Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Standards
At one level, we should not be surprised that this should come from a country to which Nazis fled, and in which Hezbollah kills Jews with impunity. It would be a huge mistake, though, to think that this is a uniquely Argentinian perspective.
Now, I'm not one to get all preachy about the many forms of racism in the world today. Most people hate other people because of who they are, or are not. My purpose is to propose a thought experiment: Suppose a Western newspaper -- even an Argentinian one -- printed a photograph of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Nasrallah with the caption "A Persian and an Arab decide the destiny of humanity." What would be the reaction on the evening news? Laughter, or outrage that a newspaper reduced these individual men to their ethnic identity? Either response would not reflect well on people who are not a bit shocked by the picture above.
Beyond the racism, there is something else. What is it about the Arab/Islamist-Israeli conflict that determines "the destiny of humanity"? Israel would fire its last shot today if no Muslim attacked it after today. If the "destiny of humanity" is indeed in play, surely it is only because people worry that the Arabs and Iranians will do something "disproportionate" in response to Israel's counterattack against Hezbollah. There is nothing, after all, inherently dangerous about Israel's continued existence. It is only dangerous because hundreds of millions of Arabs appear to prefer to wage war on Israel than to manufacture something, invent something, grow something, sell something or learn something that is not found in scripture. Whose choice was that?
UPDATE: An anonymous commenter reports that Barcelona is a satirical magazine, known for its edge. Perhaps that context is exculpating, and perhaps it isn't. Can anybody else out there shed light on this?
11 Comments:
By 
Gordon Smith, at
Tue Aug 15, 08:53:00 AM:
"hundreds of millions of Arabs appear to prefer to wage war on Israel than to manufacture something, invent something, grow something, sell something or learn something that is not found in scripture."
Hundreds of millions prefer to wage war? That's a really ignorant thing to say, Hawk. I'll assume it was a mistake on your part and you don't really subscribe to the tenets adopted by the "kill 'em all" militarists running rampant on the eastern fringe of Right Blogistan.
Tens of thousands of Arabs certainly prefer waging war on Israel. But to say that hundreds of millions of civilian Arabs would rather be at war than at peace is ludicrous. It only takes about 10% of a population choosing war to turn any nation into chaos.
And your line about unwillingness to do anything but wage war borders on racist. Don't let yourself get dragged into that black hole. Maybe you're simply being tongue-in-cheek, but I can't tell.
By 
, at
Tue Aug 15, 11:27:00 AM:
Barcelona is an argentine satirical magazine of, shall we say, very edgy ironic humor. I wouldn't waste my time on this one.
By Cardinalpark, at
Tue Aug 15, 11:30:00 AM:
Screwy - why don't you address the question instead of changing the subject? Arab nations and their proxies have waged war on Israel since its formation, so I hardly think Tigerhawk's commentary is either historically inaccurate or inapproporiately inflammatory. Now the Persians are getting in on the act too.
It should not be forgotten that the last President of Argentina, Carlos Menem, who ruled the country for 10 years has an interesting and, I think, notable background. Though he converted to Catholicism, the dominant religion in Argentina, Menem was born to immigrant Syrian Muslim parents. And he presided over some most unfortunate terrorist incidents during his reign. The 1992 Israeli Embassy bombing and the 1994 AMIA Jewish Community Center bombing. The government of Iran was eventually implicated in both incidents, though Menem obstructed the investigation.
He was a hideously corrupt politician who stole mercilessly at every turn.
So, is it really a surprise to see such a ghastly headline in Argentina? Not hardly....the country has attracted some of the uglier forms of immigration over time...not just Nazis like Eichmann, but fellow travellers as well...
By , at
Tue Aug 15, 12:11:00 PM:
Borders on racist? Are you kidding me? Pick any poll that measures what the average Arab thinks about Israel and you'll find that it's a lot more then tens of thousands who want to exterminate Israel.
Calling Tigerhawk a racist becuase he dared to point out the elephant in the room is laughable, but an all too predictable reaction from the Al Sharpton Left
By , at
Tue Aug 15, 01:05:00 PM:
I lived in Argentina for ten years. Argentines are racists, there is simply no getting around this. In their more private moments they admit this. Black American Marines stationed at the US Embassy hated the country. Everywhere they went they were subject to racial epithets usually from a passing vehicle.
In Argentina you are judged by the lightness of your skin. The lighter the better. If you appear a bit mulatto---black and white---or criollo---white and Indian---you are subject to snide insults, like being called a 'maid' because your skin resembles that of the many Peruvian maids who labor in Buenos Aires.
Argentines are also anti-Semitic, though there are many powerful Jewish families there---the Tonconogy and Timerman families, to name just two. At the turn of the 19th century Argentina had 800,00 Jews. Now there are fewer than 200,000.
By Cardinalpark, at
Tue Aug 15, 02:01:00 PM:
Mike Austin - you speak the truth. My parents were Argentine Jews; my father lives there; many of my cousins from his side of the family do too. I am grateful for his wise decision to leave there and come to this great country, beleive me. Nobody is more grateful to be an American than me.
Argentina is a racist country. There are very few "blacks" at all. There is a sizeable native/"Indian" population, generally poor. There is a sizeable European population. Most who go to Buenos Aires for a visit are shocked to find how European the place seems.
The Jewish situation in Argentina is quite similar to what one might find in Europe. On the one hand, Jews are generally prosperous and successful, and are afforded the "right" to succeed. On the other hand, the country experiences bouts of anti-semitism as Jews are scapegoated during periods of economic dislocation or political instability. The Catholic Church in Argentina historically contributed to this underlying anti-Semitism. One of my cousins was a "desaparecido" in the mid 70's during the militayr junta period, principally as a function of his jewish background -- he was accused of sedition.
Lovely place though. Glad I'm here....
By John B. Chilton, at
Tue Aug 15, 02:44:00 PM:
What about the translation of the subtitle to Barcelona:
"solucion europea para los problemas de los argentinos" - Google Search
Satirical or not, it is fits the caption and I don't even know Spanish.
The link I provided takes you to other blogs linking to this cover story or about the magazine in general.
By , at
Tue Aug 15, 05:55:00 PM:
i do read spanish and i did a bit of googling...the magazine was founded three years ago by a bunch of ex-journalists as an ultra-cynical satire of argentine media...the caption - "european solution for argentine problems" - was inspired by the fact that a couple of years ago argentina was experiencing an economic and social meltdown and many argentinians were lining up at the spanish embassy to get out...anyone who knows argentina (i happen to be married to one)will recognize the pointed jab at the argentine propensity to view all of the country's problems as caused by someone else...noone takes ownership or responsiblity for any problems, it's always someone else's fault! therefore, the solution to the country's problems is to escape them! btw, i think the cover 'humor' as satire is consistent with all of the accurate observations made above re argentine racism...
By Dawnfire82, at
Tue Aug 15, 07:33:00 PM:
"anyone who knows argentina (i happen to be married to one)will recognize the pointed jab at the argentine propensity to view all of the country's problems as caused by someone else...noone takes ownership or responsiblity for any problems, it's always someone else's fault!"
Heh. Just like the Middle East.
Did anyone else see the irony in someone above *cough* trying to defend a racist culture with accusations of racism? Rather reminds me of militant black separatists here in the US... like here http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=22044&only for instance.
No wonder logic is so often missing from such politics... it would self destruct the mind.
By D.E. Cloutier, at
Tue Aug 15, 11:06:00 PM:
All Israel has to do is buy the Falkland Islands and give them to Argentina. Argentina will love all Jews forever.
By , at
Wed Aug 16, 09:30:00 PM:
"anyone who knows argentina (i happen to be married to one)will recognize the pointed jab at the argentine propensity to view all of the country's problems as caused by someone else...noone takes ownership or responsiblity for any problems, it's always someone else's fault!"
"Heh. Just like the Middle East."
hah! I was going to say JUST LIKE THE MUSLIM WORLD. (=
....and accusing TigerHawk of racism is absolutely ludicrous!
