Madrid blog-Response to Comments

Angela Jonquera--if you had actually read the previous entry you would have seen that it is prefaced with "you may not necessarily" and, in the comments, I say that my neighbors' behavior is not characteristic of my entire experience living in Spain or interaction with Spanish people, which, on the whole, has been very positive.

I have exactly no idea who you are besides somebody who makes extremely rude and ignorant generalizations about Americans.

"the USA culture and citizens have, historically, shown arrogance, violence and bias against other peoples and cultures, specially those that are not from Anglo-Saxon or western European Aryan origin."

First of all an "American" is most likely a hybrid of many different ethnic and cultural origins... I will not deny that there is and has been racism in the US or that the US has abused its position of power in the past century and more recently. However, with all its failings, of which I am not ignorant, I am very proud of my people and my country. The US is the first modern democratic nation. I am proud of the US participation in WWI and WWII. I am proud of the Marshall plan, and I am proud of my country's scientific, industrial and technological accomplishments, not to mention the fact that the US is still probably one of the easiest places where you can come from nowhere and work and make something of yourself. No, this doesn't happen for everybody, but it's a generally more open, fluid and dynamic society than you depict. If you had ever spent any time in Atlanta, where I am from, you would see a vibrant black middle class and upper middle class.

If America is as racist and xenophobic as you claim, where do you think Obama came from and who do you think voted for him? Do you really think the Spanish would have elected a "negrito" or a "moro mierda"?

Your generalizations and "stfu" are more rude than any comment so far on this blog. If you are Spanish, as your name suggests, before writing in so critical and judgmental a manner about other nations, it might behoove you to visit places like the museum of torture in Toledo and see what kind of treatment was reserved for people who didn't fully accept the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic faith. My knowledge of my own country's history allows me to draw a parallel between the Salem witch hunts and the Inquisition, where a large portion of the denunciations had nothing whatsoever to do with witchcraft or heresy, but were rather motivated by the desire to expropriate one's neighbor's property!

I would read a little more about the Spanish conquest and reign in South America. I would go to the Prado and take a look at some of Goya's paintings or more recently Picasso's Guernica. I would watch Spanish movies like "Goya's Ghosts" and or "El laberinto del fauno." Francisco Franco learned everything he knew about total warfare against the civilian population, with the Spanish army in Morocco, but nobody was the least bit shocked until he came back to Spain and used the same tactics against his own people.

If Spain is such a wonderful family-friendly country as you describe, why is that, until recently, the birth rate was so low here? According to the Spanish mothers I know, this is because its not easy to raise children when you leave the house at 8h30am and come home by 10pm. I am not saying that the US has a better overall record on foreign or domestic policy, but I really would take a look in the mirror before lecturing other people on their short-comings.

I am writing about a negative experience with neighbors in a building of exactly 12 units, where only one couple has bothered to introduce themselves to us in the 8 months we lived in the building, not to mention a family with a girl the exact same age as my daughter; people who have never communicated with us in any civil or courteous fashion but only sent us aggressive litigious notices.

My children have to get up at 7 am to catch their school bus and they don't make much more noise than any other children their age. They just happen to be four children and all the other children in the building are adolescents, with one exception.

I am perfectly willing to make allowances for the culture where I live, but this begins with a certain amount of tolerance for others and civilized dialogue, which is the minimum requirement for living in a communal situation like an apartment building. On the contrary, it is people who are intolerant and unwilling to enter in civilized conversation with their neighbors who ought to seek more isolated living arrangements.

You don't know me, you don't know my children and you don't know my neighbors (or if you do--you might as well come out and say so). The irony is that I am living in Spain by choice because there are many things I really like about this country and I want my children to grow up with the knowledge of a broader world, different languages and people--and not go around like ignorant bigots. I can guarantee you I know more about Spain's history and culture than you do about the US. Thankfully, I have met many lovely Spanish people, so I am not tempted to judge the many, by the actions and communications of a few rude, ignorant and bitter exceptions.