Argentina

Hello florianschitz,

I would like to answer to your PO regarding such a delicate and hurtful topic. After reading most of the POs discussing Imagining Argentina I decided to give my opinion through your PO.

I see that you left Argetina, which is also my country of origin, when you were a teen ager. During those tumultuous years I was also living there. However, my position was that of a teacher in a private school, whose students belonged to the social and economic elite of Buenos Aires. I am quite familiar with the area where you grew up, I happened to live in Palermo Chico, but I gave lectures and attended workshops and seminars in San Isidro, La Lucila, Olivos, mostly in Anglo Argentinean Schools.

I was a witness to many atrocities, from shcool bombing, in my own school, to kidnapped parents, to disappeared priests, to disappeared parents who were either linked to the arts, studying Theater, or they were very rich, or they were "suspicious"...And that is something that can never be repeated. Because there was a dirty war going on, undeclared, damn war I feel in the position of saying that there is no excuse for the terrorism impossed by the Dictatorial Junta. There were people who were taken away for ever because "they must have done something" (ALGO HABRAN HECHO...). No,that was a criminal approach. There were extremes from both sides...the solution was never successful.Nothing compares to the loss of a loved one, either by death or just dissapearance in the hands of terrorists, whoever those terrorists are.
Your parents were living the same hell and insecurity that I went through. You were lucky enough to have the choice for another beginning when you came to this country. I'm also a great admirer of this country, and I believe along with millions more, that you can really make it here. If we were ever deprived of that right in our country, I believe it is now my duty to declare that hatred and bitteness doesn't lead to good endings. We have the perfect example with our unforgettable 70's. There is still a long way to go, open wounds that haven't healed yet...as long as each person is not pdeprived of their human rights, anything is possible. But there is no possible excuse for the terrorism perpetraded by the Armed Forces of Argentina during the dictatorial regime, wrongly called the process.
As far as the movie IA is concerned it is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I am a cinema fan, I have seen hundreds or Argentinean movies and I am very much in favor of documentary films about the 70's.Even though, there may be nothing truly documentary, but there are some good examples of the events blended with some fictional traits.
I.A. is a bad expample of that. There are many ways to show what was happening in Argentina back then. Please, don't take IA as a good example. The acting was terrible, the direction was laughable, there is no emotion, there is no sensibility from the makers of this film. Emma T. and A. Banderas, two good actors wasted in this opportunity. My goodness, there are so many good Argentinean movies to see from that period. And, besides IA is not an Argentinean movie..

[deleted]

"(...)and making sure we had contact with the right people and would never get into trouble (Schools/neighbours)."

se nota que sos de san isidro...

To florian:PUTO!

@ florianschitz - since you seem to be the first person who mentions a political party, I'm going to blame you for opening the door to more and more ignorant remarks that have nothing to do with this movie. What does it matter which political party you marked when you registered to vote? If you are holding an office as a person of one or another political party, running for office or you happen to be a big-time volunteer or money donator, then it might actually mean something (although it still means less than most of these other foolish folks are trying to make out).

In your mind, not having been born here, you might actually think that it means something when you pick out a political party to associate yourself with when you register to vote. To most Americans, it really means very little, especially now that most (all?) states allow you to vote for either party in the primaries. Most people (thankfully) will vote for whomever they believe to be the best person for whatever reasons might matter to them - they don't really care what political party they are associated with, as they shouldn't. And, it usually doesn't amount to a hill of beans if people decide to switch those parties a couple of times during their lives as they find themselves registering at a new address or something.

More and more, it should be obvious to even the most ignorant people that there are very few differences between the major political parties in our country. I'm sorry to see that, I do wish that there were greater differences and that it meant something to stand for a certain political party, but it doesn't. I still believe that citizens should try to inform themselves as well as they possibly can on the issues at stake during campaigns, but you'd have to really be dense to believe that you can trust in what any of the politicians have to say. Look at the recent revelation by President Obama, "I know I stated during the campaign that I was opposed to gay marriage, but I had to say that or else I might not have won the election. The truth is that I completely support gay marriage." I didn't know rather to laugh or cry to have our president make such a statement, but what a slap in the face! I lied and I don't care that I lied because more than anything else, more than what the voters believe, I wanted to win and now I'm telling you that I was willing to do anything to win! Wow! I can't think of any president in my lifetime that I've agreed with 100%, but it seems that it's becoming more and more acceptable to keep the public wondering if we can trust any of them and I think the answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT!

And then our political "experts" chime in on comment boards like this one and want to tell everyone what you believe in if you are registered under one political party or another - what a huge pile! Even during presidential elections, it is usually less than 33% of registered voters who actually get off their duffs and go vote! Less than one third of registered voters. And, if these folks who must have cared enough to register, don't even bother to get out and vote (or just sit at home and have a ballot mailed to you - can they make it any easier, people?) can you imagine just how many people don't even bother to register? And that takes all of about 5 minutes, maximum!

Good grief, just look at some of the polls where citizens on the street are asked to name our Vice President or to pick who would be next in the line for president if the president and the vice president were not available to serve - the answers are both hilarious and heartbreaking. Our citizens are hugely ignorant of the most simple political facts - so you think these same people go register to vote and actually understand what it means if they are Democrats or Republicans. They've been very effective at "Getting the vote out" and getting young adults to register and take part in the elections and I'm all for that! However, we end up with yet another segment of registered voters who are interested in a very narrow number of issues, and they really are not interested in politics in general nor even in the structure and function of our government. Too many people can name the most recent "Idol" winners or give the spouses' names of Palm Beach Housewives, but they don't have a clue who the Attorney General is (or if we even have one right now).

Any of you knuckleheads who mentioned a political party in your comments, if you think you actually have a legitimate reason why that's relevant - go for it, tell us all. Otherwise, even if you are anonymous online, try to show some integrity and don't muddy the waters with nonsense.

Now that I've shown what a grumpy ol' lady I am - - - please allow me to offer my compliments to the many Argentinians who have commented here. I mostly feel that your comments have added to good information to all of us who have read them and I thank you for speaking out. My heart still and will allows go out to the victims of not only Argentina, but every place throughout our world where innocent people are not allowed to live out their lives in peace - working to care for their families and enjoying (where possible) the freedom to speak out, worship as they see fit, to defend themselves, and to have protections in place from the governments. There are so very many genocides, constantly going on, but if our governments can't benefit from going into certain countries or if the citizens just don't care for those in other countries who need our help, then you won't hear about them because politicians aren't going to bring it up and the media is also discouraged from mentioning it. There are laws in the U.N. that determine when to judge that there is the actual threat of genocide followed by laws that state that help has to be given, but I see those in the U.N. constantly turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to the deaths of hundreds of thousands, even millions, of innocent citizens if nothing is going to fill the coffers. It makes me sick and it makes me frustrated that all I can do is write and speak out when possible. We need more people in our countries who are given power and will use it correctly.


Shauna & Ms. Phoebe, my God-given Happy Pill

I want to tell all the ''humanists'' and republicans that the events in the 70's in Argentina where nor a process or even a ''dirty war''. There was not a war, it was State terrorism. The military regime killed a lot of people who had nothing to do with terrorism, and in case they were part of an armed organization they had to be judged for their actions.