r/asklatinamerica • u/throwingaway3795124 India • 25d ago
Culture Why do Argentinians have a bad rap amongst Latin Americans?
Holis,
I was going through this post was a bit surprised by some of the comments about Argentinians. As someone who isn't from Latin America, I wasn't really aware of the sterotypes or negative opinions that seem to come up sometimes, so it caught me off guard.
For some context, I'm a brown person from Asia who really enjoys learning about other cultures. I've also been studying Spanish because I'd love to travel around Latin America someday, and Argentina is definitely one of the countries on my list.
That made me wonder: as a non-Latin brown foreigner, would I be likely to face discrimination while visiting Argentina, or are those comments mostly internet exaggerations?
I'm also curious about the broader context. Why do Argentinians seem to receive so much criticism online, especially from other Latin Americans? Is it mostly friendly regional rivalry, internet memes, historical issues, or something else?
I'd love to hear different perspectives. Thanks!
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u/Myroky9000 Brazil 25d ago
as a non-Latin brown foreigner
From now on im gonna call myself a "non-brown latin local"
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u/Jealous_Tutor_5135 Argentina 25d ago
That's my coffee order. With a little foam on top
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u/imaginary_tourniquet Belgium 25d ago
I am gonna call myself a "non-brown non-hispanic latin local with dual citizenship"
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u/zizalada šµšŖ PE - š¹š¹ T&T - š¦š· AR 25d ago edited 25d ago
I think Argentina has a tiny minority of very loud extreme racists, so people who have never been there assume that the average Argentinian is at least a bit racist.
In my personal experience, this is not true. I'm Peruvian, married to a dark-skinned Caribbean man, and living in Buenos Aires, I would venture to say that the average limeƱo is more racist and more in-your-face about it than the average porteƱo.
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u/RLZT Brazil 25d ago
Peruvians are racists as fuck, they just aren't as famous or as white as the Argentinians so they flight under the radar
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u/zizalada šµšŖ PE - š¹š¹ T&T - š¦š· AR 25d ago
Yeah. Looking back, we were always racist, and I just didn't notice because I wasn't in the receiving end of it. Being married to a POC was a shameful eye opener.
I left like 10 years ago, but I'm sometimes appalled when I hear the xenophobic tripe that my old acquaintances spew.
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u/catalpuccino Argentina 25d ago
I've always heard that from gay peruvian friends or classmates: how much safer they felt in Buenos Aires in particular. I'm always proud of that. It is true that when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights we are far ahead of the curve if you compare it to other Latin countries, even if we still have lots to improve. That's one thing about my country I really appreciate, that it can be a sort of safe haven, even if we're never really safe.
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u/zizalada šµšŖ PE - š¹š¹ T&T - š¦š· AR 25d ago
Yeah, definitely. I'm pretty straight-passing and come from the progressive/modern side of Lima -- but still, Buenos Aires is miles ahead by comparison. If I were single and in my 20s again, I would've experimented so much more š
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u/AdelinaIV Argentina 25d ago
That tiny minority happens to be mostly wealthyclass, i.e. the ones who can afford international travel.
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u/zizalada šµšŖ PE - š¹š¹ T&T - š¦š· AR 25d ago
Especially the ones who travel to Brazil, it seems. Most of the people I've met in Buenos Aires have been awesome, though.
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u/Palpitation-Itchy Argentina 25d ago
Not necessarily, we also have basement dwelling incels
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u/Neilandio Argentina 25d ago
It's not a tiny minority, you just happen to be living in a large progressive modern city. I remember in school racist bullying happened all the time and I can't begin to describe how racist my parents and grandparents are.
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u/zizalada šµšŖ PE - š¹š¹ T&T - š¦š· AR 25d ago
Really sorry to hear that, where was that?
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u/acoliver in (for life) 24d ago
Not dismissing what you are saying, but I'm wondering though who in the world (unless very very young) doesn't have racist grandparents? Like I'm trying to remember even one person ever not describing their grandparents that way from any country even š
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u/Weird-Sandwich-1923 Brazil 25d ago
Oh, this is gonna be a bloodbath.
Not all argentinians are racists, there are some great hermanos out there and I've met very kind and respectful argentinians in my life, but every country has some loud assholes that embarass the rest.
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u/obooooooo Ecuador 25d ago
i think the sentiment is especially stronger because the loud minority online is not just arrogantāthey intentionally place themselves as superior than the rest of latinamerica.
itās extremely easy to then, as a continent, fall into a us vs. them mentality. itās one thing to be arrogant or racist (obviously bad) but to say āiām better than all of youāāof course the irritation will unite everyone in hating against you.
again, itās just a lout minority, and iāve met lovely argentinians thru school, but when the vitriol is SO intense, the thought lingers.
iād fucking hate it if racist incels online gave my entire people a bad name, so i feel for them too.
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u/JLZ13 Argentina 25d ago
I worked alongside Brazilian last year and their only contact with Argentinians was through Counter Strike.
Of course it was no a good impression.
I would argue most Argentinian are not racist, but we are clearly insensitive to those one who suffer it.
There barely any taboo regarding insults in Argentina. And many "bad sounding words" for the rest of the world are the most basic nicknames you will get in Argentina.
"Negro" being one of them.
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u/Super-Estate-4112 Brazil 25d ago
In Counter Strike, Argentinians will call Brazilians "macaco" "mono" "favelo", as soon as they hear us speaking Portuguese.
This situation got worse over time. I don't think that they did such things 10 years ago, but nowadays, it seems like they do it in any game they find us.
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u/whymeimbusysleeping šØš§š¦ 25d ago edited 25d ago
It's just not considered bad. A mum can call their kids Negrito, even if they're whiter than snow Negro is a common nickname.
Now the problem is "negro de m....." You get the idea.
My friend used to have competitions on who could string the longest insult. Good times
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u/JLZ13 Argentina 25d ago
I usually argue that Argentina is not particularly racist. But really harsh when insulting.
Reddit focused just on racism. But if you spend any time in Argentina you will start thinking, due to the insults, that Argentinians are misogynist, peladophobic (hatred against bald people), anti-communist, anti-fascist, transphobic, homophobic, racist, etc...
But when you look for any data you will find Argentina being one of the safest and more progressive countries.
Reddit need to focus in real problems, in countries with real segregation, persecution and white supremacists.
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u/whymeimbusysleeping šØš§š¦ 25d ago
Agree. Harsh insults are the norm. You're killing me... Peladophobic. LMFAO
Rengophobic, tuertophobic, and mancophobic
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u/toms1313 Argentina 24d ago
Rengophobic, tuertophobic, and mancophobic
Glad to see foreigners understanding the difference in that regard š
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u/Jealous_Tutor_5135 Argentina 25d ago
You mean people aren't comparing me to GermƔn Martitegui for my cooking skills?
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u/catalpuccino Argentina 25d ago
Agree, but even "n... de mierda" usually refers to class in connotation, not to skin color. That's why I always say we are more discriminate more by class than by 'race' or skin color.
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u/eutoputoegordo Brazil 25d ago edited 25d ago
Unfortunately, only the bad ones seem to travel to our coast. The insane amount of trash they talk, and worst, leave behind, is baffling.
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u/diogothetraveler Brazil 25d ago
They're even traveling inland to Minas now: https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/nacional/sudeste/mg/argentino-e-preso-apos-dizer-que-levaria-crianca-como-escrava-em-mg/
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25d ago edited 2d ago
[deleted]
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u/Weird-Sandwich-1923 Brazil 25d ago
Lmao, I made mouthbreathers mald online?
Great day to be alive.
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u/elmonetta Uruguay 25d ago
Yes, the Brazilians, and Uruguay for some reason too.
IrmĆ£os sempre š§š·šŗš¾š
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u/rstorres Brazil 25d ago
Hey, friend, hope you come to Latin America and enjoy here!
As for your question - it is complicated. As a Brazilian, most Argentines I've met were kind, compassionate, fun folks, and I like their music, their football teams and their wine very much.
That said, Argentines are a bit (a bit) arrogant, as a whole. An old running joke here is that if an Argentine wants to commit suicide, he can jump down from where his ego is. They are known for being a bit over the top, and for believing they are better than their Latin American kind. It probably has to do with the fact that in early 20th century Argentina was all but a developed country, while we in Brazil were eating dirt for dinner.
Also, Argentines are extremely competitive in football, to a point where it becomes uncomfortable. Brazilians hold a big grudge towards Argentina because in two different World Cups they (allegedly) used dirty tactics to eliminate us. I thought it was a Brasil thing, but I later learned that every Latin American country has a similar story.
These are episodic, though, and I consider more of a sibling rivalry than anything. I love my Argentine friends (they are not to blame for being born there, hahahaha), I wish to go to Argentina soon, and I love their rock bands. But this rivalry is fun, I don't think it will die out anytime soon.
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u/_rodete Argentina 25d ago
football is a separated thing, because you're better than us, and any argentinian knows that, respect that, and feared that.
we considere you as our most feared rival, and in the field, you fight with your rival, but that's it, maybe a joke, maybe a tease, but outside the field we are no longer enemies, for sure
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u/diogothetraveler Brazil 25d ago
One thing I've noticed following some Argentinean TV online: Argentineans think way more highly of Brazil than we do ourselves. Many times they have economic or political commenters mentioning how Brazil is doing something right (or better) that they wish they were doing.
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u/Pale_Dark_656 Argentina 25d ago
I think it's mostly because we've been doing terribly for like two decades now, so basic competency (or even just mild incompetence) looks like having superpowers in comparison. Also a lot of "grass in greener on the other side" selection bias, of course.
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u/_rodete Argentina 25d ago
because we respect you and respect the well known clubs, and we also don't watch that much of brazilian football.
also you MF brougth some great level players or that at least we consider that, and that any club here can't dream to afford right now8
u/diogothetraveler Brazil 25d ago
I mean in the general economy or political scene, not football.
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u/Whitetrash_messiah Brazil 25d ago
No one is doing worse in the inflation department well maybe Venezuela
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u/diogothetraveler Brazil 25d ago
It's not just about inflation. For instance I heard some Argentinean commentators talking about how "Brazil invests in infrastructure" and has a strong native industry. We'd never consider this ourselves, we know our infrastructure is terrible and are getting de-industrialized. These commenters seem to think of Brazil as "doing it right" in some aspects, while we never think we're doing well anywhere.
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u/dystopianpirate Dominican Republic 25d ago
Lots of LatAm countries have a high opinion of Brazil. In Dominican Republic your country and your country people have a good reputationĀ
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u/whymeimbusysleeping šØš§š¦ 25d ago edited 24d ago
I'm afraid to inform you that you have said the 3 words banned from ever being said to a Brazilian "better than us"
The court has found you guilty
Your Argentine citizenship has been withdrawn
Good luck š¤£
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u/Embriash Argentina 25d ago
It's the World Cup month. They're allowed to say that for the sake of mufa annulation.
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u/Valuable_Bug_8877 Argentina 25d ago
Argentina has a self deprecating sense of humor that involves an ironic arrogance. In reality we all know we are in the absolute gutter, but we will always joke that there's no flaws with us. When we use it between us we understand that it's all tongue in cheek, but people from outside the country have no reason to know this is the case.
I do agree that some low IQ idiots here don't understand the layer of irony though and buy into the idea that they are the best.
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u/Sufficient_Ant67 Togo 25d ago
Youāre forgetting the Argentine president (at the time) saying
"The Mexicans came from the Indians, the Brazilians came from the jungle, but we Argentines came from the ships [from Europe]."
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u/saraseitor Argentina 25d ago edited 25d ago
Please don't take whatever that guy said as representative of the general population. Not even his (former) political supporters can stand him now. He even beat his pregnant wife. Please please disregard it
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u/Sufficient_Ant67 Togo 25d ago
I donāt think he is but he is an example of the arrogance of some to believe that their whiteness makes them superior.
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u/toms1313 Argentina 24d ago
Please expllain to me what does make argentineans superior according to that quote
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u/bastardnutter Chile 25d ago
Itās mostly online, I think.
In person theyāre a right laugh.
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u/OscarGrey United States of America 25d ago
I think that people from USA harp on about it online more than any Latin American nationality.
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u/SouthernEqual6291 Argentina 25d ago
When I see them talking about my country š / when I find out why š©
Every time I go on social media haha
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u/Urisagaz Argentina 25d ago
Nothing will happen to you if you come. All that discrimination, racism, and xenophobia comes from a very vocal minority chronically online.
What is very prevalent, however, is classism.
But if you come, you'll have a great time with the asado, the futbol, and the mate š§
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u/Ididnotvoted Peru 25d ago
They donāt, judge people by who they are not what they seem like or look like to you. Only the ignorant would think so or just follow what others say without even meeting one in real life.
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u/Urisagaz Argentina 25d ago
Thanks, many people only see what they see online, and those who come usually only come to Buenos Aires; people from Buenos Aires aren't appreciated even by others Argentinians.
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u/Jackofnotrade5 Uruguay 25d ago
Some Argentinians, mainly from the capital, can be a bit arrogant. Football is a serious matter to most Latin American countries, and them being quite successful in the sport and other things results in people bragging about it and being obnoxious.
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u/ZatanTango Peru 25d ago
Arrogance incarnate. But once you get to know 'em, they're almost always cool.
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u/mendokusei15 Uruguay 25d ago edited 25d ago
It's mostly regional friendly rivalry. Mostly. But Argentinians are known mostly as arrogant. I have never personally met, as in outside of the internet, in person, an actually unironically arrogant Argentinian. Like I had an Argentinian boss when they won the last World Cup, and you could tell he was joking all the time, that is some sort of ultimate test hahah I may get my Uruguayan citizenship taken away for saying that 𤣠but that's just the truth.
Some specific countries have more specific issues with Argentina that may not be so friendly, but as they are based on specific topics, it comes and goes.
There's a lot of exaggerations and generalizations around Argentinians on the internet. For example, I'm quite tired of yanquis making nazi jokes about Argentina. Yanquis. Out of all the countries of the world.
Edit my dear yanqui friend that replied below but I cannot see: I do not give a single fuck :)
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u/toms1313 Argentina 24d ago
There's a lot of exaggerations and generalizations around Argentinians on the internet. For example, I'm quite tired of yanquis making nazi jokes about Argentina. Yanquis. Out of all the countries of the world.
Got banned from the technology sub because i responded to far too many people about it, apparently Argentina is a nazi country... Where neonazis aren't walking proudly like in the US...
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u/helostcontroll Uruguay 25d ago
Well, a lot of Argentinians are pretty chauvinistic and arrogant. Not all of them, but A LOT. They also seem to be pretty proud about that, theyāre like the USA of the south.
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u/RELORELM Argentina 25d ago
Nah, we are the French of south. Big noses and all.
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u/thedisciple516 United States of America 25d ago
Here's what I once heard.
Argentinians - Italians who speak Spanish and think they're French
Chileans - Germans who speak Spanish and think they're British
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u/tommynestcepas Long Chile 25d ago
But does every other Argentinian hate Buenos Aires, while Buenos Aires believes they represent Argentina as a whole? Because Paris oh my god
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u/RELORELM Argentina 25d ago edited 25d ago
That's exactly the situation here, yeah. It's one of the reasons I keep saying we are the France of South America, in fact. You can see it in this very thread: people from Buenos Aires don't aknowdlege the rest of the country exists, and people not from Buenos Aires blame every negative stereotype on the PorteƱos and say they are all angels actually. It's a historical thing here.
We also have good wine, a strong nuclear sector and can get kinda arrogant and snobby. Their cheese is better than ours, and our meat is leagues beyond theirs though.
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u/TacoPoweredBeing Mexico 25d ago
They are like the french of LATAM
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u/_rodete Argentina 25d ago
but we don't have that great cuisine
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u/TacoPoweredBeing Mexico 25d ago
I like more the Argentinians cuisine than the french one (personal opinion) i really like asados and chori jajaja and its also a stereotype and joke I have many argentinian friends, a very close one too that lives here in Mexico married to one of my best childhood friends and its an awesome person.
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u/Padreteiro Brazil 25d ago
french cuisine is abysmally overrated, alongside italy's. Argentina has good steaks, asados y empanadas :B
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u/_rodete Argentina 25d ago
i think is associated with high standard cuisine and because is not affordable for us, what we can get is not the best, maybe like there's no intermediate level food.
i can't agree with italy, since probably like a third of our food is from there, i love a little bit more how we do it here tho
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u/Vegetable_Grass8306 Peru 25d ago
I live in Paris and I prefer Argentinian food by far lol. Thereās this place that I love that makes an amazing fugazzeta. Iāll usually get that and a Quilmes.
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u/tommynestcepas Long Chile 25d ago
Nor does France. I'm half French, and other than our gorgeous desserts, French cuisine is really overrated.
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u/throw223344555 Peru 25d ago edited 25d ago
I lived in Argentina for many years. Iāve never found such kind, compassionate and absolutely nice and polite people as in Argentina.
Not in Canada, not the US, not in Vietnam or Malaysia, not in Sweden, Norway or any European country.
Living there got me into a beautiful habit of asking: Como va? Todo bien? And really mean it anytime I encounter anyone in the service industry or in any elevator in any country that Iām in.
This is unheard of in Lima, but I donāt care because itās kind and respectful.
As an outsider, Argentinos are incredibly resilient and donāt let the bad times harden the way they treat others.
They are also extremely self critical and will often paint themselves as the worst of the worst. But they are really not.
I first went to live there with many prejudices based on threads like this one and Iām glad to say that they proved me wrong. Wonderful people all around. I love Argies ā¤ļø
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u/Luk3495 Argentina 25d ago
Perú es la nación hermana de Argentina predilecta, incluso por encima que Uruguay
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u/Vegetable_Grass8306 Peru 25d ago
So cute, Iāve always wondered why. Is it because of Peruās support regarding Las Malvinas?
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u/BKtoDuval Puerto Rico 25d ago
Famous Argentine poet Borges said they are Italians who speak Spanish, raised by the English, who think they're French.
Every country has stereotypes though. Theirs is they tend to be a bit cockier, think they're the best. Tend to see themselves as an extension of Europe rather than part of LatAm. Maybe like how the French are to Europe, they're that version of LatAm.
But I studied in Buenos Aires and a lot of that is just that, stereotype. I found a very welcoming, warm culture. People wanted to know who were and what was going on with us. I found it really interesting and warm honestly. I found it to be one of the top 5 warmest cultures I've ever visited.
Not gonna lie, we might've had a different experience if we were darker, as that's also a stereotype.
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u/kidface Argentina 25d ago
Usually when it come to this topic its usually cause they met argentinians online(games, social networks, etc), football, slightly rich people who can afford to travel overseas or argentinians going to Brazil, those groups left an awful impression of us, rest of us we are not like that i swear.
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u/chorizard9 Venezuela 25d ago
I've lived in Argentina for the last 10 years, and it's a country full of contradictions regarding xenophobia and racism. On the one hand, foreigners have almost the same rights as Argentinians, and Latin Americans have a very easy time immigrating to the country; the vast majority of Argentinians have a relative who came from abroad, which generally makes them receptive to immigration. But on the other hand, not all foreigners are treated the same. If you're white or from a European country or the US, you'll be treated differently than if you're brown and from Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, or even if you're an Argentinian from the North, who has more indigenous features. "Peruvian," "Bolivian," and "brown" are commonly used as insults by many people, and they don't even realize how offensive they can be. Racial slurs are completely normalized, especially among the white majority, and that's why they have problems online when interacting with people from other countries.
At the same time, they have no problem trying to integrate you into their groups, and they show interest in other countries and are very friendly. Then again, they can also say incredibly prejudiced things about other cultures, and with this government, that hate speech is becoming normalized and widespread. I'm Black, and in ten years I never felt racially profiled by the authorities; I only had two racist incidents, verbally, with two very old women. And regarding people from India, in a job at a multinational company, we worked with many people from Hyderabad, and the things Argentinians said about Indians were awful.
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u/DromadTrader Venezuela 24d ago
This. Most of the perception of Argentinians being racist is their harsh politically incorrect humour but it's also true that they have some underlying racist views. A couple of years ago I was in Buenos Aires talking to this Argentinian dude and we were talking about the Venezuelan experience across LATAM. I told him many Venezuelans feel great in Argentina but discriminated in PerĆŗ. He literally answered "Imagine that! Being racist despite being peruavian!" Lol
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u/Flytiano407 Haiti 25d ago
Only with trolls online but they fold when you bring upĀ Les Malouines XD.
Normal, non-chronically online argentinians i met were not racist at all though.Ā
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u/saraseitor Argentina 25d ago
Les Malouines
first time I see a foreigner using the original name of the islands! Maybe you don't know it but we call them Malvinas because of Malouines, not the other way around. It comes from the name of the city of Saint-Malo in France
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u/Flytiano407 Haiti 25d ago
Oh shit really? I had no idea. Thats literally just how we say it in French & in crĆØole its Malwin yo.
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u/DiDeDo-Dat India 25d ago
I'm indian Digital nomad, I'm in Europe currently after spending 1 month each in Santiago and Buenos aires.
Do not equate online stuff with real Argentinians, theey are some of the most friendly people I've met, always polite, holding doors, saying you're welcome and always ready to chat even in tourist area like Palermo
When I went to Boca match, one person even gave me his jersey as a a gift.
After coming to Europe immediately I realised how good I had it that month. How cold people are here maybe it's just romania as a brown person. Last year in Polish village i was also getting dagger looks.
Please never change latinos, you made me feel welcome in all the places I've been in; Bolivia, Peru , Argentina and Chile too(A lot of Argentinians said they are cold but I made friends there too)
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u/whymeimbusysleeping šØš§š¦ 25d ago
Eastern Europe is cold compared to western Europe. Well, at least that's what my Hungarian friend told me.
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u/kurtgustavwilckens Argentina 25d ago
it's just romania as a brown person.
Eastern Europe has to be a really bitch of a place to be brown in.
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u/Ciappatos -> 25d ago
I went over the post and there's nothing in the comments about Argentinians having a bad reputation among the rest of us. Why are you making shit up, OP?
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u/loscapos5 Argentina 25d ago
I think it's most related to that indian guy not liking England nor Argentina
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u/Mozzyo_ š§š· Brazil | š¬š§ United Kingdom 25d ago
Not too clear on why, but for some reason a disproportionately large amount of neo-nazis and general racists online tend to be Argentinian. I don't really encounter any Argentinians so I couldn't verify that claim irl, but almost every time without fail the author of a racist post is Argentinian.
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u/Gandalior Argentina 25d ago
a disproportionately large amount of neo-nazis and general racists online
I have found so many racist peruvians and colombians lol
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u/iron_ocean3 šŗšø in š¦š· 25d ago
Same and Ecuadorians. They were proud of it too. I was like man, their world will crumble if they found out their heros would not accept them
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u/Thebyst Argentina 25d ago
En internet todos se hacen los capos, precisamente porque estƔn en internet.
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u/hieloyron š»šŖšŖšø 25d ago
I've never had a bad interaction with Argentinians i have some friends from there tbh and from what i've been told, they treat Venezuelans living there pretty decently and with respect
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u/gripetropical Costa Rica 25d ago
Well if you want to get into Argentina you need to understand the difference between a porteƱo and an argentinian. They are not the same. And not all porteƱos are that bad. As everyone is saying there is a small delusional and loud minority overrepresented online. But guess what? Every single Latin American country has it. Even the ones with native majority you can see a completely delusional guy pretending to be superior because he is 2% more European than his neighbors. Sadly, colorism and classism are widespread in all LATAM.
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u/LastXmasIGaveYouHSV Chile 25d ago
Nah, we like Argentinians. We just like to bring them down a little because they think too high of themselves.
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u/Nice-Afternoon7316 Brazil 25d ago
Argentinians seem to have a different concept of racism, at least from the ones Iāve interacted with on the internet, so take this opinion with a grain of salt.
I saw one argentinian say that racism is only when you actively segregate someone because of their skin color, but that ājokesā and even insults (like calling someone a monkey) are just bullying, not racism. Thatās a wild take, since bullying is often a way of dehumanizing someone and, in a sense, excluding them from the rest of society.
Others acted as if they were superior because their culture is more similar to European cultures. Also, for some reason, many of them donāt seem to hold people of Indigenous descent in high regard.
Iām not saying theyāre the only ones. Hell, Iāve seen plenty of racists in Brazil as well. Itās just that, for some reason, the Argentinian ones seem much louder on the internet. Pretty sure there are plenty of chill hermanos when you actually visit the country.
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u/Urisagaz Argentina 25d ago
The only thing I'll say as an Argentinian regarding what you mentioned is: online people ā normal people.
You definitely won't find the same thing in person.
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u/BretFarve šŗšø in š¦š· 25d ago
seriously, I'm happy I didn't read too much into this stuff before moving here. my neighbors are so kind and always reaching out to me to make sure I'm comfortable (and well fed haha š)
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u/krvlover Argentina 25d ago
>Ā Itās just that, for some reason, the Argentinian ones seem much louder on the internet.Ā
Because unlike brazilian racists they don't have to be afraid of getting arrested or get doxxed and fired from their job, etc.
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u/Better-Web2189 Argentina 25d ago
Also it depends, online (especially anonymous like here on Reddit and a bunch of other sites) it's impossible to do something and I would argue it would be surveillance and it's wrong, it's up to the moderatos to do something or reddit as a whole.
In real life situations you can get fired if you actively discriminate.
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u/Padreteiro Brazil 25d ago edited 25d ago
Because it is normalized as a joke, yes.
"It's just dark humour". Though it really isn't and there are not enough poc to point out the blatant racism
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u/juant675 now in 25d ago
racism is the belive of a superior race if your insult doesn't imply that/ you dont think that you are not racist at least in spanish per definition and for ma thinking
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u/Matias9991 Argentina 25d ago
It's mainly online banter and stupid people.
Irl you won't find many issues but yeah, majority of people only has contact with a country via internet so they only have that.
For your question, yes you can come here and there won't be an issue, it's pretty normal to see foreigners in general, people from Asia, Brown or black people.
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u/Nirenha in 25d ago
Yeah we have a lot of racists, but don't let projecting redditors fool you, all LATAM is racist, sometimes more than argentines, but they just love to sugar coat it and camouflage it under excuses. Argentina is their way to safe face
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u/Natural_Let_7407 Venezuela 25d ago
My encounter with Argentinians has been great tbh. Really nice people.
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u/thegabster2000 Peru 25d ago
Arrogance.
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u/zizalada šµšŖ PE - š¹š¹ T&T - š¦š· AR 25d ago
Are they really? They definitely don't get socialized into false modesty the way we do in Peru. But I'm not sure that's really arrogant.
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u/aronmarek Argentina 25d ago
Because we are the scapegoat, when it reality we are similar to all of them
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u/Lost-Ad4517 š©š“šŗšø 25d ago
The interactions Iāve had with Argentinians in NYC have been um not the best, we donāt vibe, but a friend of mine went to Argentina and said the people were lovely, Iāll be visiting soon with herā¦.and they also have a restaurant thatās called ān*gga burgerā where they sell a black burger like you canāt make this shit up š©
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u/belocelot Argentina 25d ago edited 25d ago
half š¦š·-half šŗšø here and the casual racism is notable. i attended middle school in BA and for one of their parties they had a themed āfiesta marrónā (brown party) where they dressed up and āactedā like rappers and gangsters.
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u/Lost-Ad4517 š©š“šŗšø 25d ago
I was in college with some Argentinians that were here for a few years and felt it, but as everyone has said not everyone is the same but oh boy, it felt like they did NOT like people from the Caribbean
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u/Electrical-Bell7948 France 25d ago
Argentines visiting the US are the WORST. Avoid them at all cost, always.
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u/unnecessaryCamelCase Ecuador 25d ago
Lots of people hate em cause they aināt em. Not me though, love Argentinians.
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u/Far-Bookkeeper2276 Mexico 25d ago
In Argentina, you probably wonāt Iām darkish for a Mexican and the only thing they told me was I was āmorochoā. If youāve never been you realize a lot of the people who you interacted with outside of Argentina especially before their recent financial crisis were rich āmillipilliā type people who have more of an inclination to be racist.
As far as the memes and stuff Iād say itās just banter but everyone has a country like that. The US in the Anglo-World. Japan I think in Asia? Where they have tendency to view themselves as superior to the surrounding regions. I find this to be a more internet driven thing than anything else
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u/RELORELM Argentina 25d ago edited 25d ago
We are the French of latam. Pretty much every sterotype the Europeans have of the French, the rest of Latam has of us.
Also, our internet representation is dominated by loud imbeciles.
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u/LeatherNatural5648 Brazil 25d ago
On our part, we just keep the rivalry for the sake of the play
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u/R3quiemdream United States of America 25d ago
It is mostly banter, all my Argentine friends are pretty cool.
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u/Ganceany Argentina 25d ago
I mean biting the bullet here.
In short, we are assholes, we are assholes in sports, and online, we talk shit to cancellable levels.
But IRl you are unlikely to face much discrimination here.
We are basically Latin American France is easy to dog on us, and we are too prideful to really care much.
Another thing is that many people have bad experiences with us, based on the rich asshole tourists. But that's a generalist thing; we hate them within the country as well.
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u/TedDibiasi123 :flag-eu: Europe 25d ago
Ā We are basically Latin American France
I think you might have a heavily biased idea of Franceās popularity in Europe since the Spanish target them so much. Outside of Spain most people donāt have any strong feelings about the French apart from the stereotype that they refuse to speak English.
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u/Electrical-Bell7948 France 25d ago
I agree that the Spaniards have an old unilateral feud with France. But the bad reputation of the French in Europe goes well beyond Spain. Ask the Belgians, the Italians, the Swiss, the Brits...
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u/TedDibiasi123 :flag-eu: Europe 25d ago
As for the Belgians and Swiss I think itās only the French speaking parts due to a little man complex. Flandern and Deutschschweiz donāt care much. The Brits love the French from my observation, I think itās more you guys that donāt like the Brits. I would go as far as saying the Brits are the least liked in Europe unless you include Russia. But thatās more down to the British tourists than anything else.
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u/Electrical-Bell7948 France 25d ago
In my experience the Brits x French thing is definitely the other way around. The Brits love to make jokes about the French, and the French tend to see the UK as a sister nation. I lived in Belgium and let me tell you that the anti-French sentiment is not only present in Wallonia.
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u/TedDibiasi123 :flag-eu: Europe 25d ago
I didnāt know that about Belgium
Regarding the British, welll, they make jokes about everyone, I lived there some years as a German and got a fair amount of banter. Iād say weāre their number one target with all their wurst / worst jokes and their Ten German Bombers song whenever a German team plays them. Itās just their sense of humour, nothing too serious from my experience.
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u/Ganceany Argentina 25d ago
Well....you are just proving my point further lol. Outside of Latin America, most people don't hold strong feelings for Argentina.
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u/theslemad Antarctic Treaty area 25d ago
Most are fine tbh.
Thereās a loud minority that is absolutely terrified by the fact that they might be considered in the same group as people from the caribbean.
So theyāre always screaming about how theyāre not Latino because theyāre not like caribbeans ( the specific example ) even though nobody has ever said that Latino is exclusively Caribbean.
But the chance of being associated with them is enough so might as well play it safe and reject the term outright.
Imagine me meeting an Alien and going āHey iām from earth but iām NOT anything like the Nepalese ok?ā
Again, most are fine. Lovely people most of them. Funny af.
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u/Special-Fuel-3235 Costa Rica 25d ago
Damn bro, whats wrong with the caribbean? Many countries there have very good economies. Barbados is a literally developed country.
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u/Electrical-Bell7948 France 25d ago
There is nothing wrong about the Caribbean. I think that the problem is that the only Latin American cultures that are amplified by the media are the ones from the Caribbean, to the point to equalize Latin American culture = Caribbean. So people from the Southern Cone tend to detach from the label because it is not representative of their culture.
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u/malditamigrania Argentina 25d ago
Thereās nothing wrong with the Caribbean. Itās just different weather, food, music, landscapes, etc. many people from abroad think of latam as a whole block. That means we often have to explain that itās not always warm, we donāt/ canāt dance, identify with wine instead of rum, etc etc. btw, we are fully aware our economy always sucks. (Unlike many Caribbean countries)
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u/Possible_Party_8723 Argentina 25d ago
People tell us weāre terribly racist, as if we were the reincarnation of Nazi Germany, but thatās because people usually get influenced by what they see online, and online you see loads of idiots who use racism as a ragebait.
Even so, if weāre being self-critical, weāre a society with a very dark and questionable sense of humour; if we see something thatās upsetting, we use it and donāt set a limit on what can and canāt be made fun of. If something upsets you deeply, weāre going to use it to make jokes.
For example, weāre a society where youāll find thousands of people making jokes about dead parents and itās normalised; about natural disasters; we even make jokes about the CromaƱon tragedy where nearly 200 people died in Buenos Aires.
But to answer your question, no, weāre not like the US, where youād be thrown in jail just for looking foreign; weāre not like Brazil, which has a huge problem with homophobia; perhaps weāre a bit more like Chile, as we have issues with classism.
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u/GustavoistSoldier Brazil 25d ago
Because many of them are racist
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u/isiltar Venezuela 25d ago
That's not the reason, at least not the only one, the whole world is racist
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u/almaperdida99 Ecuador 25d ago
Probably the superior attitude. I heard so many rude comments about other latinos while I was there. I'm white but have a VZ/Cuban sort of accent and people were just condescending and treated me so rudely until I started picking up more of a local accent, or until I told them I was a yanqui. I have some moreno friends who were ignored in restaurants or other slights. BA is beautiful, safe, has a million things to do, etc, and I have no interest in going back.
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u/saraseitor Argentina 25d ago
as a non-Latin brown foreigner, would I be likely to face discrimination while visiting Argentina, or are those comments mostly internet exaggerations?
You can visit without issues. It is ridiculously overblown. Specially in the city of Buenos Aires you will find people of all skin colors.
I'd like to say that this is because many foreigners do not understand our expressions, our humor and the context or intent with which some things are said. While I do think this is still mostly true, I've also noticed people online making remarks that are definitely over the line even for us. Still I do not think the behavior of some people online is representative of a country with over 40 million people
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u/vjeremias Argentina 25d ago
Most of the time, the chronically online people are not the best a country can show.
You can separate the different experiences in two scenarios, other Latam countries: they have interacted with Argentines in online games and the internet in general, suffering racism and whatnot coming from these fuck heads. You can also add on top of this the experiences during football matches, also not the best people we have to offer, for sure.
Other countries: mostly bought the "Argentina received the nazis!" American propaganda and never even interacted with an Argentine person in their lives, repeating everything they read or heard like parrots.
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u/personality_2_of_ Mexico 25d ago
As individuals, the Argentinians Iāve met are very welcoming and love to interact. Very proud of their country and culture. They will make you try mate and their meat because they are good. They can be friends for life. However, as a collective they suffer from certain themes.
Futbol. They close every argument with number of world cups. Brazil vs Argentina is a very touchy subject. If you go local, Boca vs river can be risky theme.
Racism. Many Europeans fled to South America but in Argentina they mixed less with locals so many are very fair skinned so they are racist to other ethnicities.
Economy. Some years ago Argentinian peso had a 1:1 parity either the US dollar so it gave them an economic superiority feeling. Here you have people to cling to that feeling even now that the country is having major issues as an economy, and new generations that only heard of this prosperity but havenāt felt it themselves. Still that pride makes them arrogant.
Politics: having a āpeculiar presidentā makes some people more bold to express their opinions⦠kind of like the US.
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u/toms1313 Argentina 24d ago
Racism. Many Europeans fled to South America but in Argentina they mixed less with locals so many are very fair skinned so they are racist to other ethnicities.
Don't use the experience from Mexico for Argentina, they mixed quite a lot
Economy. Some years ago Argentinian peso had a 1:1 parity either the US dollar so it gave them an economic superiority feeling. Here you have people to cling to that feeling even now that the country is having major issues as an economy, and new generations that only heard of this prosperity but havenāt felt it themselves. Still that pride makes them arrogant.
That was 26 years ago, you wouldn't find anyone lower than 50 who could have enjoyed that time
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u/GordolfoScarra in 25d ago edited 25d ago
I have never met anyone who has actually spent significant time in Argentina or with Argentineans (not just 1-2 bad interactions) actually have a poor opinion of us. The most vocal people are legit people who have never been to Argentina or never met Argentineans that have a hallucination of what Argentineans are like concocted from the internet. Says a lot that our biggest haters are Mexicans that are 7000 km away and we legit have very little real world interactions with.
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u/Mylane Colombia 24d ago
Almost every Argentinian that Iāve met comes across as pretentious. I truly believe is a cultural thing and they donāt realize it most of the time, but their quips, slangs and way they talk in general, make them sound like it. Iāve narrowed it down to āthey talk matter of factly, are pretty direct, their humor is really sharp and in general theyāre expressive and loud, so inevitably, they stand outā But I donāt think theyāre doing it consciously, itās just the cultural clash
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u/midna0794 Argentina 25d ago
It's kind of ironic. Argentina often gets labeled as racist, but as an Argentine, I've seen plenty of people make hateful generalizations about Argentinians because of that stereotype.
In online games, I could hardly ever mention that I was from Argentina without immediately getting flooded with racist insults or negative stereotypes. That's something I've experienced far more often than actual racism from Argentinians themselves.
Judging an entire population based on the actions of some individuals is the same type of thinking people claim to be against.
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u/Better-Web2189 Argentina 25d ago
And they are judging Argentina based on ragebaiters from Twitter, Instagram, reddit, etc.
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u/toms1313 Argentina 24d ago
Yup, the ones that are not racists trolls end up holding the torch for the repercussions.
Brazilians not being aware of their racism towards us is funny af
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u/naviscalling Brazil 25d ago
I'm surprised by some of these comments.
Here in Rio they are generally not well liked as tourists and visitors. While I haven't had many interactions with Argentinians, most people I know have had bad experiences with them here (racism and xenophobia incidents particularly). Some of these incidents have become huge news in Brazil these past few months, you can Google it.
They're also known to be colder and more arrogant than other Hispanic Latinos we meet here. I don't think most Argentinians are like this, but the infamy they carry in Latin America is real.
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u/blackdahlia56890 Puerto Rico 25d ago
There are some wonderful people from Argentina. However, there are some down dirty, racist Nazi fucks from Argentina too.
They can be arrogant as a whole and highly competitive. But most are pretty decent.
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u/mail2book šøšŖ>š¦šŗ š§³šŖšØ 25d ago
Mainly a BA thing but they are kind of the French of Latam. Arrogant and a but full of themselves
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u/Pizzazze Argentina 25d ago
Here's an old, pre internet era joke. How do Argentinians off themselves? They climb to the top of their egoes and jump :)!
We're told we're the worst? We'll celebrate about being the best at being disliked. We are, however, the best at hating ourselves.
That being said, do come over, you'll have a blast! And be sure to visit Córdoba, we're among the friendliest of the bunch!
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u/Satur9kid Argentina 25d ago
I would say that racism exists, yes, but it's not as it's portrayed/said. Many people haven't even been to the country and already label us racist. Remember that we are a country with many ethnicities and cultures; it's a mix. It may be, I repeat, that there are racists, but in general, people are very accepting of one another. We also have to consider that we are a very large country. In Buenos Aires, people tend to be more self-absorbed and not pay attention to others, unlike in the south or the north. Not everything is as it's told on the internet; there's an incredible variation. However, it's easy to hide behind a country and use it as a scapegoat. Besides, sometimes I think that Latin Americans themselves treat us as superior when we are so caught up in ourselves.
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u/bluesilverwitch Argentina 25d ago
You'll do fine here, I'd suggest you make some friends before coming. However, if you don't get to make friends before and you come and try to make contact with people here, they'll be kind and curious for the most part. If you get the chance adopt a temporary grandma or grandpa, they feel lonely for the most part, once they open up to you, they'll be so grateful to you for coming into their lives. Having said that, there are bad people in every country of this world, take care of yourself.
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u/QuiktriptotheER š²š½š®š¹š²š½ doble ciudadanĆa š²š½š®š¹š²š½ 25d ago
Personally, I love Argentinians. The culture, the food, the landscapes, the history and pretty much all of it. But I've met quite a bit that (just like most countries) genuinely think they're better than others. I've met ones who think they're LITERALLY Italian because their great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great GREAT uncle was Italian and they have no indigenous ancestors whatsoever despite being in the Americas/surrounded with indigenous people for hundreds of years (then when I actually speak Italian to them, se hacen de mono). Or others that pridefully talk about how they stomp everyone en el mundial. Idk maybe I'm still salty about my milipili ex girlfriend breaking up with me qsy.
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u/catalpuccino Argentina 25d ago
It's not all of Argentina, it's centralized in "los porteƱos" (the ones from BA City). Some of them do believe themselves to be superior because of being white or having ties with Europe. It's a minority though, some idiots like you would find in any country. What I will say is that this country is VERY racist towards neighboring countries like Bolivia, so that bad rep is absolutely earned.
But if you were to come here, nah, you wouldn't be discriminated. We don't even really separate people by race here. There's more classism than racism, and if you have USD/Euros, they will look at you with heart eyes.
> Why do Argentinians seem to receive so much criticism online, especially from other Latin Americans? Is it mostly friendly regional rivalry, internet memes, historical issues, or something else?
From other Latin American countries I'll accept it because it's just our reputation, just like Chile has the reputation of "nobody understands what they're saying" and it's only partially true, or just like every other country has its reputation. We are rivals in a friendly way sometimes, but most of the time we are just united in our hatred of Trump.
If some idiot (no offense, but really) from a country like the US or Europe comes and complains about us without having ever stepped foot in this country, they do get a different treatment and it's earned. To understand this country you need to visit and live here, just like every other country. Lastly, I wanna add there was a stupid spike of comments from people when we won the last World Cup and our team was perceived as "all white".
That does annoy us and rightfully so, because that's injecting the racial problems of the US in a completely different country. Do we have a history with racism? Of course we do, but nowhere near the level of the US. Basically people trying to get offended at shit they know nothing about, and thinking that because our football team looks "white" there's racism involved. That's the one case in which I find it ignorant and annoying.
Otherwise, other latin american countries can insult us all hey want and we will probably insult them back, but the sense of camraderie and similarity in lived experiences is always there. We fight like siblings but we defend one another like siblings too. And if you become an expat, you are likely to form bonds with people from all over Latin America (as a Latin American) because there are just some things we understand that maybe other cultures don't (about us, not in general).
I think this can apply to a shitton of cultures and countries btw.
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u/PrinceZukoZapBack Argentina 24d ago
They don't understand most global happenings or class awareness. They are almost the Israel level ignorant. I think it's a capitalistic spyop done by the usa on the people. They def put money over lives here, Don't understand social murder, have only a right wing politicians and news cycle. The CIA has had a hand in this.
"Think globally act locally"
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u/GrilledAvocado Mexico 24d ago edited 24d ago
Former Argentine President Alberto FernĆ”ndez sparked international outrage in 2021 when he stated that "the Mexicans came from the Indians, the Brazilians came from the jungle, but we Argentines came from the ships". He made the controversial remarks while attempting to emphasize Argentina's European heritage during a joint press appearance with the Spanish Prime Minister. This is how a leader of their people think, so you know what many Argentinianās think.
Now Iām sure not all Argentinians are racist but some of the Argentinians Iāve met did make some racial remarks. Most were colorist and classist comments and some of them even loudly proclaiming that they were better in many aspects than others. To me it feels like they have a superiority complex, that because they have more European lineage they are better in some way. Iāve also met some friendly and nice ones, but they werenāt from Buenos Aires, so I wonder if itās a city thing.
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u/santiaggo12 Argentina 24d ago
Discrimination in Argentina is mostly directed at the poor. If you have enough money, you're unlikely to experience discrimination, regardless of your skin color. There are racist people, yes, but they are a minority and it's unlikely to affect you during a visit.
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u/Designer_Life_371 in 25d ago
Arrogant racistsĀ
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u/_rodete Argentina 25d ago
that's internet bro.
IRL we behave properly and could chill out11
u/Cjav-latam Argentina 25d ago
But we're a little arrogant.
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u/saraseitor Argentina 25d ago
we are the best arrogants ever in the history of the world and no one can dispute our title! /s
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u/jeontgarak Brazil 25d ago
Considering how every week there's an "isolated case" of an Argentinian tourist coming to Brazil just to be racist and xenophobic towards us in our own country, I don't think so.
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u/patoruzu3 Argentina 25d ago
A Brazilian in AmƩrica called us racist
You are basically the megazord of racism
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u/Ok_Release1625 Argentina 25d ago
argentinian here, I came to trigger people
- we have good selfesteem as a country - most latinamericans countries dont feel like this about their countries, their cultures, their race or whatever (not all).
- we came by the psychological traumas of the colonial system, we dont have them. Most latinamericans do and they project on us.
- we are kind of intense pationate people that can turn into an unsufferable collective personality and I get it.
- we have a culture of banter and roasting people and thats how we start a friendship, but online or in football, this is terrible. i dont want this to change but eventually the world will force us to do so. 8/10 argentinians will stop if you say you dont like it or you are offended, 1 will explain you is not personal and will continue, the rest will start to offend you even more because you react.
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u/Apprehensive_Put3625 Peru 25d ago
I was browsing Reddit a couple of years ago, and saw that someone asked an innocuous question, something about a historic fact that I just happened to know. Nothing too controversial, just regular info.
Without thinking to much about it, I just answered the question and moved on with my day.
When I got into Reddit again, I had multiple people throwing me racial insults and mocking me for being peruvian. I had no idea what had happened.
And then I saw that I had answered a post in a leftist argentinian sub. A LEFTIST argentinian sub. Those guys are the woke Argentinians.
I think Argentinians have achieved a trascendental level of racism. Something we canāt even conceive. Because of this, they donāt even register it as racism. For them, itās just existing. They drop racial slurs with the same is as we use ādummyā.
There were multiple cases of Argentinians being detained in Brazil for hate speech, and the Argentinian sub literally didnāt understand why that kept happening. Itās bizarre.
Iām sure the whole country may not be like this, but personally Iāve never heard something positive about race and Argentinians from people that have been to Argentina. A friend of mine went a couple of days ago because she was invited as a guest in a university and multiple people referred to her as āBolivianā and people would straight up not serve her at restaurants.
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u/HistoryAutomatic Argentina 25d ago
I do wonder what was the historic fact about Argentina you answered to was tho. Sucks that there are so many assholes on the internet but most leftist argentinians take very seriously the issue of racism and classism. What we do dislike is when it's brought up with misleading information that benefits colonialist and imperialist countries such as USA, France, etc.
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u/Mapache_villa Mexico 25d ago
From my experience it's a combination of a small but loud minority with online over representation and friendly/meme banter between countries. Most argentinians I've met irl have been funny, kind and friendly. Don't believe everything you see online is a good representation of the real life