Judul : Peruvian Arrogance
link : Peruvian Arrogance
Peruvian Arrogance
We've become an arrogant nation. It's freaking official. After struggling for centuries, being enslaved & exploited by the European conquistadors, exploited by corrupt Peruvian presidents, and slaughtered by Marxist-Maoist-Leninist terrorist, we've finally managed to move on and... now it's time to look down on everyone else.
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| Our socialist president wearing his Armani suit & Tag Heuer watch. Even Obama looks humble compared to him. |
That's the problem with low self-esteem- it's really hard not to become a asshole once you finally kick misery in the ass. Venezuelans, Argentinians and Chileans used to be our wealthy almighty neighbors, and the few Peruvians who were able to visit Buenos Aires or Caracas came back amazed and frustrated to see how other South Americans lived just like in the first world. It seemed that beautiful streets, flashy cars and safety were just around the corner while we had to struggle to get by with a ridiculous salary, dodging bombs on our way to work, and lighting candles to do homework -that's me as a kid in the 80s!- because the terrorists had taken down the power lines. While Venezuelans, Argentinians and Chileans wore Nike and drove BMWs, we had to wear our brother's and sister's old Chinese shoes and take crappy old buses to school. Yeah. Peruvians were groomy, sad saaad bitches. Hordes of Peruvians left the country to never come back. Japan, the USA, Spain. Anywhere was better than staying here.
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| This was Peru not long ago. |
THEN! The 90s. The crazy 90s. This funny-looking Japanese guy appeared on street banners... running for president! WTF! I remember spotting a banner and laughing with my family. "That stupid Asian dude believes he has a chance. LOL." Not only did he have a chance but managed to beat all those corrupt traditional parties single-handedly. People chose him because he was a complete outsider, not linked to anything of what Peruvians knew as political establishment. It was our way to say: "So what the fuck..." Having hit rock bottom, we ain't have nothing to lose.
Eleven years passed. The Japanese guy had transformed our society in ways we'd never imagined before. Not everything was good though. I have no political heroes. Corruption and nepotism were at their most, but we also had eleven years of smashing terrorists like ants, killing them, putting them in jail and taking back our country the only way it could have been done- declaring war on it. Inflation disappeared. Foreign companies started investing on us. Tourism, credit and education -three industries we only saw in the movies- took over the country. Eleven years later with the Japanese dude exiled in Japan, this Peruvian dude from Harvard was next. Fond of hookers and whiskey, he just had the autopilot mode on for five years. Then, back from his exile in France, another former president ruled us for five years. He took advantage of the opportunities China had to offer- the Chinese were consuming commodities like crazy. Then a racial supremacist won the next election and -despite our fears- he's following the same path so far.
Of course I'm happy with our new situation. I have stability and hope, something I had to learn since fear and suspicion was everything I was raised to feel as a kid in the 80s. It's a new feeling and most can't handle properly. Yes. We have a shocking NEW RICH ATTITUDE.
Forgot to point at the fact that our formerly rich neighbors, namely Venezuela and Argentina, are now literally struggling to make ends meet, swept by poverty, unemployment and crime. It's sad to say many were waiting for the chance to look down on them. Now Peruvians are consuming like never before. You take a taxi and all you can see are flashy SUVs and new shopping malls. AND It totally went to our heads. Now our only wealthier neighbor is Chile. The ONLY one. You could argue Brazil is also wealthier, but remember: although they are highly industrialized, they still have millions struggling and the crime rate is even higher than in Peru. So I'd say Chile is the only neighbor we can't beat yet. We are the region two economic miracles.
So what's this new rich attitude about? Let me answer with one example:
My neighbors didn't even have cars some few years ago. Now they've made sure they got the biggest and priciest SUV they could afford, so that no one has any question about how rich they are now (or how huge their credit lines are.) I live in a gated community. When these asshole neighbors come from work, they refuse to get off the car and open the gate. Apparently, only the poor Venezuelans or Ecuadorians use their own hands to open a gate. So how do they come in? They honk the horn again and again until the poor security guard shows up running from the other edge of the condo. It's him who has to open the gate while the new rich Peruvian is sitting down, arms, crossed, talking on his iPhone.
We are such an adolescent country- we feel the need to have other people's approval. It's not enough with buying new shit- others HAVE TO SEE IT. And look up on us. Otherwise, we still feel inferior.
We are such an adolescent country- we feel the need to have other people's approval. It's not enough with buying new shit- others HAVE TO SEE IT. And look up on us. Otherwise, we still feel inferior.
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| It's hard not to become an arrogant bitch with a president like this. |
I am deeply embarrassed whenever I witness things like that. Years ago the Peruvian was thankful to even get a second-hand Suzuki. The 'egomaniac in the brainiac' -to paraphrase Cypress Hill- is fun-loving and nothing's more appealing that reaffirming their newly obtained power by showing off. It happens with such little things as food.
First of all, Peruvian food is delicious. It's become well-known all around the world and I'm glad to know it. BUT the typical attitude nowadays is: "Our food is absolutely the best and all the rest is crap." One of our best chefs once took a taxi and the driver was a young Peruvian gastronomy student. The arrogant kid said-
-Peruvian lemon is the best in the world!
Yeah we've become THIS arrogant. SO arrogant that even our lemons are the best..
You know what the old, experienced, mature chef replied to the kid?
-Oh really? And how many foreign lemons have you tried???
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| Peruvian food: awww you delicious bitch... |
It's only Peruvians like this old chef that are wise enough to realize there's still a long way to come for us. These Peruvians have been to the most industrialized nations in the world and are smart enough to keep their minds cool. Ok, we're doing much better, but we are still nothing compared to countries who have solved their most basic issues decades ago. I wish we all were like this old chef. They are the ones who can see things clearly. They also manage not to get enraged by this new rich attitude. I'm not that smart. It simply drives me nuts.
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Thank you for the enlightening article. It helps me understand my Peruvian friends who always have to show off and ask people what they do for a living and how much they make. I always thought it is a little weird being from San Diego. Still, no one likes a arrogant person.
ReplyDeleteHope the country continues to do well economically.