Madrid is a city where life happens publicly and very visibly to all because you are always en la calle. People check you out and decide what your deal is immediately. Are you a student, a foreigner, what kind of foreigner?, a business type, pijo (yuppie), nice old lady, etc..
It is difficult to hide who and what you are, or at least it’s hard to prevent people from judging you immediately from the available information. Take one innocent pastime – reading your newspaper with a café con leche in a bar. Sounds simple enough. However, which newspaper are you reading?
Newspapers in Spain have clear political leanings. You know what you are getting when you buy a particular newspaper, Left or Right. You basically know what that newspaper’s take is going to be on the major issues, and whom they don’t like. In the U.S., newspapers are supposed to be objective and not take a political side (except in the editorial pages). How successful they are at this is another story.
Back to Spain. I don’t know about you, but when I buy a newspaper in Madrid there seems to be some kind of invisible force willing me to conform to the socially acceptable position in Madrid. And that means buying the left-leaning El Pais. Maybe it's my imagination, but I am embarrassed to buy, and to show publicly, a conservative leaning newspaper like ABC. Am I nuts? It seems like I would be announcing to the world what a horrible Fascist I am.... The chicks would not dig it.
My solution? I’ve decided to keep them guessing. Now I always buy both the Left-leaning El Pais, and the Right-leaning ABC. This way I hope to end up right in the middle where I belong. And people can just guess what my politics are – like it’s supposed to be.
12 comments:
hmmmm, considering madrid definitely leans way right, i don't know why you say you feel guilty for buying ABC. i've heard of people getting nasty looks for reading el país!
Well, I guess you made my point. You can be judged on your newspaper choice. Your politics are assumed.
yes, yes. but don't mistake madrid for a leftist city! far from it!
Katie, Thanks for coming by the way.
I think it also depends on which barrio you hang out in. I don't get up to Salamanca, or even Moncloa too often. I am down in the trenches in Tirso de Molina / Lavapies / Rastro.
Se nota que no sabes quien ha ganado las elecciones en esos barrios, Carl.
Aunque empiezo a pensar que este blog no es mas que publicidad de El Pais para que gente de habla inglesa lo compre
You're right, anonymous. I don't know how each Barrio voted. I will find out now though.
Of course, I do know that Madrid votes PP. But why is it that I get the impression that it is not politically correct to admit it (if you do support PP?) Maybe it's my imagination...
The point to this post is simply that it is interesting how your choice of newspaper announces your politics to everyone - that's all.
About El Pais. I don't know how you would get the impression that I like El Pais. To tell you the truth, I was starting to feel badly about always talking crap about them.. and tried to find something positive to say about El Roto.
The reason I dislike El Pais is not really the politics, it's more the constant anti-Americanism.
Ummm, does Madrid lean right? I don't think so.
It's very simple: the majority of Madrid's citizens believe the local PP has done well in the town hall and in the Comunidad de Madrid recently. On the other hand, the local PSOE has been a disaster, involved in many scandals.
That has nothing to do with being conservative or not, that has to do with who you believe will manage public resources in an effective way.
Madrid has voted for the PSOE in the past, and will do it again sooner or later in the future. They will probably win the next local election, why? , because local PP is right now involved in a self-destructing fight between the the hardcore-far-right Esperanza Aguirre and our very liberal mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon. People will punish them for that, most likely.
Regarding the EL Pais anti-americanism, Carl, I can't see it, honestly. El Pais is, certainly, anti-Bush, anti Iraq war,etc, but anti-american? I don't think so.
People getting nasty looks for reading El Pais?????????? Honestly Katie, come on! Perhaps some old lady in Salamanca neighborhood could do that, but that's all. You can't just judge a city of 6 million by the opinions of its upper social layer. Go to Alcorcon, Getafe, Leganés, to Tetuán, Carabanchel, Latina or Lavapies and you will get a very different impression.
Regards to everybody and sorry for the rant, it's very interesting to see how different people can get different impresions depending on our respective experiences.
Un saludo.
Hi Roberto,
Admittedly, I am more sensitive to, shall we say, misinformation and negative reporting about the US. Is this type of reporting anti-Americanism? Well, when it is constantly negative about all aspects of American society, not just the war, I’m afraid it does seem like it to me.
I guess this is because I view the world through a perspective unique to my experiences (as an Americano reading Spanish press) - like you mentioned.
To be honest Carl, the Prisa Media Group (El Pais newspaper, Cuatro TV, La Ser radio station) are indeed anti-conservative and anti-ultraliberal. The conservatives in America are always a good scapegoat. Mr Bush is viewed that way here. An example of the "evils" that could be coming to Spain if the PP wins too many elections. So, yes, they have their agenda, but, who doesn't?
Un saludo.
I read El País because I find it to have strong writing on matters other that politics. The arts section is vastly superior to any other Spanish daily that I have read. Here in Valencia I read Levante (which is more left-leaning than its rival), once again, because it´s a better newspaper. The Washington Times is far-right and horrible while the Post is one of the finest papers in circulation. I don´t agree with conservatives who say that The New York Times is liberal, but it should be on every person´s (daily) reading list.
This is the chicken or the egg paradox. Am I liberal because I read what I think are the best publications, or do I think these publications are good because I am a liberal? Compare the quality of America´s liberal press (The New Yorker, Harper´s, The Atlantic Monthly) with our conservative publications (National Review, The American Standard). I will stand behind the quality of what I read.
I was just thinking that Spain dwellers could be very confused by all this Liberal talk. In Spain, "Liberal" means something like "Libertarian" or really "conservative" to us. So "Liberal" = PP. So what is our "Liberal" to them? I guess "progresivo"..
Help me out Roberto!
It would be "Progresista"
Yep Carl, "liberal" is one of the many words that don't mean exactly the same on this side of the Atlantic.
The two big parties in Spain are a kind of mix of several "internal tendencies":
PSOE=social-democrat. progressive, labourist
PP=conservative, liberal, catholic, far-right
Hope it clarifies something...
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