority complex maybe?

There are no Argentinian names

 

[JG]

Smug, smug, smug!!!!!
who knows why? I surely dont. i cant figure it out. of course, theres a nice minority who arent like this, but the smugness is omnipresent and aggressive here. In addition to irking me, us, i think it does harm to them as well. certainly NOT an attractive quality.

 

[danish_boy]

There are no Argentinian names

You're wrong. There are lots of Argentine names, most of them aboriginal. Anyway, I meant Spanish names as opposed to non-Spanish (foreign) ones.

 

[bigbadwolf]

But bottom line is they are an arrogant bunch and don’t want to admit it. What I don’t understand is why they are always comparing themselves to the US. Inferiority complex maybe?

Argentina was a very promising country about a century back -- it had both a higher standard of living and a better quality of life than countries such as Germany and Spain. Buenos Aires was one of the first cities to have underground trains. Migrants came in from Europe for a chance at a better life. But all this was a looong time ago, and the story since then has mostly been one of decline. Many historians and economists have examined the historical record to try to understand what went awry. But the relevance to us on this thread is the impact it has had on the national psyche: feelings of failure and inadequacy disguised as something else. No thinking Argentine can fail to realise what an abysmal failure Argentina has been. Nor can any foreigner (unless they're head-up-their-a$$ reality-denying loonies who should be in straitjackets).

 

[Paul_NL]

Argentina the only country ever to go from a first world country to a third world country in just one generation