memo
Banned
Posts: 40
Registered: 6-23-2008
Member Is Offline
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The Neophobic Nomad
I have studied this board, posted to this board, and been attacked on this board and, though I am a newbie, I have reached a very clear conclusion
about what motivates many of the otherwise inexplicable responses and utterances posted here: Fear of anything new.
Yup. Neophobia. The suggestion of improvements to the infrastructure of Baja is greeted here with contempt and even hostility. Why? Because it
represents change. Well let me tell you folks, Baja is not your personal sand box. There are actually Mexicans living here, many of whom may not
have visited modern towns with running, clear, drinkable water, clean hospitals, good schools, libraries, etc. You can fly down from Stinson Beach or
Running Springs, get your feet wet, drink some cheap beer, catch some fish and fly back home. Or you can drive your SUV's to get here. Your
protected life in Baja is good and you want it to stay that way. You can tell yourselves you are trying to protect the locals from the evils of change
but you are being dishonest. Your fear of change is palpable. As my gift to you, I have provided a link to a special dictionary which many of you
will find helpful:
http://www.ojohaven.com/fun/phobias.html
Enjoy.
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gibson
Banned
Posts: 250
Registered: 2-6-2007
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all hail the messiah, for he walketh amongst us! 
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
    
Posts: 7641
Registered: 3-12-2006
Location: on the bayou
Member Is Offline
Mood: undecided
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memo, Thanks for the fear site. Gosh, never knew there were so many things to be afraid of. I'm scared.
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bajaboolie
Nomad

Posts: 277
Registered: 9-24-2007
Location: Aptos, CA/Mulege
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Everyone has his/her own opinion, and--for better or worse--people like to give their opinion whether solicited or not. Often, regrettably, in a
hostile or critical manner.
Just chalk it up to differences in people's philosophy, life experience, whatever. A big group of people will never agree on any given controversial
topic. To keep on beating a dead horse (as the other threads have done, and I'm sure this one will do...) is tiresome.
I'm hopeful this board will become more interesting again soon.
Bajaboolie
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shari
Select Nomad
     
Posts: 13050
Registered: 3-10-2006
Location: bahia asuncion, baja sur
Member Is Offline
Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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Our family welcome and embrace changes in infastructure in Mexico. My intelligent husband who has visited big gringo cities..detests the corruption,
the "ratas", the unjust justice system, cartels, garbage and apathy of many mexicanos....but we do see small changes happening, slowly, very slowly,
changes in the right direction...we try to do our best to do what we CAN in the existing system...but it's not always possible or cost effective.
Many of you can be critical and stand on your soap boxes and preach what we SHOULD do...from YOUR prospective...not from OUR prospective which is VERY
different from your reality. I did not attack you but merely suggested that if you are that fed up, perhaps you might just "cut and run"...go back to
what you consider to be an acceptable lifestyle in the states and make room for others who may be able to tolerate and indeed be happy living in this
country.
WE do not have our heads stuck in the sand..we are WELL aware of what happens in our country and deal with it according to our personal ability.
We embrace change and do not fear it. By the way, we have a very nice hospital here and excellent schools...and lots of people drink the tap
water...something I would never do in the states.
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memo
Banned
Posts: 40
Registered: 6-23-2008
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Shari, When you say "big gringo cities" isn't that a somewhat derogatory term? I will stop short of calling you a Gringophobe, but just. The tenor
of your little diatribe strikes me as a bit hostile, and again with the "Mexico, Love it or Leave It" I already called you on. I am happy that in
bahia asuncion you have found nirvana, but what you describe there is not typical of Baja. Even you will admit that. So, no I am not leaving Mexico
despite your pleas, and yes, I accept your apology for using the G word on this board.
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Martyman
Super Nomad
  
Posts: 1904
Registered: 9-10-2004
Member Is Offline
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The only soap box I'm getting up on is the one with the picture of Marilyn Chambers!!
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fulano
Banned
Posts: 496
Registered: 3-31-2008
Location: Ramona, CA
Member Is Offline
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Quote: | Originally posted by memo
I accept your apology for using the G word on this board. |
Memo, the word "gringo" is in such common use along both sides of the border now that it is no longer considered to be a perjorative. I know many
"gingos" who take no offense at the use of that word, me included. Along the border area, at least, most Mexicans do not use the word in a degoratory
manner. The word "Chinola" is what many Mexicans use to refer to Sinaloans, and is far more derogatory than"gringo".
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shari
Select Nomad
     
Posts: 13050
Registered: 3-10-2006
Location: bahia asuncion, baja sur
Member Is Offline
Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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I did not in any way mean that a big gringo city is derogatory and if you think it is, well you misunderstood me...for us the term gringo is NOT
derogatory AT ALL. Nor was I the least bit hostile in my post and am surprised you thought it was. The point I was trying to make was that mexican
people are also distressed by the same issues visitors are but they handle it a bit differently. They are well aware they cant' change things
overnight and that change comes with a price and comes very slowly. They DO want to change the system, live more justly, with dignity and safety and
do small things they can do to move things forward in their own realms. I am not suggesting that if you don't love mexico you don't live here...but if
you are so fed up, well I just don't see why you would continue to live here?
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memo
Banned
Posts: 40
Registered: 6-23-2008
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Shari, Thank you for clarifying that for me, I am not offended by the G word now that I understand it is benign. Many years ago in a Suburb of Mexico
City I was visiting the home of a friend and over dinner I called myself a Gringo. It was a show stopper. Everyone stopped talking, forks were
placed on the table, and what had been a very lively conversation became awkward. My friend explained that I didn't mean anything by it and I
apologized for using the word, and all was fine.
I am a gringo and as such perhaps am a bit more impatient than members of other cultures. It is a trait that probably served gringos well in some
ways, such as the development of the telephone, the automobile, the electric light, the tv, the radio and as my grandmother would point out, most
importantly, the electric washing machine. But when you explain that change is slow in Mexico and very costly I cringe. Call it the gringo in me.
Sorry
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
     
Posts: 10007
Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: optimistic
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shari--------you don't drink "tap water" in the states (USA)????? Why not???? I admit that the water in southern CA is pretty bad tasting, but iced
down it is not that bad. That is a curious statement, I think. Could you explain??
(Personally I am leary of water in little plastic bottles, and almost never drink "bottled water" as it picks up toxins from the plastic, I have read.
(??))
Barry
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palmeto99
Banned
Posts: 292
Registered: 7-15-2008
Location: loreto,BCS and East Coast USA (Spartanburg, SC)
Member Is Offline
Mood: Trying to bring the worlds people together one post at a time.
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Quote: | Originally posted by shari
Our family welcome and embrace changes in infastructure in Mexico. My intelligent husband who has visited big gringo cities..detests the corruption,
the "ratas", the unjust justice system, cartels, garbage and apathy of many mexicanos....but we do see small changes happening, slowly, very slowly,
changes in the right direction...we try to do our best to do what we CAN in the existing system...but it's not always possible or cost effective.
Many of you can be critical and stand on your soap boxes and preach what we SHOULD do...from YOUR prospective...not from OUR prospective which is VERY
different from your reality. I did not attack you but merely suggested that if you are that fed up, perhaps you might just "cut and run"...go back to
what you consider to be an acceptable lifestyle in the states and make room for others who may be able to tolerate and indeed be happy living in this
country.
WE do not have our heads stuck in the sand..we are WELL aware of what happens in our country and deal with it according to our personal ability.
We embrace change and do not fear it. By the way, we have a very nice hospital here and excellent schools...and lots of people drink the tap
water...something I would never do in the states. |
I have a really good female friend who like Sherri ,married a Mexican man from Baja. When she took him to her home just outside Edmonton Alberta for
the off season a few years back, he also disliked the big city and all that it represented.
He could not get back to Baja fast enough what with having to get up to work in the morning, taxes on what he did earn and the high costs of beer and
smokes in Canada.
Better to keep that progress from happening in Mexico....
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gibson
Banned
Posts: 250
Registered: 2-6-2007
Member Is Offline
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Quote: | Originally posted by palmeto99
I have a really good female friend who like Sherri ,married a Mexican man from Baja. When she took him to her home just outside Edmonton Alberta for
the off season a few years back, he also disliked the big city and all that it represented.
He could not get back to Baja fast enough what with having to get up to work in the morning, taxes on what he did earn and the high costs of beer and
smokes in Canada.
Better to keep that progress from happening in Mexico....
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ooooohooooooo you're funny I have to admit
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shari
Select Nomad
     
Posts: 13050
Registered: 3-10-2006
Location: bahia asuncion, baja sur
Member Is Offline
Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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I don't like the tap water in the states, it tastes very bad...Juan did not like all the traffic in the big cities of canada and the states...but he
loved the nice highways...didn't like all the trees in Canada..said they blocked the view...loved the berries and corn and people in Canada and the
freshwater lakes to swim in...Juan gets up at 6:00 here to go fishing and pays 35% tax on his income...doesn't smoke and didn't like Canadian beer. He
DID appreciate not having to go through hell to get a tourist visa...they just handed it to him with a smile at the airport.
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palmeto99
Banned
Posts: 292
Registered: 7-15-2008
Location: loreto,BCS and East Coast USA (Spartanburg, SC)
Member Is Offline
Mood: Trying to bring the worlds people together one post at a time.
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I am trying to be more polite , funny , and pointed...
How am I doing with it. ...
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Al G
Ultra Nomad
   
Posts: 2647
Registered: 12-19-2004
Location: Todos Santos/Full time for now...
Member Is Offline
Mood: Wondering what is next???
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"I am not offended by the G word "
If your are not why do you keep referring to Gringo as the "G" word I am a
proud American and a proud Gringo and maybe one day a proud Mexican.
I am sure you are minnow...or meno, Memo is too close.
It does not matter, because at the rate you are going...you have the same destinies . Good-bye
Albert G
Remember, if you haven\'t got a smile on your face and laughter in your heart, then you are just a sour old fart!....
The most precious thing we have is life, yet it has absolutely no trade-in value.
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ELINVESTIG8R
Select Nomad
     
Posts: 15882
Registered: 11-20-2007
Location: Southern California
Member Is Offline
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I have Phasmophobia: JR where are you? Don't you dare come and pull my feet at night while I am sleeping.
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gibson
Banned
Posts: 250
Registered: 2-6-2007
Member Is Offline
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Quote: | Originally posted by Al G
"I am not offended by the G word "
If your are not why do you keep referring to Gringo as the "G" word I am a
proud American and a proud Gringo and maybe one day a proud Mexican.
I am sure you are minnow...or meno, Memo is too close.
It does not matter, because at the rate you are going...you have the same destinies . Good-bye |
yes i had minnow as a candidate too (now that was a jerker!)
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BajaNomad
Super Administrator
       
Posts: 5010
Registered: 8-1-2002
Location: San Diego, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: INTP-A
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Quote: | Originally posted by memo
I have... been attacked on this board and, though I am a newbie, I have reached a very clear conclusion about what motivates many of the otherwise
inexplicable responses and utterances posted here |
How exactly does one assume they can enter a new circle of people (virtual or otherwise), and then instead of being polite and/or showing some
personal (positive) consideration for those others...
...begin using/assigning personal insults and/or labels upon some of them..... "enabler".... "snob".... and "America hater"...
...and then be surprised by the reaction (that should be expected) to such?
By stating the responses are "inexplicable" you are clearly exhibiting victim mentality here - an inability to take personal responsibility for the
result of your choices/decisions/actions.
People with victim mentality think: "I didn't do it!", or "it wasn't me!"... and therefore feel it's an external factor/person/etc that's responsible
for what's happened to them - and do not hesitate, in a flash, in pointing the blame finger away from themselves.
Enough already. Get over yourself.
Stop cluttering up the Nomad board with such self-serving, non-Baja-related diatribes.
This goes for everyone - play nice here - or don't play at all.

Regards,
--
Doug Means
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.
– Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
We know we must go back if we live, and we don`t know why.
– John Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
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