Posted by farid from customer-148-233-78-77.uninet.net.mx (148.233.78.77) on Monday, June 09, 2003 at 5:59PM :
Down here you can be guilty of defamation for telling the truth about someone. In the States "absolute truth" is the single best defence against any charge of defamation.
That means that had Jackie and I had our dust up down here, and had I refered to her by any of the terms I used up there...I would be guilty of defaming the bitch, the truth notwithstanding.
In other words, in Mexico, Jackie can be a liar, a cheat, someone who squeezes sexual favors from your fruits and all the other things sheīs done...and I couldnīt say a word about it publicly...whereas in the States I can call her every name she so richly deserves and worked damn hard to earn...and she canīt do a thing about it.
If I call Jackie a "fucking bitch" in the States...all I have to prove is that she is, a. A bitch and that, b. She fucks...no matter how infrequently...judging by Lincolnīs demeanor and his grabbing anything that moves. See, now how do I know Lincoln "grabs" female things? Because Iīve been told so by some who have been...ask me.
I admire the Mexican way for some things. They believe a great deal in Honor...Family Honor especially. Someone may be an avowed crook...but still that man or woman is entitled to some respect...if nothing else than for his familyīs sake...for the honor of their "name". That strikes me as very Old World and very Spanish.
We gringos on the other hand come from the British tradition where editorials in newpapers regularly dragged people through the mud...and left them there. The presumption was that to expose a thief as a thief would lead to more honesty, or at least fear, in the general population. I donīt think itīs worked but thank GOD itīs the way it is up there because the next ten Jackies might think a bit before they rush off to do their dirt, confident that a compliant lawyer with a huge moving bill will be at their service to "fix" things.
-- farid
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