Thursday, September 23, 2010

Pre-mortem

Warning: major cynical and overly long text/rant follows.  Read at you own peril.


Only four days to go for the election and I can sense a total lack of seriousness around me.

Polls that are reaching me are not good, and even might be indicating that chavismo might overtake the opposition in ballots cast.  Maybe, though I doubt it, nor it matters much in the end as I have explained earlier.

Nobody really has dared to make a solid prediction.  As far as I know, and outside of the pious declaration of victory of the candidates and their parties, I am the only one calling it a 69 something to a 96 something for Chavez (the irony of the inverted digits, ain't it?).

My feeble attempts to try to set an election central with other bloggers went nowhere fast.

Friends and relatives call me to tell me that "Carabobo esta en pico de Zamuro" "Zulia se perdio" and yet they do not listen when I tell them how absurd it is for them saying that as it is absurd for them to tell me in the same breath that thanks God, we are taking all of Miranda.

So far nothing makes me change my prediction.  If anything the "optimistic scenario" is reduced to a little bit, and going.

And yet, though saddened, I do not care much.  Strangely happy perhaps that for once I suffer from a very mild case of election jitters.

The thing is that since February 2009 I have slowly but surely come to grasp that the real problem is that Venezuelans are not democrats and in fact probably never were, except maybe briefly, for a few weeks at most, sometime after the RevoluciĆ³n de Octubre.  And they probably never acted as democrats except during the regime of Medina and perhaps up to a point under the presidency of Leoni and the first weeks of the Caldera first term.  All the rest of our independent history, that is roughly 96.37 % we have been looking for the Cacique who will tell us what to do to make out like a bandit.

Yesterday I wrote to a long time reader the following (lack of capital letters intended):
the people who vote for chavez sunday belong to three groups: the bloodsuckers, the cult members and those who want chavez to hurt the other side. when such a coalition gets an electoral majority in a country democracy is done with.
And thus today this post as a need to expand these words, which in all their cynicism describe my position better than ever.

It is not that outright I condemn these people.

After all, it is not because I am unable to subscribe to any religious or political group, that gurus make me laugh, that the last time I had a leader I was a boyscout and got cured from any further need, that it makes me unable to accept that other people do have such need.  They are wrong but I do  understand the need to believe in something.  And in Venezuela there was a wretched lot of people (from poor to rich) that had nothing to believe into for decades and suddenly found a man to adore.

The corrupt folks have always existed, in every country of the world.  The problem, in Venezuela is that they got free rein, and under Chavez became one of its necessary coalition members.  Why?  Well, to begin with, let's not forget that Chavismo was not a spontaneous generation and that a huge majority of those who voted for Chavez in 1998 used to vote AD and COPEI.  And thus a huge amount of chavismo initial cadres, those who entered "public service" in 1999 were AD, COPEI and MAS until no more than 2-3 years earlier.  They carried their vices within chavismo from the start, but aggravated those for one simple reason: they had been sensed to be highly incompetent, and more corrupt than their bosses before and were barred from ascending in office.  See, before Chavez public servants might have been stealing but many of them stole more moderate amounts and made sure that there was some works left behind their tenure, if anything to show something for their work, and claim all sorts of excuses for the missing fund such as "over price", "normals losses", etc...  With the Pudreval scandal, to name one, you can figure out that even that delicacy of pre Chavez corruption has ceased to function.

The third group is the "resentido social" of which I have already disserted in the past.  For a variety of reasons these people blame the failures of their lives on other folks and develop a social resentment that makes them seek revenge in all sorts of ways.  The Tea Party in the US today is a prime example on how such groups can impose an agenda to a whole country.  It is not that the grievances of these people might not be legitimate: often they are, resentido social or Tea Partier.  The problem is what they do about them.  Amazingly after 11 years of Chavez regime there are still plenty of people that think that Chavez will finally effectuate their so long sought revenge.  Or have you forgotten that Chavez was elected in 1998 with the promise of frying Adecos heads?

It has been the evil genius of Chavez to knit these three group of people into a solid coalition that shows no sign of frittering away yet.  Not only that, but when you combine it to his talent of snake potion salesman  his recovery in polls in recent weeks is perfectly explained.  How has he done that?

To the cult follower he keeps his language of fire and brimstone, combined to redemption under an empty promise of socialo-communism that disguises his fascist ambition for a life presidency.

To the corrupt group, by letting them rob so much he made sure that now they will have to do the dirty deeds because if he loses power they go down with him.

And to the "resentido social" he provides them with an enemy, an excuse.  To understand this character better I can offer you this image: Venezuela who once upon a time lived of its coffee exports and was reputed to grow the best coffee and cacao in the world now is importing coffee.  Lots of it, 76% more in just the first semester of this year.  For the resentido social this is irrelevant, he cares only about finding coffee on the Mercal shelves, no matter where it comes from.  If told about the Venezuelan growers out of business because of the government polices, he will simply shrug his shoulders, maybe adding that they were exploiting their workers anyway, were too expensive and it is a good thing Chavez stopped the racket, or whatever else runs their minds...  It is very easy for the resentido social to turn his anger into a sense of entitlement and Chavez, as a hope and promise seller, has managed to lock in that constituency even without delivering the goods: the states owe you and it will pay you someday as long as Chavez retains office.  As you will observe, the social economic status of the resentido is irrelevant: we are talking here about a frame of mind.

And thus Chavez has been able to bind together such an invincible coalition because we, the sort of educated masses, those who take at least some responsibility for our actions, us who even if we do not mind a "good deal" at government expense still think that to get ahead in life there is nothing but a good day of work, have failed to gauge the extent of these groups that form the core of chavismo.  Or how else can you explain that long ago the thinking left, the democratic one has abandoned chavismo leaving it in the hand of the failed intelligentsia, the parrot one, the one that actually thinks that Chavez has invented the wheel and sliced bread.

February 2009 I finally realized that overwhelming truth, in all of its extent.  The people who voted for Chavez indefinite reelection knew exactly what they were voting for.  They had seen the man for ten years already, violent, insulting whoever crossed his path, vulgar, barrack minded, sectarian, racist, liar.  They knew it.  They have no excuse for their vote because Chavez was not on the ballot, Chavez would have remained president for three full years still, plenty of time to fulfill his promises.  And yet they voted for the perpetuation of vulgarity and segregation as the way to run a country.  They have no excuses whatsoever and deserve fully the fate Chavez holds for them as the he finishes off the country.

Since February 2009 I have come to realize something worse.  Once the educated elites of Venezuela, including Bolivar, paid with their lives for the independence of Venezuela and 5 other countries, the values of the lumpen became our norm until today.  No new educated elite had the opportunity to form.  We have never been a democratic people, no matter how much analysts and politicans line up at Globovision to repeat incessantly since 2004 that we are a democratic people and that we will eventually react to Chavez and boot his style out.  It has not happened, and it will not happen next Sunday because even if by some miracle the opposition were to get more votes than chavismo at this stage of the game that excess vote would only be a punishment for Chavez, secretly hoping that he will smooth down some of the feathers he ruffled and fix electricity problems in the slums.

By 2012 any slight progress would be enough for them to vote again for Chavez.

In Venezuela today it is impossible for a rational mind to vote for the PSUV candidates for the national assembly: rotten food crisis, devaluation, inflation at 30%+, jobless rate on the rise, crumbling infrastructures, crumbling public health services, the highest crime rate of the continent, increased drug trafficking and consumption, corruption in public view, etc, etc....  civilized governments collapse in shame for a quarter of that list!  And yet here in Venezuela we are debating whether the opposition will get 50% + 1 vote when we should be debating whether chavismo would preserve half of its 2009 votes.

The explanation for this voting pattern must be searched for elsewhere than rational decision making.  This is naked emotion and in its perverse form.  The only cure for that is for the country to finally collapse, to suffer, so it will realize that populism and showmanship at the top is not the road to progress.  Be sure that Chavez is taking us that way, maybe willingly in his immense ignorance.

If Europe, the US, the Far East have experienced such a huge development it is because they got tired of civil wars, depressions and world wars, not necessarily in that order.  Consensus and democratic compromise is the way to go now, in spite of the occasional nut case like Le Pen.  Here in Venezuela there was always enough oil money to ford tough spots and thus the political nature of our people never developed the way it developed elsewhere, even next door, Colombia.

And so, cursed with such thoughts, I am waiting in a resigned peace for the outcome of Sunday, understanding very well that whatever outcome we get nothing will be solved as long as we do not address the root cause of our problems.

-----------------------

PS: the future of this blog will of course be conditioned by next Sunday result and the feelings and opinions expressed above.

The blog will not stop but it is a given that it will change if Chavez wins convincingly (2/3) the next assembly.  I have said in so many different ways why Chavez is evil, what else could I add?  I will just have to remain on the watch, not even bothering to analyze the results, observing the fate people chose.  Then my worries will be to consider leaving the country as soon as possible because the new level of vulgarity will make life impossible here for someone like me.  With less posting I will write more about the little pieces of Venezuela about to disappear under the crushing life sucking chavismo.  I will leave it to others to seek fame and celebrity discussing our further undoing.

Now, if Chavez barely wins, we'll see.  And of course if the opposition miraculously wins then it will be an exciting time to live and for the first time it will make sense to start writing about how we can recover Venezuela.

39 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:56 AM

    Daniel,
    I hope the opposition does well on Sunday, if anything because I enjoy reading your blog. You are most entertaining when describing some outrage of the regime, but really inspiring when feeling optimistic. I can't say anything about whether or not it is advisable to leave the country when things turn bad: I have done it twice, and still am not sure if my decision, or that of my parents, was the right one. You are on your own there.
    No disrespect to our Argentinian brothers and sisters, but I can't help feeling that they haven't recovered from the time when they supported Peron the way our people support Chavez now (probably for the same reasons you describe above). If we go by their example, it would appear that It takes time, a long time. I also try to imagine how Cubans would vote if there was a free referendum there on the Castro brothers rule. Most would probably vote for the regime because many are incapable of imagining a better alternative: this is one dehumanising effect of communism. Unlike eastern Europeans, we don't have a strong culture to fall back to.
    Well, don't let me add to your pessimism. Things will be better. Maybe even in our lifetime.

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  2. Hi Daniel,

    I'm a long-time silent reader of your blog. It is sad to see that we agree in this one (mostly).

    In the only thing we don't agree is in this: "The only cure for that is for the country to finally collapse, to suffer, so it will realize that populism and showmanship at the top is not the road to progress."

    I used to think this way but not anymore. The reason I think it will not work is that there will always be the possibility that the failures are some sort of sabotage by the powers that be (the empire, the man, the oligarchs, whatever). By very nature, these self-proclaimed "revolutionaries" are very prone to believe that, as you pointed out already. In order to learn, one has to first assume the responsibility.

    Europe, the US, etc. could not claim that some other civilization was sabotaging them. They had to learn.

    Mientras tanto, es como si la partida estuviera trancada. La solucion es otra.

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  3. We are on the same page my friend:

    http://alekboyd.blogspot.com/2010/08/on-amorality-of-venezuelans.html

    Like the good old jokes go: Venezuela is a blessed country, filled with wretched people. Get out while you can. I know it's difficult, I also know you guys can do it.

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  4. Damn. You just nailed it. This is a country run by emotions. What other explanation can be found to this permanent sense of uncertainty? There's nothing I can add, because you make a good description.

    The other thing I found of this blog is that because of the emotionality that surrounds us, this country is now impossible to poll. Just to think that Zulia will be lost and yet Miranda will be won in the same sentence is absurd. People here are in the dark about the outcome and they're willing to believe anything, even if doesn't make sense.

    As you, there's no choice han wait to see the final results. If there's a 2/3 Chavista majority, that's the end of the road. For me, the only viable alternative is to join the diaspora of rational venezuelans who had to leave in order to find a better life.

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  5. Even if the opposition does not get a majority, the election will be a first step back from the Cuban brink.

    It will be much more difficult to move Venezuela toward XXI Socialism in the face of an opposition entitled by its vote to object and mobilize the people against the regime.

    There can be no moral case for Consitutional change towards dictatorship when half the population is opposed.

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  6. Sam Sebaya2:08 PM

    gee.....a long post and you managed not to include a snotty comment about Tea Partiers, Republicans, Bush, etc..... sounds like the perpetual reality of turd world status for Venz is hitting home huh?

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  7. Daniel,
    Thanks for your thoughts. You appear resigned to pessimistic election results.

    Sometimes the only way to help an alcoholic is to let him hit bottom and live in a gutter. It seems Venezuela needs to hit bottom but will stabilize at some point due to minimum oil revenues.

    If Venezuelans vote for Chavistas then they will get what they want. It will be time to leave Venezuela.

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  8. Daniel

    Call me idealistic but I still think that the majority of ni-ni's will vote with the opposition. For the first time ever, I have seen friends who previously never cared to vote, resolved to cast ther vote on sunday. I see people's quiet desperation on the street and yet, I have never expected the opposition to get more than 60 seats.
    I believe you do wonderful work and it reaches people and helps form a clear opinion on the sad condition of our country abroad.
    I will working all day on Sunday with a group of volunteers protecting every vote we get. I'll look forward to raising my glass to you if we go beyond 60 places in the assambly

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  9. Sad but true. I agree 100%

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  10. The good part of your post is that you are saying exactly what you think before the election, that is good and interesting. Also,you have been one of the few people to make firm predictions.

    The bad part of the post is that it might demoralize some people to go to vote y la pelea es peleando...

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  11. Anonymous4:59 PM

    Hey Daniel,
    First time caller, long time listener. I understand your frustration but on Sunday things will start to change for the better. Any representation will be better than nothing. Still a tercera via will have to appear to change game politically. I agree that education is a problem, but in my mind the main problem is and has been for the past 11 years the absence of an alternative. The same resentidos sociales put CAP, Caldera, Chavez et al. in power. Anyone who can look at the camera and deliver a serious message that people can actually believe will get the resentido social to follow suit. If successful, change will really come to Venezuela. The big question is when. But I still believe.
    ismenes

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  12. To leave or not to leave has both advantages and disadvantages and whatever decision you make I am sure you will be fine.

    I agree with you that democratic forces have weakened in Venezuela, but in my view every country consists of an interplay of both democratic and undemocratic forces, and at any moment in time they can switch over.I don't see things so divided or black and white.

    Authoritarian thinking is what is behind all ideology which is why I think it better to have parties that are more a coalition of interests rather than ideological constructs.Here in the US we have our own little antidemocratic forces that are more hidden that Venezuelan style authoritarianism.In Europe and the US we have the more insidious , and sometimes hard to see political correctness that acts as a vice on people's will or thoughts.

    We are allowed both conservative and liberal news sources, but there are those who want to eliminate FOX news,and continually ridicule those who watch it.I have never met someone who pretends to eliminate or discredit MSNBC,no matter how much they disagree with it.These PC nuts haven't succeeded in closing it down, but by DISCREDITING it, they make fanatical the view points of their own ideologies.Then when it comes vote time, people think they are voting freely but in reality there is enormous social and inner psychological pressure to conform to what is NOT ridiculed, and to what is considered politically correct by many " authority " figures.

    There is a worldwide fight going on between dictatorship/group think, vs individual freedom of thought and democracy.I see you as a person who fights for freedom and struggles to understand causes- so whatever you do,or wherever you go I am sure you will be making valuable contributions.

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  13. I am not quite so pessimistic. However, I am resolved that the results of this election, and aftermath, will determine my address in the near future.

    I cannot continue to endure the status quo. There must be clear signs of a recovery to the psyche of this ill nation.

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  14. Charly6:35 PM

    Looks like the rojos-rojitos just lost a good friend across the border. Bad omen? Lets hope so! And remember: a dead commie is a good commie.

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  15. Mike E.7:01 PM

    Outstanding except I disagree with comparing the Venezuelan Resentido Social and the Tea Party.

    The Tea party stands for less government, less taxes, hand-outs only for the truly needy or as a safety net. Its members want the government out of their life and build their businesses or have a job and work hard and care for themselves. They “want their country back”, because this is what the USA used to stand for and was built on.

    While I commend all oppo bloggers for trying “to do something”, don’t fool yourself: it has zero impact on Chavez’ staying power. I admire you guys for stubbornly staying in Venezuela, but I can’t understand why you almost seem to have masochistic tendencies, unless you all want to be Yoani Sanchez like. ***HELLO***, there is a great live to be lived in the USA, in Europe, in some other L.A. countries, IN CHINA! (not necessarily in that order), without fear of being murdered because you are going out to dinner. Don’t tell me “I can’t leave because I have a business, family, no money etc.” That was true for many Cubans or Eastern Europeans yet they thrived in their new homestead a few years later.

    Oppo Venezuelans seem to be deaf to the notion that Chavismo will not go away even if Chavez is no longer in power, much less consider that it might get much worse. Unless there is a “denazification” type process, Chavismo will be “jodiendo” for generations to come. Hard to understand that you have hope that if the oppo wins on Sunday, things might change. THINGS WILL NOT CHANGE AND YOU CANNOT BEAT THE CHAVEZ MACHINE!

    Yet I am glad you reached the conclusion that, while we all love the country, there is no future in Venezuela and it’s time to get out (while you still can). You are a decent human being, you are educated, you work hard, you have principles, yet you have to deal with the scum of this earth and at the end of the day, the one being ridiculed is YOU. Why do you put up with this shit?

    Good Luck.

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  16. snook727:33 PM

    Daniel,

    What do you think of this Caracas Gringo Poll he found:

    http://caracasgringo.wordpress.com/2010/09/23/one-election-forecast/

    Is this good, bad, ugly.

    Your thoughts

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  17. 1979 Boat People8:04 PM

    It was right that the judge sent Lidsay Lohan to jail in order for her to realise that she needs help to fight her drug problem.

    So does Venezuela. It needs a total collapsed of Venezuela to the bottom under Chavez regime in order to wake up those who still voting for Thugo.

    I used to say the same thing to my friends back in Vietnam in 1977-78.

    I got out of Vietnam in 1979.

    Vietnam was almost collapsed to the bottom in late 1980's. Some of my friends who did not agree with me and still supported the communist regime at that time eventually tried to get out in mid 1990's.

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  18. bruni

    you certainly are in a good position to know that often i have no better wish but to be proven wrong.

    and if you like this post wait for the next two.....

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  19. Boludo Tejano9:15 PM

    Interesting article, Daniel. Your classification of hard core Chavistas into three categories, while rather cynical, has the ring of truth to it.

    February 2009 I finally realized that overwhelming truth, in all of its extent. The people who voted for Chavez indefinite reelection knew exactly what they were voting for. They had seen the man for ten years already, violent, insulting whoever crossed his path, vulgar, barrack minded, sectarian, racist, liar. They knew it.
    Which reminds me of one of the improvisations off the Marcha Peronista :
    Hijo de puta o ladrĆ³n, queremos a PerĆ³n. [Whether he’s an SOB or a thief, we love PerĆ³n.]
    Several days ago you compared the Chavistas to the Peronistas, so I should not be surprised that you unintentionally once again compared Chavistas to Peronistas.
    Wikipedia has the lyrics in both Spanish and English, some verses of which were omitted from the YouTube version. After all, how many of us know all the verses to familiar Christmas carols?

    Here is one verse [my translation] which implies comparison of ChĆ”vez and PerĆ³n:
    Because the great Argentina
    San MartĆ­n dreamed about
    Is today the reality
    Which we owe to PerĆ³n.


    Reaching back to the great national hero, and we owe it all today to Fearless Leader. Who do we know who does that today? Not a complete fit- there is no comparable Evita for Hugo- but definitely some comparisons. The Wiki lyrics include a verse about a new Constitution: another comparison. Fighing against Big Capital [Gee, wonder who that could be?]: another comparison.

    You have more guts than me or most people to have stuck it out as long as you have, Daniel.

    BTW Daniel, what does the Tea in Tea Party stand for?

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  20. Anonymous9:34 PM

    The GREAT question has yet to be asked of the Venezuelan people.
    Are you better off now than you were four or five or one year ago?
    How are the Cubans? Are they better off? Even though they have benefitted from the money and heritage of hard working Venezuelans. Communism does not work according to “Fidel”. The road to capitalism has just started in Cuba, unlike Venezuela, with the dismissal of 500.000 government workers in that impoverished island. Perhaps the Fidels’ took most of the money?
    How are the Nicaraguans? Are they better off? Especially as they have benefitted from the money and heritage of hard working Venezuelans. – they seem to be better off than the Venezuelans. More housing, better electric service, better agriculture and bonuses for the government employees.
    How are the Bolivians? Are they better off? Even though they have benefitted from the money and heritage of hard working Venezuelans. – Helicopters?
    Etc., Etc., Etc., and many other countries. All this, as a Venezuelan grant, from the “Lord of the Ruin” – Chavez. The national assembly just complied – no discussion.
    A lot of children here do not even have bread crusts on their plates, assumining they even have plates, yet this Government gives away more than enough to fill the bread baskets of every family and fill the pot holes in the roads.
    The behavior is likened to the head of a family with a mistress, who gives all to the mistress while his family starves. However the wife is too stupid, proud or afraid to seek a divorce.
    Perhaps on the 26S most people will realize that things could have been better here in Venezuela, less inflation to say the least.
    Infrastructure, medical, water, electricity etc., and common decency.

    Why have the MUD not ask?????????????????????????????

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  21. Milonga9:56 PM

    What can I say? You've said it all! I've seen this movie before.. Better to expect little and be surprised by the outcome, than expect too much. I don't trust a fair result myself, unless it is so strong-leaning that it can't be faked. Can't see this happening... The problem is that Chavez is an infectious disease. If he wins in a landslide it will empower all the other totalitarian clowns in the backyard.

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  22. 1979 Boat People10:26 PM

    OT:

    Another SAD news from the communist Cuba.

    "
    Cuban man who sewed mouth shut collapses
    "

    http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100923/world/cb_cuba_mouth_sewn_shut

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  23. Anonymous3:44 AM

    Fear not buddy. This Sunday Chavez will be shocked. I cannot reveal my sources, but have enough beer to celebrate...you'll need it.

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  24. anonymous

    if you know something, send me an anonymous email....

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  25. Mike E.

    I have seen enough tea party activities to observe that there is not an insignificant portion of US style resentido in it. each country has its own garden variety.

    A point of my post is that Chavez seems to have untied all resentidos under his shepherd staff whereas in the US resentidos can be found everywhere, from Daily Kos to Tea partier. chavismo also at the beginning had good people associated to him........

    Besides you appreciation of government interference by resentidos is not accurate. a resentido by definition DOES not want state interference in his or her own life unless it is in his or her favor.

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  26. Boludo Tejano,

    The "Tea" in Tea Party, is a reference to the "Boston Tea Party", in which the cargoes (of tea) of three ships were dumped into the Boston harbor in protest against a newly levied tax on imports of tea.

    See:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea_Party

    In short, it was a an overt act of protest by the American colonists against a particularly capricious tax levied by the British Crown. In the American revolution, this event represented one of the first overt acts of rebellion against British authority.

    In popular culture today, the "Tea Party" represents a grass roots movement of the the far right wing of the conservative party who are in militantly in favor of reducing government size, influence and taxation.

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  27. My sources in the the barrios of Caracas( Las Minas and Catia) say:

    Most are against Chavez and are angry.

    They know Chavez will commit megafraud.

    They are going to vote anyway

    They are prepared to defend their votes in the street

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  28. Boludo Tejano2:28 PM

    Roy, thanks for the information, but I am well aware of that. There is also an acronym associated with the Tea Party, associated with “Tea,” which is why I asked what “Tea” stood for, which Daniel is apparently unaware of. I asked him the question to find out if he knew about the acronym, which he does not. Otherwise he would have informed us.

    Daniel talks about Tea Party resentidos. A Congressional candidate recently made the statement that another ethnic group is “trying to take our Congressional seat from us.” Daniel, does this sound like a statement from a from a resentido, from a Tea Party supporter?

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  29. Boludo

    ??????

    I would have hoped that you would not doubt my knowledge of US history! If I can name all US presidents, in order, and all states and their capitals surely Tea and Bunker would ring a bell...

    Now, outside of Tea bagging thrown at Tea Partiers I am not aware of other connotations.

    As for resentidos, as I have already written, they are in every party in the US, not most of them besides a single one like Chavez as it is the case here. But I seem to note an unusual concentration behind the Tea partiers. Whoever said what you quote might not be a resentido but certainly spoke like one.

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  30. Mike E.5:21 PM

    I am either not sure what you are trying to say "Now, outside of Tea bagging thrown at Tea Partiers..." or you don't know what the slang meaning of tea bagging is.
    Look it up:
    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tea+bagging

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  31. Kolya6:45 PM

    It should not be controversial point that many (not all) Tea Party activists are resentidos of the right. Many of those who supported Patrick Buchanan for the Republican nomination back in 1996 were a bunch of resentidos and many of them are now Tea Party people.

    And Daniel, of course, is correct that the left has its share of resentidos. Some prominent, some not. The Daily Kos crowd certainly qualifies as resentidos.

    Neither the left nor the right have a monolopy on the resentidos.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Mike E.

    Ask Boludo, he is the one that brought it in.

    ReplyDelete
  33. There is an interesting article in that well-known foreign communist magazine, The Economist, about the Tea Party and constitution worship:

    http://www.economist.com/node/17103701?story_id=17103701

    ReplyDelete
  34. Boludo Tejano11:23 PM

    Daniel:
    Mike E.:Ask Boludo, he is the one that brought it in.

    Who replied.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Mike E.1:09 AM

    If you are talking about generic resentidos sociales, OF COURSE you are right. But, that’s not how it came through the way you wrote it. Unlike the Venezuelan resentido social, Tea Partiers do not “blame the failures of their lives on other folks….” And just as another e.g., unlike the Venezuelan resentidos (or usually the leftist variety), Tea Partiers are against wealth redistribution.

    Using “Tea Party” and “tea-bagging” in the same phrase and context quite frankly is insulting. Boludo’s English seems native to me (or as good as), so he knows that.

    Thank you Mr. Deppler for your input.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Mike E.

    You do realize that the way you wrote your latest comment one could get that all Tea Partiers are resentidos, but of a better quality.

    No?

    No, I am not a fan at all of the Tea Party movement but contrary to what you seem to imply, nor I am on the path war to insult them deliberately.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Mike E.7:33 PM

    Sorry, Daniel, I guess you still are not getting my point. What I am trying to say is that Tea Partiers for sure have "resentido social" type issues (doesn’t everybody?), however the TPs’ are of course almost all diametrically opposite to the Chavistas’ and that’s what didn’t come through in your original post. A new reader, or one not knowing one of the two sides, could have come to the conclusion that Chavistas and Tea Partiers are ideologically equal when it comes to social resentments.

    And I am NOT implying that one side's are "good" and the other's are "bad" (although for sure, like you, I have an opinion), but I could make the case that, since you often label the Venezuelan "resentido social" as being a PSF that therefore their issues are those of Pendejos which consequently implies “bad” or “inferior”.

    Regarding “tea bagging”, I give it to you that if you had known the meaning, you would have not used it in the context you did. That’s simply not your style.

    Well, 3 strikes (posts) and out for me, more important things are happening, like the suspense of the outcome of today’s election.
    "bad".

    ReplyDelete
  38. Boludo Tejano10:08 PM

    Boludo 1):
    BTW Daniel, what does the Tea in Tea Party stand for?
    Boludo 2)
    Roy, thanks for the information, but I am well aware of that. There is also an acronym associated with the Tea Party, associated with “Tea,” which is why I asked what “Tea” stood for, which Daniel is apparently unaware of. I asked him the question to find out if he knew about the acronym, which he does not. Otherwise he would have informed us.

    Daniel:
    I would have hoped that you would not doubt my knowledge of US history! If I can name all US presidents, in order, and all states and their capitals surely Tea and Bunker would ring a bell...

    Now, outside of Tea bagging thrown at Tea Partiers I am not aware of other connotations.


    Daniel,had you bothered to Google "Tea Party acronym," you would have found the answer. You gave an arrogant yet also defensive reply- and also an ignorant reply. You knew so much you concluded you didn't need to look it up. That is a walking talking illustration of arrogance. This shows why, when you pontificate on domestic US matters, where you often know less than you think you know, and often simply repeat the lib talking points de jour, I roll my eyes.
    T.E.A.=
    Taxed
    Enough
    Already

    You could have Googled it, but you gave an arrogant reply. You lose respect and credibility with such a reply.

    I don't know if you will see this comment. I should have written it earlier, but I initially rolled my eyes at your reply.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Boludo

      Two years to reply? That has gotta be a new record in nitpickingness....

      This being said you really do not undo my initial point. That TEA is a felicitous acronym does not detract from the real intent in using Tea Party as a rallying word: we are the real americans, WE ARE. And thus disqualifying any one disagreeing with that.

      I rest my case.

      Delete

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