Failed pickup line of the day: "Hello, beautiful. You and I could have very attractive children together." Where do they learn this? Has it ever worked on anybody, ever?
This morning, I had an interesting discussion with Don Juan. It turns out that he's a "somocista"--the first one that I've met. The Somoza family ruled Nicaragua with an iron fist until the Sandinista revolution. I've never heard anything good about their regime. But Don Juan claims that under Somoza, there was plenty of food and work for everyone, there was no crime, and Nicaragua was self-sufficient, growing everything that they needed. I'm still skeptical, but I have to respect his experiences. It reminds me of something I read in an anthropology book that was talking about the liberal bias of most anthropologists. The author was noting that almost every ethnography concludes that capitalism is the problem and is oppressing the people being studied. But, the author asks, what if your (the anthropologist's) idea of what's right for a country runs counter to what the people want? What if a Nicaraguan tells me that life was better under a dictator? My default opinion is that the liberals--the Democrats, the Sandinistas--care more about the poor than the Republicans and conservatives. But if I meet someone who is poor, and who doesn't agree with that opinion, what then?
In keeping with the political theme, I really really want to watch the debate tonight, but I don't think I will be able to. I saw an ad on TV for "the most important debate of 2004" on Thursday, but it was talking about the mayoral election in Managua. I can't think of anywhere I could go that would be showing the presidential debate.
This morning, I had an interesting discussion with Don Juan. It turns out that he's a "somocista"--the first one that I've met. The Somoza family ruled Nicaragua with an iron fist until the Sandinista revolution. I've never heard anything good about their regime. But Don Juan claims that under Somoza, there was plenty of food and work for everyone, there was no crime, and Nicaragua was self-sufficient, growing everything that they needed. I'm still skeptical, but I have to respect his experiences. It reminds me of something I read in an anthropology book that was talking about the liberal bias of most anthropologists. The author was noting that almost every ethnography concludes that capitalism is the problem and is oppressing the people being studied. But, the author asks, what if your (the anthropologist's) idea of what's right for a country runs counter to what the people want? What if a Nicaraguan tells me that life was better under a dictator? My default opinion is that the liberals--the Democrats, the Sandinistas--care more about the poor than the Republicans and conservatives. But if I meet someone who is poor, and who doesn't agree with that opinion, what then?
In keeping with the political theme, I really really want to watch the debate tonight, but I don't think I will be able to. I saw an ad on TV for "the most important debate of 2004" on Thursday, but it was talking about the mayoral election in Managua. I can't think of anywhere I could go that would be showing the presidential debate.
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