I can't believe some folks still don't have a clue of what we are talking about here.
All you folks who live outside of DR, please shut up and read and learn.
All motoconcho loving expats, please stop and listen.
This is really a very simple concept.
Here it goes, please open up the brain and eyes and just try to use your own brain here for once. I know we have many TV talk shows where (so called) experts think for you, but I guarantee you all that no one will get a brain tumor if you just stop and listen and use your own minds for once.
Chip is not talking about elite class or the ruling class. Since he is around gomeros and motoconchos and colmado folks (not to mention) his in-laws who call him culito, hahahaha, he thinks anyone else above that group is elite; but in reality he is talking about simply the middle class or upper middle class. The folks who have worked hard to get this far and try to maintain a lifestyle where a certain elements of society will not come in to interfere with their standard of living. Just like in USA and all over the world.
Chip is going against the grain and does what romans are not supposed to do when in rome. Why chip should be any different than any other gringo here? I see gringo take barrio trashy girls who are 1 step away from a hooker to fancy restaurants in santiago and have them sit next to damas (ladies). This is totally a no no yet the gringo never seems to figure out that his woman is totally out of the league with the rest of the crowd. Sadly this happens everyday here. So chip is doing the same, taking his innocent little daughter in a motorbike in poorly dressed fashion to school where the majority of kids are driven in late model cars and suvs. Is this fair to his little daughter? Who's fault is it that the daughter has to keep her head low in her class rooms when other kids poke fun at her? Its the dad's inability to understand the culture and customs around him.
Now Drob, I didn't hang out with president clinton's kids in USA and I certainly don't do that here. I didn't eat in Kennedy's house in USA so I certainly can't do the same here with the ruling class of this country. What I did do was socialize with lawyers, doctors, business men and other educated middle to upper middle class folks in NYC and atlanta. I do just that here.
My friend who drives a late model SUV is a engineer and also a professor in a University in santiago. He is not from the elite ruling class. Most middle to upper middle class folks in santiago have late model cars which cost about 50% more here than USA and live in nice areas, example: ceros de gurabo, villa Olga, los jardines.
If you compare them to gomeros (tire fixers) or motoconchos and campo folks (country folks) then yes, they would seem like the elite class. hahahahaha
This is not so much about the color of your skin or your blue passport that open up doors for you in this country. You have to follow the society rules and obey the customs and have the capacity to see this country with the eyes of dominicans, not with american or european mindset.
If you foreigners think you are educated and high class in your own country and then you come here and marry the woman who was cleaning your bathroom in the hotel where you were staying, or the first girl you met in a bar and fell in love with her and married her, then you may think you have found a good girl but you will not fool the dominicans who live here and know her type. To them, she will always be a ghetto trash. This is the way things are here and there is no way you will change it. This is the only reason why so many people (dr1ers) defend the poor and desperate folks who live on this island. Why? Because they are almost all either married to, dating or coming from this sort of background. Notice almost all Dr1 folks start out with, "my wife is coming from a very poor village, poor barrio, from village in moca, san jose de las matas, cotui etc etc. Notice the gringos always ask for direction to areas like cien fuego, monte rico, buenos aires etc etc. These are all dangerous ghettos in santiago and almost all the folks are dating girls from there. No wonder so many Dominicans who grew up in USA defend the same types of poor folks here. Why? They are all also from the same ghettos in DR.
This is why they hate the educated middle class folks who live better than they do in USA. This is why they call them elite too because to them, they are the elite class as compared to their own families who still live in ghettos.
You will not hear the middle to upper middle class folks in santiago complaining about the same issues here. You will not hear Robert in SD complaining about the same issues or other decent expats who have learned the ins and outs of this island. You will not hear Ricardo900 complaining about such issues in santiago. Mind you Ricardo900 is african american young man and as we speak, he is being driven around in a late model SUV by a sweet rubia (blondy) from santiago who owns her own fancy apartment and has visa to go anywhere. Is he complaining about racism here? I think he was smart enough to open up his eyes and learn the rules of the society only to make his trips more enjoyable here than the many who are still clueless.
So folks, there are no elite folks in questions here. Chip is simply having hard time interacting with the middle class. Imagine if he were to be in presence of the elites of this country. Hahahahaha
Oh yeah, I know he will throw in the Golf spin here.
The middle class to upper middle class to even rich folks are not animals, in fact, they are some of the nicest folks on this island. They talk to everyone and anyone when they have to. They will talk to chip even if he comes on his motorcycle. They will laugh at his accent and politely tell him he talks like cibaeno. Hell, they will even talk like him to make him feel better. But chip, this is only as far as you will go if you refuse to respect the rules of the society here.
have a nice day.
AZB