Do you know how much does a peon in the campo make for working from sunraise to sunset? do you know how much our burquesy and oligarchy pay a maid? do you know the percentage of maids that do not have a right to retirement and health care because they do not want to declare them as employees in order to evade taxes? do you know what porcentage of their business is in the black? do you know how much money they would rather spend into briving than into paying taxes?
this is what he is talking about when he says “I hate them” he is saying he does not respect people that exploits negros.

I understand most of the readers of this blog are foreigners and mostly they tend to be liberal, and with that background you tend to “hate” our President and feel free to disrespect her and disagree but you have to understand one thing, our history has not started in 1976 or 1983 it goes way back and you dont know it. Our history is full of olygarchy shit. They fucked us up and they continue to do so. That is why you have Delia’s and many social movements but you seem to only see unworthy negros.

I think that the difference in what Peña said, and what D’elia said, is this:

Peña was a radio talk show host, and a performer. He had a character that he projected that was controversial, angry and politically incorrect. His job was to entertain and create interest. You could either pay attention to Peña if you liked that kind of thing, or switch off if you don’t. Simple.

D’elia meanwhile, has been involved with, and on the payroll of the national government. You cannot and should not just ignore what someone involved in the government says, and would expect more of someone in that position than a person who hits protesters and goes on hateful rants on air, provoked or unprovoked. And after D’elia did this, he rightfully should be condemned, and never be allowed near a position of influence in any self-respecting government.

Aside from the oligarchy thing (which is a red herring – calling anyone that has a bit of money “the oligarchy” is pure hyperbole and spin – an attempt to discredit them with a dirty word when you have no argument), this is one part of what D’elia said to Peña that any rational person should surely take issue with:

“I hate white people. I hate you, Peña. I hate you. I hate your money. I hate your house. I hate your cars. I hate your history.”

That contains so much hate, and so little reasoning. It is just pure bile. What is there NOT to take issue with in what he says.

And no, I don’t like that Peña calls people “negro de mierda”. But then, at least half the Argentine population call people that. So it goes. I think that Peña did not hate people with darker skin, and nor did he say he hated them in this particular episode (maybe he did another time, I did not follow Peña up until a couple of years ago). Meanwhile, D’elia says he hates white people. He hates anyone with money (even people who have earnt it). He probably wants to bomb all the oligarchs in barrio norte, right? Maybe some of them would deserve it, but this populist idea that EVERYONE with money is a bad person and is doing something to make other people poor, has no logical basis. There are many examples of people like that, but you can’t tar everyone with the same brush, and even worse, do it as hatefully as D’elia.

Of course the country is unjust and unfair. All societies are to an extent. I don’t think Peña would have really defended an unjust and unfair country. This is again, just hyperbole from D’elia. And I am sure that Taos (though of course I don’t want to speak for him) would agree that Argentina is unjust and unfair, it is obvious, so why does he need to explain his quoting of that passage? It is the other stuff in the rant that is obviously objectionable.

I watch Argentine media, and you can read, hear, and watch a lot of (and mostly) opinions against the government. Before the elections, Tinelli and other entertainers practically campaigned for the opposition. You can see Mirtha every day shutting down anyone who defends the government, as if they were martians. I think that you are utterly exaggerating. Yes, Argentine politics is not the most beautiful thing in the world. I hope it gets better. But are you saying that this “climate” is substantially worse than in previous governments? (I’m obviously not justifying any form of censorship — I just think that your “climate” as a clear and defined category, different from everyday Argentine post-dictatorship politics is your creation).

You fail to mention the context of D’elia’s conversation with Peña. Peña not only was racist in his treatment of D’elia (don’t you think? does that deserve any mention?), he also called D’elia’s house the day before. Since D’elia was out, Peña spoke quite aggressively to D’elia’s son (and called him ‘negro de mierda’). D’elia’s son didn’t really care to talk and Peña pushed him. D’elia was quite angry about this and he explained his behavior in Lanata’s program (a show in which Peña looked really stupid, I’m so sorry to say). But you have to give context if you want to be fair.

This is the audio of Peña’s conversation with D’elia’s son: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNDAURNjj6g

I actually liked Peña and cried when he died. I don’t like D’elia and I disagree with his politics and his behavior in Plaza de Mayo (and other places). But his words are free speech, too. Do you have anything to say about what D’elia said? Should he say that he loves the oligarchy? He said “I hate people like you who defend an unjust and unfair country.” What is exactly what bothered you from his words? I mean, you could have made your point about D’elia’s inexcusable behavior without extensively quoting his words, so you must have some issue with them. What part of his rant? The hate? The fact that he says that the country is unjust and unfair? Do you disagree with that statement? (Just to make this point clear again: I’m not a D’elia supporter and I don’t agree with his political strategies and much of his worldview, but don’t you think his words also express something? I’m amazed that you quote them and ignore them, as if they were self-explanatory. Well, I would like to know what exactly the issue is.)

You also present “business leaders” as if they didn’t have any sort of interest, and as if they really cared about free speech as a value that is more important that their business interest (by the way, Tinelli plays his politics, too, and you can’t just ignore that). One thing is not to give an opinion that you truly believe, out of fear of retaliation. A different one is not to say something that you think, because saying it may hurt your privileges or position. That’s not fear or censorship, it’s political calculation, and happens all the time. I would like to know why powerful people don’t want to speak. Do you read La Nacion? Are those people not influential?

You treat the notion that people say something different in private and in public very naively. “what reigns is a kind of self-imposed censorship, where influential people say one thing in private and another – if they say anything at all – in public.” Yes, it could be censorship, of course. But I also call that politics.

Anyway, you reminded me of some great TV last year, on Jorge Lanata’s program, when he got Peña and D’Elía together shortly after the radio program incident, to talk things through. Once again, D’Elía excels in his own little way, saying that his “hate is a source of pride” (or something along those lines) and it is a “visceral hate”. And this guy is/was close to the government? What a great example to all!

You can watch that program on Youtube, in six parts (WELL WORTH a watch, for anyone that understands Spanish and has an interest in Argentine politics/current affairs):

Part 1 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYC2O0LMuyE
Part 2 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArftwfeNFPE
Part 3 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqrJMHAySqk
Part 4 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEo7q4Kr-G8
Part 5 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuvW8czI75g
Part 6 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RtQbUM-NrM

Great work by always from Jorge Lanata. And RIP Fernando Peña!

Alan