Real class, couth, style has nothing to do with money, I do so agree. But I think what AZB was trying to point out was the difficulty new 'gringo' residents have in distinguishing between those newly arrived Dominicans who have money and no drug connections from those newly arrived Dominicans who have money AND drug connections. And that the latter group could bring added risks to survival if one is in their company when something goes down.
Is that more acceptable?
those new gringos would be in the same risk to face the same problem at almost any country.
go to eastern european countries i.e. and look who is driving big cars there or drinks from the expensive bootles.
it would be the same hard to tell who made it with a drugdeal or a whorehouse on St Pauli or what ever and who just earned his money the right way and can afford to drive that car, drink that drink, pay that chic aso.
for a newcomer to a new country it will always be the same, everywhere.
and there's only one way to find out the differences:
go and meet people, within that crowd will be good ones and bad ones, sort them out by yourself and go the way which suits yourself.
that together is named lifeexperience.
AZB meant it good bringing up the theme,
but it can not be handled in a simple post/short thread,
it's too complex.
there are goof and bad people on both sides of the border of money/lifestyle,
and they all look to the outside "the same".
i agree to the writing of a above poster who stated "the most dangerous people are the bad guys who show an average education/average behavior/with a smile to your face" aso as long as you are not operating on the other side of their "business".
and we will run into people from both sides of that border in life, at least if we travel and come around, and such happens at all countries,
nothing of it has anything to do with any color or race or such, that's BS.
i completely agree with Chola's statement about the behavior to come nack home and show the poor neighbourhood where grown up that youe/me/he/someone has made it good and right, throwing the bucks around on such is the most normal thing on the planet,
so it is also done by the people who work extra shifts as cabby drivers in NYC and in addition to that an other job while living there under poorest conditions to save all the earned money to bring it home and fulfill the dream of opening a small business at home in the barrio one day.
and such is done in all cultures/countries/races.
it called simple "life".
even if the son of a rich man with lots of money from daddy leaves his hometown to run big business on his own, and makes the bucks, he sure will on his home visit arrive at the front door with a newer model of ferrari/more expensive watch aso than his brother who works still with rich daddy at home has, to show that he made it.
so that behavior has not even much to do with lower social classes, it is present everywhere.
we just can't see it from all classes,
we see it here on the streets, yes, b/c we are ourselves present here on the streets, it's obvious and seen on daily bases,
we could not see the Ferrari driving son showing his new expensive watch to his brother, because they would not meet to do so here on the street, they would do so in their "hood" or country club to which most of us have no access to watch such scenes.
but it happens in all social classes and all countries.
it's named LIFE.
Mike