#1338 – Episode 1338: Cultural Trends, Discrimination, and the Future of Tattoos in Latin America

Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.

[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came out to play and now as I wonder Hello there all you ex-pad wannabes. I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America The show that tells you just what it's like to live work play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good the bad the ugly and the great and it's all right here. So let's get started You know the existence of the lag time thing here in Latin America is really something that ought to be studied studied in universities Would be a great master's thesis Especially when talking about first world fashions and trends that come and go up where you live, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Detroit

[00:51] Turns out it used to be by the time of trend or a fashion up in the States was already petering out almost gone That's what I'm gonna finally hit down here in Latin America It would run a couple years and Peter out down here too But well after it had run its course up by you Of course when the iPhone came and the internet kicked in at turbo speed around 2008 2010 that did tend to reduce lag time quite a bit because now everyone was connected Once all Latinos here in Latin America got on what's up with their buddies and illegal relatives up in the States They got to see first world trends as they were developing but still lag time persists For example a few years back given a few months back. You heard me talk about the ass crack pants phenomena here in Latin America

[01:41] You know copying their favorite chipper brains rappers and regga toneros by wearing their pants well below their ass crack Of course, we all know ice cream was an expats Anyway, that phenomena began up in the US prison system many years ago as an advertisement for sexual availability as crude and disgusting as that sounds Funny too how that revolting habit got started in the States with ghetto gangsters and rappers and their moronic videos who? Ironically were the most toxic Lee macho batch of homophobic fools you could imagine It really doesn't make sense how that fad caught on anyway a year or so later It started catching on down here in Latin America, too, and man did it catch on I remember doing a remodeling job about a year and a half ago and half the construction crew had their pants at half mast

[02:32] But not they had man the foreman who had slightly more class than that. I don't know why he tolerated I'd never let that fly if I was the boss speaking of class. Here's another thing I noticed I've been to lots of resorts They can be fun for a couple of days when you need a break and you want to be pampered One thing I've noticed over the past couple of years as this ass crack pants thing faded in and out Somehow nearly all the resort clients knew better. I never saw anyone pull that stunt Not any of the paying customers anyway Though I do remember seeing some delivery guys bringing in food ice and water Sporting that look but never the clients. It's strictly a low culture. No class thing Oh, and here's another example how first world fads are affected by third world lag time

[03:19] Do you remember a couple years back when that big ugly headphone fad reared its ugly head for a while a short while It was a big thing. I guess it took off in the first world. Maybe five or so years ago Obviously not everyone was in on the fad just young adults and adolescents who wanted to look cool And those big ugly earmuff headphones weren't cheap either That is until the Chinese started cloning them to wear those things must have been very uncomfortable Often the price you pay for the coolness factor, right ask any girl who wears high heels Yep, I've been told those big old earphones were often quite sweaty Most especially when the fad hit down here in Latin America We're talking about the tropics and with a bunch of foam rubber and plastic clamped to your head the Sun Baking down at 80 or 90 degrees. Well, let me tell you after five or ten minutes of that

[04:08] Those things were very short on comfort, but they did look cool. At least the guy wearing a thought so that was the point, right? Now after that fad kind of peaked and sort of faded away in the States That's when they started appearing down here mostly with groups of cool kids children of the rich in upscale shopping centers And then you'd start seeing them less and less and these days almost not at all So then where are those big-ass earmuff headphones now? I'm not seeing them down here in Latin America anymore Where are they now in the closet with the dusty exercise equipment stuffed deep down in the junk drawer, maybe? Oh, and here's another thing I've noticed when you're in a really high-end Latin American mall. Yep That's right. There are some very high-end malls here in Latin America Who'd a thunk though? I know most Americans who haven't been to the third world haven't been to Latin America

[04:58] They think almost all Latin American establishments are rough around the edges and kind of scruffy and dirty Except of course where gringles have flooded in like Costa Rica and Cancun Most Americans who've not been outside the country think all of Latin America's kind of run down scruffy and dirty Well, you'd be completely wrong about that because every small medium and large Latin American city has its own Very high-end residential and business districts and that includes very high-end malls Funny thing too this you'll notice yourself if you're paying attention The nicer the mall and the nicer and more expensive your hotel is and that includes high-end resorts, too The less tattoos and ink you'll see on people and that includes the clients and the employees

[05:45] Funny how down here in Latin America the more elegant and classy of places the fewer tattoos you're gonna see Now that's not to say people don't have tattoos lots of tattooed guys and gals have dough So why wouldn't they go to places like that? Well, they do But in visiting those places, it does seem to bear out the hypothesis more money more class Less ink and the tats you do see are more delicate than tasteful Now you might wonder do employers here in Latin America discriminate against people with tats or things like nose rings lip lugs Crazy haircuts green hair stuff like that Well, just know they have labor laws and anti-discrimination laws Just like up in the states, but only a certain few are enforced And since in some if not most Latin American countries 30 even 40 percent of labor forces off the books

[06:33] That means they're getting paid in cash So they're not in the social security system and seem to prefer it that way and those are official government statistics So governments are well aware of that and believe me, they'd love to get those guys on the books That way they could get their monthly tax bite, which they don't get from people who get paid in cash So think of it this way if a third of the workforce in a country openly defy the country's labor laws Often working illegally right outside of and on the stairs of government buildings With latin governments knowing it's right in their faces and they can't do a thing about it How could they ever be expected to enforce labor discrimination laws? Please give me a break. In fact, if you look at any of the big latin american newspaper

[07:19] classified ads the one ads You'll see companies in their ads violating labor laws all the time. No one questions it and they get away with it, too I've seen job wanted ads where they give the range of the age they want in their job applicants That's pure and in your face age discrimination, but it gets worse They've even got minimum height and even body style requirements in their help wanted ads if you can believe that Now they're slightly diplomatic about the way they phrase things. For example, they don't say No fat or obese people need apply. They'll say something like minimum height 1.5 meters possessing at least a high school diploma must have a driver's license and Delgada delgada means thin Now if you don't believe what i'm telling you here

[08:06] You don't believe they could get away with that send me an email the expat files at gmail.com And i'll send you a couple of classified help wanted ads that would get a us employer in deep shit But remember they'll be in spanish A couple of weeks ago. I got this email on basically the same thing. It's from connie. She says johnny It's 100 legal in the u.s for an employer to discriminate against prospective employees who have tattoos face piercings and pink and green hair Connie says there are no such protections provided in the constitution though. There are social consequences for sure And though you might think the government would call that discrimination Think of the military as woke as it has become you'll never see a military recruit sporting pink hair or face piercings

[08:55] She says by the way johnny in some u.s states religious tats cannot be used to discriminate against a prospective employee unless they're above the neckline Hmm connie, is that really true? So folks remember that if you're thinking about getting a full body last supper tattoo So anyway connie goes out to say and I don't know whether connie's a guy or a gal. I think a gal I knew a guy back in chicago name was connie short for constantine constantine clavicus bowhunk Anyway, he or she says I have a company with about 75 employees Now I can't say this about tattooed people But i've yet to meet a person with green blue or bright colored Asymmetrical hair that isn't an idiot A few years ago when that fad first arrived. I gave a few of them a chance

[09:44] I hired him and so far very weird haired people have not worked out for me She says I had two of them at my front desk No, and not at the same time. I wasn't that bold and I started getting anonymous customer service complaints on my website One of them said your employees represent you the employer If your employees look like clowns your employer will appear to be a clown too Johnny that hurt Another comment said it's hard to talk to a person with pink hair and think you're in a professional establishment Anyhow johnny that kind of feedback. I don't need as for heavily tattooed people at your sales desk She says if you're selling to the general public You will have competition and a portion of the market will always have a negative attitude about tats which will hurt your sales

[10:32] Though it's nice to be a liberal employer and go with the flow it will hurt your sales and you'll never know how much She says just ask yourself would a person with very visible tats be taken seriously by managers vps or other execs of a given corporation I have a friend who's a ceo of a very large corporation with a few thousand employees He says he won't hire a contractor for his own personal home repairs who have visible tats The reason he says is he questions their judgment He says I realize tats don't automatically mean a person can't do a good job Or use good judgment when performing their job But poor judgment doesn't usually begin and end with just tats the number and quality of tats reflects their thought processes and maturity

[11:21] At the end of the day. They're saying look at me i'm different and I want everybody to know it a sign of insecurity Then she says by the way johnny my brother-in-law has multiple tats one day we got into a discussion about it Obviously, he didn't like my views Now he just bought a brand new white masta suv. I said, why don't you have some artwork and some bible sayings painted on your car Of course, you'd never do that And if you saw anyone else do that to his brand new suv, you'd think there was a little bit of a screw looser He wanted everyone to know he was slightly different. Anyway, johnny loved the show. I'm too young To get out of dodge right now, but I am laying down plans for the future All right connie. Thanks for that And what you said to your brother-in-law about inking up a brand new car and what kind of impression that would make on people

[12:11] Reminded me of the hippie days when someone would pull up next year in a vw bus with a keep on trucking guy Stenciled on the side. Let me tell you back then a guy like that get completely stereotyped You could pretty much figure exactly what kind of guy was at the wheel Zigzags in the glove box roaches in the ashtray and a cheech and chong tape in the eight track By the way, there is light at the end of the tunnel on this tattoo dilemma Better living through modern chemistry as they say turns out there are some well-funded chemists working on a tattoo ink that could be rendered Colorless switched on and off using what looks like a uv light wand In other words, they've perfected or nearly perfected a technique Where you could turn your tattoos on and off

[12:59] at will Wouldn't that be revolutionary? You know, like how invisible ink only shows up under certain light conditions Anyway, when this thing's perfected and it hits the market There'll be billions to be made Can you imagine how huge that market will be every teenage kid whose parents would have hit the roof? If he'd come home with a tat we'll be chomping on the bit saving his nickels to get some of that action He could have a third eye tattooed on his forehead and his parents would never know By the way, according to the folks who are developing this they're saying the wand and the frequency etc to activate and deactivate a tattoo Might not be available to the public. In other words could be a hibuck or fda restricted product only available to docs and licensed tattoo joints

[13:46] So you can imagine if that technique becomes status quo Guys and gals would be lining up in front of their local tattoo parlor the day before any big job interview All right, since we're on the subject of stereotyping people discrimination, etc Comes this email from deacon deacon says dear john Young woke americans need a real lesson in racism and racial injustice and discrimination It's a lesson. They won't get from tiktok when presented with the real facts They don't like they just get more firm in their wrong-headed thinking He says if you talk to practically any young american under 25 years old They just groan with shame of what they perceive to be the intolerable racial injustice in america

[14:32] If you talk to any young college student these days, you think all the research ever done on racism Would further reinforce the idea that the usa is where it all started ground zero Speaking of truths people don't want to hear you've heard of course of the national academy of sciences They do lots of interesting studies Studies whose results lots of people don't like so they're often not well publicized. For example A study from the national academy of sciences september 2017 called the persistence of racial discrimination in hiring There's out the fact that the usa is not in fact much of a racist place at all No wonder it wasn't publicized saying things like that. It'll get you canceled in a hurry

[15:19] Anyhow, the study was a major investigation of more than 200 000 job applications in nine different first world western nations It examined how racial identity influenced the likelihood of any applicant receiving a callback from a prospective employer What it was looking for is evidence of pervasive hiring discrimination against non-white groups It found of all the nine first world countries examined France and sweden showed the gravest problems the most racism the most hiring discrimination against non-whites Turns out in those two nations france and sweden

[16:05] members of minority non-white groups all with the same qualifications and educational background as the white candidates would have to send between 70 and 94 percent more job applications than white people to receive the same number of interview callbacks So then out of the nine nations france and sweden were number one and two on the discrimination list. Who was number three? Well, it has to be the united states right nope, it was britain turns out Non-white minority groups there would have to send in 55 percent more resumes than their white competition to get a callback So as it turns out of the nine first world nations studied the usa was not number one two or three

[16:51] But number seven out of nine on the job discrimination list Well, how could that be when social media and the rest of the world? Think the us is the world's stinking smoldering pot of racism and discrimination Though coming in 7th out of nine that didn't make sense Researchers were flummoxed. Well, then they reasoned it was because u.s Major companies have to report the racial makeup of all employee positions They must report all that data to the equal employment opportunity commission while in europe There is no employment opportunity commission to report to or collect that kind of data Hmm. All right deacon. Thanks for that Though I think if every young person or woke person read that report They would as you said just dig their heels in and refuse to believe it

[17:39] I realize up in the states people only want to believe the truths. They're comfortable with Man, i'm so glad I got the hell out of dodge You know as un-pc as it sounds I have to laugh at americans who come down here and tell me how racist the american society is And if they're worth responding to or talking to I say is that because when you look at a room full of 50 tesla engineers There's only two black guys and they're both from nigeria Have you noticed that of maybe a hundred doctors or engineers up in the states 30 or even 40 percent are indian or asian? I know. I know india is asia. I say hey if you want to talk about racism I'm an engineer when it comes to the sciences. I don't get this american discrimination talk at all I tell americans who scream discrimination to visit columbia

[18:25] You know who does all the dirty work? You know who the maids gardeners and ditch diggers are the guys on a hot roof slopping down the tar? Most aren't columbians, but venezuelans who've escaped their country's tyranny Who are allowed to stay in columbia? The government looks the other way because they're cheap labor Oh, and by the way, if you've ever been to costa rica, guess who does all the dirty work there? The cleaning ladies the gardeners the roofers the ditch diggers not the costa rickens It's beneath them to do that kind of lowly work It's the nicaraguans doing the shit jobs for cash and they're glad to do it By the way, they're mostly illegals and the costa rican government looks the other way cheap labor Welcome to latin america because you see something happens in a country that's flooded with illegal immigrants. They'll do any job

[19:12] Soon enough they're doing all the shit jobs the jobs the local guys don't want to do And when the word gets around with the locals that the illegals are doing the jobs cheaper for cash It's a matter of pride and status that the local guys just won't take those jobs anymore In fact, most of the local male citizens would rather not work at all Then for example work jobs where it's well known that Undocumented illegals are filling the ranks for a local guy to take a job like that would be a big ego and status killer His friends and drinking buddies would never let him live it down I'm telling you that's life here in latin america Oh, and have you ever been to the dr? Not the tourist spots. Those are very regulated. I'm talking about the rest of the dr Take one guess who's doing all the crap jobs Haitians they're absolute second-class citizens

[20:01] They're flooding into the dr. Just like illegal latinos are flooding into the states They're everywhere and really just hanging on living a ragtag life Whether it's shining shoes or cleaning windshields on street corners The truth is I know lots of dominicans But none of them have a haitian buddy or have anything to do with haitians socially at all They just do not mix though every building and remodeling crew is just chock full of haitians Yet the foreman or the boss man is always a dominican however When a skilled craftsman has to come in like a carpenter plumber or whatever the head man's always a dominican with a box of tools And all along with a ragtag haitian helper or two For example, if a carpenter has to repaint a door You'll have a haitian helper strip the old paint off with a toxic stripper. No masks

[20:50] No gloves, no protection and when he's done his boss the dominican carpenter will mosey on in and do the finish work Yep, that's right. Every skilled craftsman in the dominican republic has a ragtag sometimes even barefoot haitian sidekick or two Hey now i'm not saying there's anything wrong with that work is work But it has done a number on the dominican male work ethic Like in most of latin america the women are really the motors behind society. They're the workers I've said it before but if you don't believe me just go online and look up any latin american university graduation class Just look at the names and the photo You'll see the graduating class is made of 70 80 even 90 women And note during the day in any latin american city if you're walking around Middle or lower middle class part of town just take note of how many males I mean adult males

[21:38] Even boys in their late teens just hanging around seemingly doing nothing playing board games Sometimes shooting the breeze or just doing nothing Not menacing or evil in any way just not doing much You almost never see women doing that They're always set up in some kind of stall selling something cooking up or putting together things They're going to sell hustling with some kind of work and at the same time They're always taking care of a couple of very young kids All right on a lighter note comes this email from sanford. He says johnny the other day I heard you're talking about shiftless kids who go off to college Graduate with some bullshit degree can't make a go of it and end up back in their parents basement or the old room They grew up in yes, johnny when I heard you talk about that It was like rubbing salt into a fresh wound

[22:23] I have one of those kids went to college changed his major three or four times ended up with a sociology degree Which is just about enough to get you an interview at a health club or starbucks Looking back. I know this might sound defeatist, but having a kid was the biggest mistake i've ever made If I could go back 35 years, I would slap the shit out of myself for even thinking about it Actually, I would have slapped the shit out of myself for all the future mistakes I would have made like being way too permissive as a parent I don't even like to think about it, but i'm one of those tortured guys whose 32 year old kid still lives in the basement Dividing his time between video games and porno. Yes, john. Some people should never have kids

[23:09] some people like me And get this johnny. My son knows I want to get the hell out of dodge I want to get my plan b going my son. He's totally on board with that He says he'd like to come down with me as long as there's a really good internet connection and I said no way So here's the dilemma. He says all right, then i'll stay here Just give me the house But my plan was to sell the house use that money and move down to latin america My house is paid for it's my nest egg So you see johnny has a catch 22 I could sell the house move down to latin america with my son. It would be terrible a disaster I'm sure or I can let him have the house. He'll stay up in the states and I can move down completely broke

[23:54] I won't be eligible for my pension for four years and social security a couple years after that So I'd have no income. I'll catch 22 all the way. What do you think john? Should I just od on fentanyl and get it over with? Signed sanford always an expat wannabe All right, sanford. Thanks for that Now I know you probably heard this a hundred times, but you should just kick the slug out Yeah, I haven't mentioned whether or not he's got a mother to crawl back to you know live in her basement sounds to me It's just you and your kid and about often yourself with fentanyl not a good idea Hey, if you get lucky, maybe he'll take it, but really sounds like you've created a monster there I don't know what I would do if I was in your shoes You're sure right about one thing though. Some people should never have kids

[24:41] Hey, how about a little boots on the ground story Speaking of all inclusive resorts a couple of weeks ago. I was at one of those things Now if you've ever been to one of those places, you'll know at around 10 o'clock every night a disco opens somewhere And everyone under 40 packs into the place people really get loose because drinks are free This time I was sitting right next to the dance floor and I noticed Everyone on the dance floor had their cell phone either in their hand while they were dancing or in the nearest pocket ready to whip Now one thing about these all inclusive resorts They're almost always on the gringo tourist trail because gringos can afford them Their target marketing is to gringos and i'd say at this resort about half the people there were americans canadians and europeans And the other half wealthy or well-to-do latinos from all over latin america brazil chile panama guatemala

[25:30] And a lot of them had their young entitled teenage and young adult kids with them, too And I noticed there was a big table of 20 something gringa girls who came to the resort I guess as a group no guys allowed who knows maybe a bunch of girls who worked at the same place Anyway, they were getting drunk and dancing with each other till a bunch of young latin guys came by and started dancing with them And then those girls went into a kind of a dance routine They must have practiced up pretty good before they came down, you know, you do choreography and all that They were the only ones out on the floor for a while They thought they were hot shit that is until about four or five 18 to 25 year old latinas got on the dance floor And they just took dance into another level those gringas who thought they were the queens of the dance floor Did not like it one bit those young latinas wiped the floor with them

[26:18] If you could have seen the hateful looks on those gringa girls faces to me, it was worth 10 times the price of admission Speaking of parties, you know, I wonder in 10 or 20 years if we're all still around You know how you get invited to theme parties i'm wondering if in the future it'll be popular to have covid theme parties Now hear me out, you know, you'll walk in they give you a mask. They squirt some hand goop on you Social distancing tape all along the dance floor on each table a bowl of fake remdesivir They'll hand out gloves face shields shots two different kinds, you know liquor shots and injections I wonder how long in the future it'll take for us to forget the lunacy of the lockdowns and covid Because you know people become nostalgic for the strangest things for schools. They hated people. They never liked

[27:07] Events that people didn't even enjoy Some guys are nostalgic for war and battle x cons for prison I wonder if they'll ever come a day when normal people not sociopathic liars like falsie actually become nostalgic for the covid days Well, we'll see because someone someday well into the future is going to have a covid theme party Who knows could be a fun in a sort of twisted sinister way You've been listening to the expat files living in latin america If you need some help with your own plan b we can schedule a one-on-one phone or skype consult Just send me an email the expat files at gmail.com And if you want to get on the waiting list for my next week-long expat insider seminar in central america Where you're guaranteed to get a two to five year head start on your plan b. Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com