Let me tell you about a very interesting conversation with a stranger…
Where to begin?
As I’ve said before, I hate traveling, but I love going places. For this reason, I tend to spend a bit of time wherever I go, make friends, get to know the place, the local cuisine and music, the cool local spots that your average tourist wouldn’t know… and so on.
For this reason, I’ve made a bit of a home here in El Salvador in a wonderful place run by an amazing dueña , have met all kinds of interesting, beautiful people who have also found their way here. We’re all here for the sunshine, the waves, the tranquilidad, the privacy and security and the sense of being a witness to history.
I’ve made a couple of good friends and a few pleasant connections. The sense of gratitude is palpable; I thank God with every sunrise and every sunset, every time I drift off to sleep listening to the waves, even every time I log in for work.
That meanders from the point of this post though. El Salvador is an interesting place to be at this juncture in history. It is probably the most optimistic country in the world, the only place where life is better today than it was ten years ago, where people believe the future will be even better.
Most of us from privileged countries take everyday life for granted. One Salvadoran told me how they used to see mutilated bodies on their way to school. Another gushed about how she and her friend were on their way home at 9 pm — and they never would have dared to be out at that time not so long ago — when the car broke down. A terrifying, dangerous situation just a few years ago becomes a happy, “I just called my husband and he came and picked us up!”
You don’t realize how bad things were and how just being able to live a free life without worry of being murdered, organ harvested, raped every time you exit the gate of your humble home… you just can’t appreciate how BIG that is.
Bukele has been criticized for a tactically brilliant operation that resulted in 80,000 bad guys getting what they deserve: prison. It perplexes me as to why anyone would regard this with anything but respect. Given the “Spy vs Spy” nature of cartels and governments here in Latin America — both sides have moles and rats — it’s amazing that they planned, trained, and executed in a way that hit the bad guys totally unaware. Military and law enforcement strategists will study what was done here for decades, maybe centuries.
The end result is that life is better for everyone. 80,000 criminals were incarcerated, but 4 million people were freed.
But the poor are still poor…
Today I met the first Salvadoran I’ve ever met who had anything bad to say about Bukele. I don’t want to dox the guy, but he’s a media personality, and I’ve seen his show.
His main point was that the poor are still poor.
“Lo mismo en todo el mundo, amigo,” I said, playing devil’s advocate, “Así es.”
He played devil’s advocate to my devil’s advocate and showed me that he is my brother in soul.
“No soy un fanático de nadie o nada.”
This was after a rant about how sick he was of everyone fawning over their president. The poor are still poor. Yeah, the rich are richer, but the poor are still poor. This guy isn’t a god. Let’s get real here. He’s just an idol, and I don’t idolize anyone.
This little rant got the noggin’ joggin’, and I realized that I’m exactly the same. “Celebrities” and sports stars and business tycoons and all the people we’re supposed to revere as gods have always made me want to pick up my guitar, crank it up to 11 and play a punk rock song that I’m writing as I play it.
Those people get up, have breakfast and take a shit like the rest of us.
Revere the unsung stars, ignore the manufactured “stars”
Some years ago, one of my proudest moments happened after a few rounds when I told a famous movie star that he was just an actor who sucked the right dick. “I know a thousand actors, dude. You want to impress me? Go undercover as a mole in a criminal organization where you die if you break character.”
The guy looked like I had just kicked him directly in the nuts, which I suppose I had in a way.
Side note: Bukele must have had a few unsung actors/moles when he managed to round up 80,000 brutal killers, not that I idolize him; I’m more impressed with the unsung ninja actors that made it possible.
Anyway, I’m really glad that I chose El Salvador and will probably come back next year if only for the sunshine and waves.
Leave a Reply