Nobody Asked me, but . . .

* The most grossly inaccurate phrase in the English language is ?common sense?.
* The most powerful law governing human conduct? The law of unintended consequences.
* The Dominican woman is the most powerful, stabilizing & enduring element in Dominican society.
* Illegitimacy & illiteracy are the 2 most serious problems facing he United States; the American political processes seem to encourage more of both.
* Hippolito Mejia is bringing the Dominican Republic into the next century; unfortunately, the 19th Century.
* I?ve never seen a Dominican wearing a seatbelt. Never.
* Successful education of the youth is the most single most important factor for the future of the Dominican Republic.
* I?ve never seen an adult Dominican reading a book.
* The United States is the Roman Empire of the 21st Century. Like it or not.
* Wouldn?t Hippolito Mejia make an excellent guest on ?Saturday Night Live?? [a famous American TV show].

Offered for your amusement by the Caribbean Metaphysician, Dominican variety; always observing, always thinking, occasionally accurate, & never politically correct.

Enjoyed your post, but...

I disagree in two things:

>* I?ve never seen a Dominican wearing a seatbelt. Never.

That would have been true some 10 years ago. Today, fortunately many people wear seatbelts and it's growing. It's a common sight in Santo Domingo, but it's too bad not everybody else do it.

>* I?ve never seen an adult Dominican reading a book.

Well, I can't say you are wrong. I don't know what you've/haven't seen, but it is certainly true that some (again, not all unfortunately) Dominicans do read, and a lot. It all depends on what kind of circle you move in. All my Dominican friends are avid readers.

I wholly agree about the rest. Nice post, please post more often.

The always hyperopinionated,
Pib

To keep on with the book theme...
I taught at a Dominican University for a year and NONE of my students read anything! (Nor does my Dominican husband for that matter). As the daughter of a librarian and extremely avid reader, it is a hard thing for me. And books are SO expensive down there...

So WHY is it that so few Dominican adults read? I remember being in Ukraine where they sell books on the street like they sell empanandas and cigarrettes in the DR...

But I always know who is a tourist at the beach vs. a Dominican because the Dominican NEVER has a book (-:

I'd love to hear opinions from Dominicans (I've heard it from my husband and only know his own opinion on the subject).

Gracias lectores! -Santiaguera

My wife who is Dominican loves to read and so does everybody in her immediate family, but she agrees with you that it is a truism for most adult dominicans.

I was told by a number of people in the DR that when I read for 8-10 hours in a day, it could make me go crazy.

funny,sad ,ironic and true all in one. very nicely done!

If I know Juan Bosch as a writer, if i Know Zaglul, Julia Alvarez, Ram?n Aristy and... and if right now I am in the middle of La fiesta del chivo, thanks to my best FRIEND Bol?var who is 100% dominican and is living in the dominican countryside.

Where can I get a copy of La Fiesta Del Chivo?

At any book store! Or

e-mail me and I'll get you one..
HB

As usual, the mango loving PIB is pretty right on

Scattergun techniques might work in random math but when opining on a society, it tends to backfire.

Look at it like ths: Probably 95% of the households don't use reading as a normal activity. That means no dictionaries, encyclopedias, no art books, and probably just the odd copy, from 1998, of Vanidades. Fact: When I was Admissions Director for a Major University here, I read many, many Admissions Forms that asked: "What magazines do you read?" The one most cited by men (boys) and women (girls) was Vanidades!! If a kid said something like Popular Mechanics or Popular Science, I immediately sent him/her a letter of acceptance!!

However, this means that there is a 5% out there that is well read and quite knowledgeable about modern litt. In fact more and more are cropping up every day. When I can, I meet with a small group, on Mondays, in the cafe of the Librer?a Cuesta in the Nacional Supermarket, for an hour of good conversation over coffee. Next week I am taking some good fiction with me so that a friend can continue his journies in American Litt.

Remember that this 5% is about 400,000 people.

HB

Re: As usual, the mango loving PIB is pretty right

When I was in the DR in May, I was sitting in "La Galleria" of my wife's mothers house reading a book on finance. People would comment what is he doing? I have not only seen very few people read, but no one seems to read even the newspaper to be informed about everyday events. However, everyone has an opinion.

The big talk of the town at the time(as I am sure you will remember)was about the man would made love with his chiva.

Re: Enjoyed your post, but...

I have a God daughter in DR who was awarded the presidental prize for best student this young lady (13) reads books that astound me. Everytime she finishes a book she recommends it to me. See I started her on that habit, It helps that her father is a school teacher and her mother a child phycologist, and she and her sisters see them reading all the time. She has even taught herself English because she loved a English Phrase book my daughter sent her so that they can communicate better via
e-mail.

I read a book every two days on everything and anything my three daughters are avid readers, yet they have American friends who are in high school reading at a 5th grade level. What I am trying to say is yes there are a lot of uneducated dominicans and those who refuse to read for one reason or another but that holds true for any culture. I read the reports on schoold in the US and it is scary most american athlete can't read or speak properly. I grew up in the US started first grade here the education here is very different from DR it does not mean it is better it is just different. While in Santo Domingo try to talk with young adults about different topics and see how knowledgable they are about different topics. Ask an american HS student the same questions see what their responses will be

I guess what I am trying to say is you have those that do and those that don,t in every part of the world it is human nature my friends human nature. it is never fair to generalize.
I strongly recommend Julia Alvarez.

I read therefore I am...LOL LOL LOL
OH y soy DOMINICANA (una excepcion a la regla)

Re: Enjoyed your post, but...

I agree; I hate to see atheletes being interviewed by the media and all that they can say is "Well it was a team effort, we got a great bunch of guys who pulled together, ect." It seems like a predefined speech.

They are not really saying anything. But even with all their money when they come across someone like you, then they really realize how stupid they are. The sad thing is that they know it, but refuse to do anything about it, and they have all the economics to do it.

Sends a sad message to today's youth.

Reading! Cultural Capital. Not present.

Thank you for all these responses. An unusally focused & polite discussion. Thomas Sowell, an American & black economist has a theory he calls "cultural capital". In brief, every culture rewards the young for certain activitiess & discourages the young or is neutral on other actions. Reading, my my opinion, is a powerful element in a society's cultural capital. Some cultures traditionally encourage & reward reading [& superior education & achievment, closely related], Others, such as La Republica, simply ignore reading. The young watch what their elders do & imitate them. Not all Americans are readers, nor are all educated. Sad. Change is warranted, but how? Thanks again.

Lyse: I've been trying to get that book "La Fiesta del Chivo" and I have not been able to find it,not here in NY. I tryed Amazon and they dont have in stock. I've heard it is really good. What do you think? Have your read "Cronicas de un secuestro" by, Garcias Marques?

Joachim, if you get it let me know, cause I have not been able to find it.

I checked the Barnes and Noble website, they seem to have it in paperback. However, since I live in Toronto, I tried the local equivalent(Chapters, Indigo)they do not have it. I will probably order it from Barnes and Noble by credit card and wait until they deliver it.

Joachim, I think that will be your best bet. I am going to Sto. Dgo. in 2 weeks, I'll try to get it there otherwise I am going to check Barnes & Noble when I come back. Good Luck!!

Re: As usual, the mango loving PIB is pretty right

That is so not true. I dont know what kind of people you guys hang out with, but my sister lives in DR and she is an avid reader, and so are her friends and other people I know there. We call each other all the time to talk about books she reads or I read. We recommend each other books, etc. Dont generalize!!

Re: As usual, the mango loving PIB is pretty right

We can in fact infer that Dominicans read very little. I just got back from an African country which could be classified as poorer than the DR, yet my perception was that people there had a greater appreciation for reading, and books in general. That is not to imply that Dominicans are somehow "genetically" less prone to read.

There are exceptions. You yourself as well as many others. I grew up with a father who was and still is an avid reader. A huge Tolstoy reader, no less (hence my name); a very unconventional man who at 15 allowed me to read The Catcher in the Rye. That's how I really learned English, by reading tons of American literature. My favorite was To Kill A Mockingbird!!!

To the Prof, even though I am not a fan of much of Sowell's writings, I do concur with that statement. And just out of curiosity, why do you always refer to the Dominican Republic as La Republica or the Republic? Just wondering...of course ;-)

Regards,
Natasha