L´shana tova

I just got back from going to a synagogue in Once, the historic center of the Argentine Jewish community. It was the same as the US, except that people talked through the entire Torah service. I guess, it makes sense though. Argentines are social people and so are Jews, combine the two and it´s surprising that the rabbi even paid attention to the service.

Paro

I always wondered what it would be like to live in a country where the right to strike was constitutionally protected. In my high school communist/syndicalist days, I saw unionization as the solution to all economic problems. Later, as I adopted a classical liberal perspective, I believed that they were a hinderance to the free market and hurt employers and workers alike. After a month in Argentina, I know both of these to be false. More than anything else, strikes are just annoying.

For the last two or three weeks, the University of Buenos Aires Faculty of Social Sciences (in which I take two classes) has had a combination strike/lockout. Some faculty members refuse to work, and some students "take over" the buildings, locking everyone out. They are protesting for more money and have had marches and demonstrations. But the result of their actions has not been a radical change in policy, or even a small reallocation in funds. The only result is that the university is closed. The same goes for every protest here (and there are many). They are not effective, they are not destructive, they are just obnoxious. Traffic is blocked, services are shut down and life continues with some minor inconveniences.

I understand that the right to collective negotiation is important, and after six weeks it is clear that protesting is an essential part of Argentine culture. Still after listening to professors lecture out in the street because we were locked out of the classroom and navigating alternate routes when protestors block major thoroughfares, I think the right may be slightly abused. Protesting and striking so often can only weaken a group´s message and, perhaps more importantly, severely interfere with life for the rest of us.

Hugh would be proud

I think I finally stumbled upon the Rosetta Stone of Argentine culture. Ironically enough, it was an ad broadcast during CNN´s coverage the DNC Convention. It started out with a woman wearing spandex and doing aerobics in an idyllic park-like setting. Suddenly she shatters the fourth wall, accusing the viewer of staring at her licentiously. "Don´t look at me like that! Stay five channels away!", she screams, tears filling her eyes. But the ad is not intended to create of the dangers of objectification or the destruction wreaked by a sex-crazed culture gone mad. Instead, it urges all watching to get a legitimate ogling experience from the Playboy Channnel.

This ad describes perfectly an essential part of Argentine pop culture. Women here (or at least on TV here) exist for the sole purpose of "beautifying" the world. Thus, it is perfectly normal for men to cruise channels looking for women to drool over. In fact some shows throw women in unnecessarily to attract the essential "lonely, horny men" demographic. It´s like Vanna White on "Wheel of Fortune" in every program, only with less clothes and more collagen. For anybody confused about what I mean, do a google image search for "Bailando por un sueño", one of Argentina´s most popular TV shows renowned mostly for scantily clad women. But first, make sure safe search is on. Otherwise you might as well just order the Playboy Channel.