The “Based” Gringo Love for Race Relations in Latin America

Walking into a cafe that I went to a lot in Xela, Guatemala, there was another American named Jeff in the building.

We often spoke together at this cafe because we just happened to like being at the same spot in the cafe.

This cafe had a bunch of tables and chairs but it also had a small sofa area for people to sit down at.

I often went to the sofa area because it seemed more comfortable and Jeff seemed to like it too.

Nobody else though from whenever I went to the spot.

And that's how I met Jeff.

He was an older, retired American who was living his final days until he kicked the bucket.

An eccentric character to be honest.

Told me about his interest in smashing Japanese pussy as I wrote here and told me about his days working in "Intelligence."

While I doubted he worked for Intelligence (quite common for gringos to make shit up about their lives back home down here), I did not doubt his love for Japanese pussy.

After all, what straight man would NOT have love for Japanese pussy?

How many straight men would genuinely tell you "no, no, that's OK, I'm good" when offered Japanese pussy to fuck?

....Very doubtful.

So I remember sitting down one day out of the blue at the sofa of this cafe and he happened to be there.

And the small talk began.

You couldn't have a sit down with Jeff without him telling you something odd, non-PC, overly sexual, about "hidden gems" of Latin America to go to that he thought nobody else knew about, etc.

Always something!

On this day, he felt like going into "non-PC" territory on race.

Now, keep in mind, Barack Obama was president of the US back then when we were talking.

For those who don't know, you always have folks who say that they will "leave the US" if the other party wins office like I wrote here.

Though I don't think it was because of Obama for why he left as, if I remember right, he had been int he country long enough before Obama was ever in office.

Anyway, Obama was the talking point of the day.

As usual to our conversations, I would just nod away and go "right, OK, sure...."

Usually just listening even if I didn't always agree.

Sometimes you are better off just taking in a story than giving any opinion back.

Let someone else give you their 5 minute monologue.

People like to hear themselves talk and I don't mind it because, despite how much I write on this blog, I don't usually do much talking with strangers I don't know well.

Always better to just listen.

After all, you don't know how much of a nutjob the other person is and how triggered they will be at your opinions.

And sometimes people get very fucking defensive when you challenge them.

Best to just grab a drink, sit back, relax and listen.

People seem to really like you a lot more when you do that (even if you ask more challenging questions that will make them do mental gymnastics but not to do so in a condescending way but it is funny to see them do mental gymnastics when you can corner someone rhetorically).

Anyway, Jeff wanted to talk about Obama that day.

With tea in hand, I'm all ears!

Though I'm not sure what Jeff was drinking as he had a cup of coffee he didn't touch much but a small container of whatever liquid, I often could tell that he was drinking something stronger than coffee.

....That day might've been one of those days too.

And so Jeff, in his moment, starts talking about Obama.

Said something to the effect of "they weren't everywhere like they are now."

Meaning "black people" were not everywhere back then in any respectful job like being the president of the US.

Or in the media as he said.

So on and so on.

And he ultimately ended up calling Obama a certain word that quite often most black people frown upon.

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With a final conclusion at hand about how "America is changing" and about "all the hate towards white people."

Now, to be fair, I do agree with Jeff on that last point: you do have racial identity politics in the US where you got those who hate white people.

Sure.

Not saying white people have it worse than black people but only that you do got those who hate white people.

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Having said that, one could wonder, in the context of the conversation, if Jeff was feeling something else.

Perhaps annoyed too at the prospect of being born in a society that was much more hateful towards non-white folks and now had a black president.

And, to be honest with you, Latin America has no shortage of Jeffs.

What I mean is that you do have foreigners like that down here who perceive race relations so bad in the US that they want out.

For some of them, as I said before, I can understand and agree with their position. If you think race relations are bad in the US and simply want to live in a country where you aren't reminded of it constantly and deal with less people hating you for your skin color, I can see why you'd live down here.

For others, we simply need to call a spade a spade.

The fact is that you do have some foreigners -- usually boomer retired folks -- who miss being treated with "extra privileges" for being white.

And these folks have no issue living in a society that is majority non-white (like Guatemala) but simply miss being "on top of society without question."

However they realized it, they came to the conclusion that Latin America has more favorable race relations to them.

As I said, I can understand why they'd be sick of CNN blowing smoke in their face with the latest story that they feel makes white people look back.

But other times they genuinely want to feel like they are back in "the old days" where white people were more directly treated in very nice ways compared to other races.

It reminds me of a conversation I had with my sister over two years ago when I lived in a Mexican city called Pachuca de Soto.

Where I said to her that "white privilege in the US isn't really white privilege."

What I meant by that is that, despite how by many metrics white folks have it better than black folks in the US, you can't say that the example of a black man with a knee on his neck or not getting proper medical care that he should is an example of "white privilege."

Which isn't to say that you shouldn't call out examples of inequality like that but only that the "privileges" given to white folks down here is arguably stronger in some regards to those back home.

And that I wouldn't call not having a knee on my neck a "privilege" but more of an example of not being treated like an asshole.

Whereas the special treatment some Latin Americans give you down here is more of a "privilege" in that it is behavior going above and beyond what is expected or usual.

Like what I wrote here about being invited to birthday parties by strangers and having the cover and my drinks paid for simply for being a white American who speaks English.

Among other examples.

That isn't to say that you don't have xenophobic and racist cunts in Latin America who hate or look badly at white people.

Those who read my blog know I've written plenty about that in many other articles.

But there is no doubt that Latin America generally places white people on a "higher social hierarchy" than what you see in the US in my opinion.

Now, to be fair, maybe that isn't the best way of explaining what I see down here but hopefully you get the point.

The point being that someone like Jeff who hates seeing a black man as president and not seeing them in the back of the bus is going to like Latin America a little bit more than the US simply because, especially if he has money, he'll get treated better in many cases (though not always).

A character like Jeff simply likes racial relations and how "more old school" they are if you want to call them that.

Or more racist and beneficial to white folks.

And, to be fair, most expats to Latin America don't come down here because of that nor do they necessarily like living down here because of that.

Especially among younger expats, I see more "bending over backwards" behavior that results in them being treated as doormats to the locals out of some "PC" mindset (especially among white, liberal expats who are not older than 40).

But, as I discuss the various characters that you will find in Latin America, this is one of them.

The character being the type of white expat (usually retired age but not always) who misses the days of "more favorable race relations" that place white people on the top of the social hierarchy and is more "blunt" in expressing how white people are on top in social situations.

Said character, for obvious reasons, might be "a little bit" uncomfortable at the sight of a black president (especially if born in an era where black people were told to go back to the bus).

So it's a character anyway that you might notice down here once in a blue moon.

I don't notice it as much these days as I don't generally hang with many retired, boomer folks given my age as of this writing (27) but it was a type of character I have noticed before.

That's all.

Got anything to add?

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Thanks for reading.

Best regards,

Matt