Argentina Lingering Questions
I read the Byline story on Argentina and the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo and found that the Comment option wasn't working so I am going to say a few things here.
I started traveling to Argentina in the early 70s as a child and have been back many times since. I remember in the early 70s, a time when I was too young to be anything but curious about life in general, that there was a sense of excitement about the future of the country and people were out and about seeming to be enjoying life. Yes, I was primarily seeing the middle-upper classes, but my point in mentioning this is that by the mid-late 70s I was noticing a big difference.
At this point I was an American teenager who was used to being able to talk about anything I wanted to and ask anything I wanted to. I remember the sense of fear when I asked about politics and how strongly the person driving the car reacted when I innocently stuck my tourist camera out the window to take a picture of the Presidential Palace. No explanation - just NO and HIDE THAT CAMERA NOW. And I remember how the military police with machine guns stopped cars randomly and would quiz everyone about who was in the car, why, where they were going and demanded the driver to show papers. When I asked about it I received answers that were not exactly true (understanding Spanish I knew this, although I had by then learned not to pursue the topic further)
In the 80s I asked questions about the military years of the 70s and people were still unwilling to talk about it. There was a lot of downplaying of events, and a reluctance to engage in conversation even in the privacy of the home.
In the 90s I found a book in a used bookstore in Washington DC written by one of the military generals, defending all the actions of the 70s government and military. It was after reading this book that I asked questions again, on my next trip. When I pressed a bit, I was told how the government did what it did in order to fight the Communists. End of conversation. The people I spoke to were good people, well educated people, so I doubt that ignorance was behind their comments.
The last time I was there, just a few years ago, the topic of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo and the events of the 70s was "old history". I have my own ideas about why people even today don't want to talk about this piece of history. But mostly I wonder if there is still a reason that they might be afraid? Do I need to worry for them?
I also agree with this article and appreciate your sharing your introspection. In my own field, computing/technology, when it comes to social issues there is so often a focus on the negative. What can go wrong, how technology is or could be abused. It paints a skewed picture and can be depressing. A few years ago I decided that, although not minimizing any of the documented negative stories, it was important to start documenting the other side: how computing can and is being used for good, for social and environmental change, and to encourage people considering entering this field (I'm an educator among other things)to actively seek out ways to use computer science for good. There is a lot more positive action going on out there than the media talks about.
This led me to write a book about socially beneficial uses of computing (due out this year) and to create a blog to discuss related issues. And although my freelance writing will continue to cover issues along the spectrum of positive-not so positive issues, I am always on the lookout for how even a "negative" story can be used in some positive way.
- Lisa
Posted by Lisa Kacz | March 12, 2011 11:23 AM
This comes at an interesting time for me as well, as I recently left a financially secure but not happy job. I know what I love and am working on how to make it all work. I had and still have the same question that came up in the interview, which is about how people survive who do not have a significant sum of money or access to it, and who do not have family resources to draw on. It does seem to me like a middle class option (I won't use the word phenomenon)because it is extremely challenging without those resources. I have never met anyone who left without a solid safety net of some sort available should they need it. Being in that category of not having that safety net, I guess I'll close by saying that I want to read the book, but I will have to wait until it arrives in the library.
Posted by Lisa Kacz | April 16, 2010 6:12 PM
I have heard about this before recently. What is leaves me wondering is: is there a way to easily determine whether the eggs (for ex) sold in my local store are truly "cruelty free" or whatever label they put on them? I compare this to what you can do in the produce section: if a fruit or vegetable isn't labeled with where it was grown, you can ask the produce section worker and if they don't know or seem to be guessing, you can ask them to go in the back and find out for sure. It annoys some of them quite a bit, but do it enough and I've noticed that things start getting labeled more consistently. Is there an equivalent way to get similar info for meat/dairy?
Posted by Lisa Kacz | January 29, 2010 8:43 PM
Thanks for the lengthy comment. When some of my friends read the article, they started a lengthy email discussion about whether or not they thought this case was "typical". (I suggested they post it here, but they didn't). They are in the hi-tech industry themselves, and each has had to make similar sacrifices - so I found it interesting that they still wanted to consider to what degree this case was an isolated one. It makes me wonder why sometimes we still have trouble seeing the bigger patterns even when we ourselves are experiencing them.
Posted by Lisa Kacz | July 22, 2009 4:44 PM