Comments & Reader Responses

Matías Maciel, an Argentine journalist in NY who runs a fine Spanish-langauge blog over at Entretanto, has brought something important to my attention. The comments section on The Argentine Post does not work properly. Matías twice tried to comment on my recent video post about young farm protesters. He was unsuccessful. After hearing this, I tried to post a test comment myself and was similarly unsuccessful. I’m looking into the matter and hope to have the problem fixed soon. Meantime, here is what Matías tried to post:

I think that it is very important for young people like Manuel Malenchini to get involved with politics, whatever their ideological perspective. I believe that the construction of a more fair, inclusive and egalitarian society depends on citizens’ commitment, participation and responsibility.

That said, I think it is unfair to

1) imply that all other protesters (those that don’t have a soft voice or speak English) “carry sticks”, “smell of alcohol” or “hide behind a scarf”.
2) compare Manuel’s case –who is protesting a tax increase- with people who are making claims to the state because they are “literally” hungry.

I am against violent methods and so are many of the hungry people who strike, protest, block roads peacefully in all of Latin America.

It is unfortunate to think that most protesters are violent.

Good points, Matías. It is indeed unfair to generalize and lump all protesters into the same category. My point, made partially, implicitly and evidently not very clearly, was not that all protesters are violent or smell of alcohol, but rather that too many of them do resort to less-than-civic behavior while trying to get our attention. This is unfortunate because it distracts attention from what can be, as you said, very legitimate claims.

After 10 years of covering aggressive, even violent protests in Buenos Aires, it was a pleasure to come upon a group of dissenters whose tactics were amicable. This is admirable, even if one disagrees with the farmers’ and their policy perspectives.

Here is another response to the same post. This one, which came via email, takes a very different tone. I have changed the name to protect the identify of the author, who I believe is an Argentine woman living in Los Angeles, California. The comments are unedited:

I don’t know who is behind this “The Argentine Post” nor why it is written in English, but just in case I am responding in the same language. One thing is clear to me: If this post is intended for foreigners that live in our territory to read, they should learn our language. Second: your points of view are so bias they make me puke. Regarding your well mannered farmers, besides being the same old ruling class that continues to live in the past where they are the only ones with all the privileges while the rest of the population hungers, (you don’t need to go so far as yesterday when they were organizing “BBQs” alongside their protesters while the rest of the population starves), they are the ones who let all this foreigners come to our country and take over vast territories. Tres chic! How cool! Shame on you! 

Gloria Haden
Los Angeles, CA. USA

Sorry about the puke, Gloria. But thank you for the feedback. Keep it coming. I asked Gloria to post her comments for all to enjoy. She did not reply.

Gloria’s comments are typical of those often made in politics. They epitomize the “argumentum ad hominem” (literally, argument to the man) school of debate in which debaters attach each other instead of attacking each other’s ideas. Farm protesters hit the streets because, among other things, they wanted the government to reduce or eliminate taxes on agriculture exports. Notice that Gloria did not address this topic. Are those taxes too high? Are they fair? Are they necessary? Perhaps they are fair and necessary, but we certainly would not know this by reading Gloria’s comments. Instead, we know only that my bias is vomit-inducing and that farmers are living in the past. Gloria attacks the farmers and me but does not say whether the export taxes themselves are worth protesting. Would those taxes be any better or worse an idea if the farmers stopped organizing BBQs while protesting?

The ratio of emails to comments received is about 30-1. Why, I’m not sure. Perhaps it’s because the comments section is not user friendly. Or perhaps it’s because most people want their communication to be private. That is fine, but it’s also a pity in some ways because it denies readers a chance to see what other readers are thinking. Alternatively, I know that not all readers read comments, and some even fine them a waste of time. If you have an opinion on the matter, let me know, preferrably via email since, apparently, the comments section does not work.