An opinion about a video

[Escriba]

I know it's very narcissistic, but I've just upload the first part of the documentary "The Basque Ball: the skin against the stone" and I wanted to share it with you. Here: http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZePqdA_xqk

I show you this first for my own pride: it took me a long time to get it. First, to rip the damn thing from the DVD; I don't know why but it always stopped in the minute 5:04 Then I had to write the English subtitles; I almost shoot myself here, and after all the hours I discover that the DVD comes with English subtitles Anyway, after that, I've tried to save the video, but it always occupied too much space (and when I lowered the requiements, the quality was too bad). Finally, after saving the video with the right size and all, youtube has been acting sligthly dense. Grrrr... I mean, I've been ill and I'm not entirely recovered and my computer and youtube conspire to prevent to upload this stupid video. That's unfair!

The second reason why I show the link for the video is to know if it's really interesting. I mean, I've upload it because there is people (not you, in general) that asks me about the so called "Basque conflict" and I always feel stupid and innapropriate answering all the questions, I think I sound like a pamphlet or something worse. So I've thought that this way is easier. With this video people would know things and I won't have to make silly explanations at all (am I smart or what? ) But I don't know if the documentary is interesting enough or it's just boring, so your opinion will be appreciated (I hate to work for nothing, after all). The problem with us, the Basque people, is that we think the world revolves around us and we think we are sooo interesting and special and usually, well, we aren't. And the people around the worldo usually don't care about our issues, because they have more important things to do (like washing their hair... )

[blacknblue]

think i get it. You have a cultural confrontation disguised as a political conflict. To an American, this is mournfully familiar. That part about 48% of the children born being the offspring of immigrants struck a chord in me. And then when the guy said that his nationality was French, but he was still Basque. We run into that all the time in America, during first, and sometimes even second generation immigrants. It take anywhere from one to three generations for people to stop identifying themselves with their ancestral homeland and become fully and completely American. How long it takes depends on the culture of the ancestral homeland. Y'all have got a problem that politics won't solve, and violence will only make worse. Nothing but time and intermarriage will solve this.

[Distracted]

This is fascinating. I'd like to see the rest of it. It reminds me a lot of the Cajun acculturation of the 20th century. We didn't get violent, though. We went out with a whimper rather than a bang.

[blacknblue]

Actually, you cajuns bribed your way into mainstream america with your cooking. There was no need for violence.

[Escriba]

Geee... BnB, I'm glad you're as optimistic as usual

The 48% of immigrants' kids doesn't means they feel Spanish. In fact, a part of them feel very Basque and some of them are even members of ETA. And besides, that 48% must come from the immigrant income of the 60's and 70's, because "immigrants" (Spanish not born in Basque Country) came since the last half of the XIXth century.

But anyway, I don't have to explain myself, because now I have the video. I've uploaded the second part (I don't know how many of them will be). Here: http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=hBQnaO5mj4s I've discovered a way to make the process shorter, it changes the image rate a little, but it makes my work faster, so...

It reminds me a lot of the Cajun acculturation of the 20th century. We didn't get violent, though. We went out with a whimper rather than a bang.

Like BnB says, this is an old story. You can find it in every country. That's why the idea of a Earth Unification in Star Trek sounds to me a little impossible sometimes: people always want to be and feel special, and making a universal culture means that some "diferent" cultures or sub-cultures will dissapear, and that always leads to conflict.

Actually, you cajuns bribed your way into mainstream america with your cooking. There was no need for violence.

We should test this way!

[Escriba]

Part three: http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=ulx0GcQFx7I

I wasn't going to announce it at first (I'm going to post the videos on youtube gradually, so I don't see necessary to alert everytime I do it, except if someone says otherwise), but I think I have to warn you about a few things.

- Mikel Laboa singing. Yeah, it's a traumatic experience, but I couldn't leave it out. Sorry.

- No, you're not crazy. Different historians give different versions about "Basque" History. Welcome to "creative writing of History 101". Historical facts are something that happens to other people I'm not going to say my opinion, because I don't want to influence you, but the comentary of Iulen Madariaga about "five centuries being independent and ruling ourselves" is too much even for me.

- The car flying over the roof isn't an exageration. The explosion that killed Carrero Blanco was so big that it sent the car over the roof of a nearby building.

- Just in case, I'll give you a quick recap about 20th Spanish History. There was a Republic from 1931 to 1939. However, in 1936 part of the militars (with other people involved, but it's too long to explain) rebelled agains the Government. They were called the National Side (and although inside them were a lot of different sides, it was mostly ruled by fascists). there was a Civil War sonce 1936 to 1939 and the National Side won. Franciso Franco Bahamonde became dictator and ruled Spain under a fascist regime from 1939 to 1975 (when he died of old age). From 1975 to 1978 there was a time called "The Transition" when politicians changed the regime to a democrazy. The Spanish Constitution was aproved in 1978.

If anybody has any doubt or complaint, please, tell me.