Check out "Oops, My Bad". One part travel journal, two parts paranoia, this article is my latest contribution to WalkaboutJones.com. There you can read about how getting a simple buzzing sound fixed on my computer almost resulted in personal and financial ruin. Or, did it? You can find out at WALKABOUTJONES.com....GO THERE.
08 September 2008
Oops, My Bad
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3 comments:
Hello, I "Stumbled Upon" this post on a website entitled Walkabout Jones. I forced myself through the whining and "western-ness" (some argue it is synonymous) of your blogging hoping to find something rewarding at the end. I won't detail all of the misconceptions you related on your paper, but I will mention one very important one. Brazil is not a third world country. In addition to that, we don't use the terms third-world-country any more. It's pejorative. Brazil is one of the world's fastest growing newly industrialized countries. They are an economic super power in South America. There is a high index of poverty, yes. But, there is also a growing middle class. If this doesn't convince and American that Brazil is unworthy of your pejorative description, then perhaps the word you are looking for is DE-MO-CRA-CY. Yes, they are a democratic country. I don't mean to be so hard on you for one line you may have placed in there out of sheer decorative impulse. Just think about the country you were in and learn a little about them before you post rants with false content on them. If you need to be convinced visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1227110.stm
I went ahead and published this comment even though I had a choice not to. I believe we all have the right to our opinions, and they should be heard. That being said, I will point out to Stephanie that this article is about an American who discovers, in the most common of situations, her possibly xenophobic, definitely misconstrued notions about a country that she actually loves (Brazil) are a reflection of her misguided upbringing in a country that is royally fucked up (the US).
Brazil is a lovely, massive country that has problems just like the rest of the world (including and especially the US). My point in writing about it was just that. I'm only disappointed in myself for not having made that clear enough to you.
In the end, the article was not to point out Brazil's short-comings, but it was, in fact, to point out my own.
Thanks, Stephanie, for reading the article and responding to it both emotionally and physically. That is what this forum is all about.
They say when someone's reading a story, two stories are happening at once--the one on the page and the reader's personal experience. Sounds to me like Stephanie was bringing something else to her reading beyond the words you wrote. There are parts of America that are like third world countries. Is that perjorative, or simply telling the ugly truth as it is? People don't always like the truth, but this story rings true on a broader level, and that's what's most important.
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