A New Low in Guate

Jesus, I'm speechless.

ugh this makes me so mad!
i just feel, i wish there was something i could do to help.

Oh I so like Norm's response! Nothing makes a parent madder than fear for a child. And it never changes, even after they're fully grown.

Here's another thought as to the source. Were the two kids in approximately the same area of the field when they were hit? If so, it might narrow the possibilities of source location.

Larry

There are crazy people no matter where you live, that being said, I never thought it was a good idea being out of a gated community, Most new homes in Guate are gated.
I hope the family is O.K. and I hope you catch this jerk.

Mike

The huge target on your back was because you were a foreigner and not because you are white. Not everything is about race.

Larry, they were all within the same 15' radius, so yeah, it narrows things down but not to just one house.

Back in the day, I used to know a general or two — an extreme solution. But certainly I'd be that mad. Of the ideas here, I'd go with speaking with neighbors and geting some police help off the clock. It'd be a pain to move, but you may have to if you can't resolve this.

My guess is your kids have learnt well from their parent and treat the neighborhood kids with arrogance and disdain and are only getting what they disserve. You're a fool for thinking you can treat people like their your slaves and then laugh about it on your website and not suffer the consequence. You can tell yourself its your skin color they hate but its you becase your a jerk.

Great idea Norm____1. Place a stake in the middle of the paddock__2. Get a string about 6 meters long and tie one end to the stake__3. Tie the other end to the 2 year old kid__4. Everybody hide and wait for the predator__5. Wait till the predator gets really close and starts actually hurting the child__6. Take action____Have I got that right Norm?

Wow Mark, this is terrible. It is absolutely cowardly to target children. There seems to be something more behind this than just off-the-cuff resentment, but be it as it may, it is no excuse to target kids. I am not sure it is another kid and if it is, that kid needs to be taught a lesson. Seriously. My son used to spend some of his summers vacations here and though his Spanish is very halting and deeply-marked with an American accent, and he was taller than most of the other kids, he always had a great experience with the other kids. They were very welcoming, but this was in the capital city, perhaps Antigua is another story. Maybe you all should hire private security or else, move to another complex. That baby could have been seriously hurt! As a parent, I would have been scared and furious too.

Does this mean that vacationers from Costa Rica are treated the same as vacationers from the States? When you're in a country with a different ethnic balance than you, your race is the big flag that screams foreigner. It doesn't always lead to rocks being thrown at you or being ripped off, but you're sticking out just the same.

Exactly. Being "white" is what makes me stand out as a foreigner. Maybe other's blend in until they open their mouths, but being white leaves no room for ambiguity. As a white foreigner I had a target on my back.

Kevin, nobody deserves to have their baby physically harmed. You are the jerk.

It's very difficult to discuss race with estadunidenses. There's racism everywhere, but it is not practiced the same everywhere. You're right, race will often mark you as a foreigner in most of Guatemala; people's assumptions will kick in, until you open your mouth. Most Costa Ricans will object to your comment as they consider themselves whites. Generally, Guatemalans treat you the way you act. If you act like a tourist, you will be treated as such. Nevertheless, Costa Ricans share a language and many traditions with Guatemalans and that will make them less "foreign" to us. They will not assume that there is something wrong with Guatemalans because they're not time for an appointment, for instance; Or, they won't assume that it was done because of their "whiteness." As I see it, racism, in the US, is seen as a type of victimhood and everyone loves to wallow in it. It's not that you are treated differently because you don't speak the language, wear shorts to church, not haggle, etc,; it because "I'm white. Easy and fatuous.

Kevin – You raise some excellent points, points that would be more credible if and when you learn how to write. Examples: 1. "disserve" = deserve. 2. Learn how and when to use homonyms such as "they're/their/there." 3. "Your" is a possessive pronoun, but "you're" is a contraction.

Carry on.

"My guess is your kids have learnt well from their parent and treat the neighborhood kids with arrogance and disdain and are only getting what they disserve. You're a fool for thinking you can treat people like their your slaves and then laugh about it on your website and not suffer the consequence. You can tell yourself its your skin color they hate but its you becase your a jerk."

So sorry to hear that. It's really sad that such racism exists.
Perhaps Xela is a better city to live in. I felt completely safe there.

I wouldn't travel by myself in Guatemala with three young kids, or any other country for that matter. Cui bono. I have no delusions about Guatemala, and it isn't for everyone.

Funny, elgordo, but I lived in Costa Rica BY MYSELF for a summer in high school and only felt "played" twice and unsafe once. (Two different men tried to marry me, but that was another matter entirely.) With butt-length blond hair, I doubt any Tico thought for a moment that I was latina, though I was taken for a native speaker by the end of my visit. Nevertheless, if anything, I noticed an extreme sense of overprotectiveness from Ticos. And rampant comments from men (I pretended to speak only German), of course–shouted out of cars, said in passing, called from windows, etc. I was never once pinched or groped, though, and I was cornered by a hustler once but otherwise not cheated.

OTOH, my MIL, native Chinese who lived in China until she was 30 but out of practice and supremely gullible, gets swindled outrageously every time she goes to China. Flagrant cheating and lying is standard business there, and there's no shame at tricking someone as long as you don't get caught.

It's not US arrogance making people behave this way but their own greedy and dishonest culture. Sometimes, it's racist (that is, many Guatemaltecos against US), and sometimes it's just overall scumminess (the average Chinese shopkeeper against anyone who isn't a highly respected regular, through enormous amounts of social jockeying and mutual mind games). Whatever the root, though, the economies of countries like these suck because they lack any sense of honesty or fair play, without which capitalism withers.

Funny, elgordo, but I lived in Costa Rica BY MYSELF for a summer in high school and only felt "played" twice and unsafe once. (Two different men tried to marry me, but that was another matter entirely.) With butt-length blond hair, I doubt any Tico thought for a moment that I was latina, though I was taken for a native speaker by the end of my visit. Nevertheless, if anything, I noticed an extreme sense of overprotectiveness from Ticos. And rampant comments from men (I pretended to speak only German), of course–shouted out of cars, said in passing, called from windows, etc. I was never once pinched or groped, though, and I was cornered by a hustler once but otherwise not cheated.

OTOH, my MIL, native Chinese who lived in China until she was 30 but out of practice and supremely gullible, gets swindled outrageously every time she goes to China. Flagrant cheating and lying is standard business there, and there's no shame at tricking someone as long as you don't get caught.

It's not US arrogance making people behave this way but their own greedy and dishonest culture. Sometimes, it's racist (that is, many Guatemaltecos against US), and sometimes it's just overall scumminess (the average Chinese shopkeeper against anyone who isn't a highly respected regular, through enormous amounts of social jockeying and mutual mind games). Whatever the root, though, the economies of countries like these suck because they lack any sense of honesty or fair play, without which capitalism withers.

I'm very interested in your experience in Xela. We're planning to head there for several months starting this fall. Wasn't aware that kids could participate in a local school.