Author Archives: Alex Aroeste

“Swatting” on the Internet

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/24/2016
Primary Language: English

Swatting is the act of pulling a prank on another by falsely reporting serious threats such as incidences of domestic violence, shootings, and hostage situations to the police. Using altered caller IDs and voice modification devices to conceal their identity, these pranksters use these terrifying threats to mobilize police forces into entering the homes of and arresting the chosen victims.

The term “swatting” was coined by the FBI in 2008, when the phenomenon began gaining serious popularity. Typically, this prank is pulled within the online gaming community while gamers are using Twitch, a website used to livestream a gamer’s playthrough of a game to the entire world. Because these livestreams can be so popular, it has become customary to swat a gamer while he or she is using a digital camera to stream his/her face. This way, thousands of people around the world can watch as a person is aggressively arrested and charged for a horrible crime. Often, the videos recorded from these events are posted onto YouTube, where many who find the prank amusing decide to participate in it themselves.

The informant, Ian, is a 21-year-old university student who considers himself a gamer and internet enthusiast. He knew a victim of this prank in high school, and has since maintained interest in the internet phenomena. While Ian considers the act terrible, he is still fascinated by the immorality of those who partake in it. Although he sees the activity as an awful internet trend, he watches videos of it because he is intrigued by the violence surrounding it.

As someone who has grown up with the internet as its culture has become more advanced and developed, it is quite interesting to see how dark some of its aspects have become. Although the internet can be very personal, the popularity of this activity is likely a result of the lack of face to face contact between those interacting on it. When a prankster cannot physically see the long-term consequences of his or her actions, it becomes easier to commit to the act. This is probably why so many have swatted others.

More information concerning this subject can be found here: http://www.complex.com/life/2016/02/swatting-is-proof-that-the-internet-sucks-as-much-as-you-thought

Mench, Chris. “What Is Swatting, and What Does It Tell Us About the Internet’s Worst Qualities?” Complex.com. Complex, 25 Feb. 2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

Examples of this phenomenon can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiW-BVPCbZk

CrowbCat. “10 Streamers Get Swatted Live.” YouTube. YouTube, 22 Oct. 2014. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

La India Dormida – A Panamanian Legend

Nationality: Panamanian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: U.S.A.
Performance Date: 9/27/2016
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

“The youngest daughter of the chief of the native Guaymies tribe was a warrior girl. She was a simple girl who fought against the Spanish invaders. And then, she fell in love with one of the Spanish guys. So she left the tribe to visit him one day and one of the warriors of her tribe who loved her, knowing that his love was not going to be returned, killed himself by throwing himself from the top of a mountain. And then, the daughter of the chief tried not to betray her tribe, so she said no to the love of the Spanish soldier, and while crying, she got lost in the forest and laid down and died. Where she laid down and died became the mountain we know today. It is named after her and looks like her as well.”

According to the informant, the La India Dormida (translates to The Sleeping Native Woman) story is meant to explain how a famous mountain received its shape and name. It is intended to be a tragedy, as the young woman in the story was forced to abandon her true love and eventually ended up dying alone. The mountain is nearby an important highway in Panama, so many Panamanians see it often and are quite familiar with it.

The informant, Jonathan Castro, is a 21-year-old student from Panama. Because until recently, he had spent his entrie life in Panama, he believes that he is well informed in Panamanian folklore. Jonathan explains that because he drove by the mountain so many times as a child, his curiousity about it eventually compelled him to ask his mother about it during a car ride. It is then that she told him the story of the mountain and the tragedy behind it. To Jonathan, the story is a peek into what life was like for the native Panamanians during the Spanish invasion. It was clearly a difficult period for them, and this story only reflects their hardship.

In the United States, it is uncommon for the general public to hear tradtional creation stories about how our nation’s natural formations were made. This contrasts drastically from Panama, where stories like this are much more common. Although it is difficult to say why this difference exists, a likely explanation concerns the American emphasis on science and the reasoning derived from it. The average American would probably look at the mountain and try to find a scientific reason for why the mountain is shaped in such an interesting way. This doesn’t appear to be the case in Panama, however, as people seem to have the need to have an explanation for the shape that comes in narrative form.

La Tulivieja – A Panamanian Demon/Monster

Nationality: Panamanian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: U.S.A.
Performance Date: 9/26/2016
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

“The story is, there was this girl who was very beautiful. And she had a secret relationship with a guy in her town from which a she got pregnant and a little boy was born. Then she drowned the boy in the river to make up for her premarital relationship sin. After that, God punished her by making her the ugliest monster possible. Like, making her face like a colador (pasta strainer) where hair came out of the holes. And like her hands turned into claws, and her feet turned backwards. And she’s supposed to spend the rest of her life looking for her son in her river. The legend is that she still hounds the river looking for her son and she will take her beautiful form while sitting by it. Any noise will bring out the ugly monster, though.”

            According to the informant, this legend is so well known that is ofen reffered to in a common phrase that is used. Typically, when someone who is going out with/dating a woman suddendly discovers that she is not as charming as she once appeared, it is common to say “salio la tulivieja”, which translates to “the tulivieja emerged”. Because phrase and the meaning behind it are so popular, many young men are warned to make sure that the women they are interested in are not secretly tuliviejas.

The informant, Jonathan Castro, is a 21-year-old student from Panama. Because until recently, he had spent his entrie life in Panama, he believes that he is well informed in Panamanian folklore. Jonathan claims that because the phrase that was derived from this story is so popular, most Panamanians are familiar with the story behind it, since knowledge of the tale is necessary for the phrase to be understood and used properly. Thus, if someone does not understand the phrase, they usually end up asking someone else to explain it to them, eventually causing the story to be told. This is how Jonathan himself learned the tale. Although it can really only be used by members of the male gender, Jonathan still finds the phrase entertaining and fun to use because it is such a silly way to tell a friend that he should stay away from the girl that he is interested in seeing.

Clearly, the tale itself is prominent within it is prominent within Panamanian culture. What makes it remarkable, however, is that it has changed into something more than just a story. It has now become an expression that is often to convey a generally understood idea. The fact that this was able to occur says something interesting about folklore in general. It reveals that folkloric pieces can still maintain their original essences, even when conveyed in a different form. Thus, because the original tale is still eventually being told, there should be no fear that the story is being lost.

Keyn eyn-hore and Wearing Blue

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 71
Occupation: Teacher
Residence: Mexico
Performance Date: 9/25/2016
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English, Yiddish

According to the informant, it is traditional for young newborns to wear clothing and accessories that have the color blue on them for about the first two years of their lives. The idea is that by wearing blue, the weak and helpless infants would be protected from the evil eye, which in Yiddish is known as keyn eyn-hore. This blue protection can come in many forms, including blue clothing and blue jewelry.

The informant, Reyna Babani, is a 71-year-old Mexican Jew who lives in Mexico City. Because she grew up in such a close-knit community, Reyna considers herself an expert on Jewish culture. Although she does not remember who taught this idea to her or when it was learned, she claims that it is a staple of Yiddish culture because everyone she know participated in it. She enjoys this tradition because it helps her feel that the newborn children are safe, especially since they are at such a vulnerable stage in their lives. She also acknowledges that other colors, like red, have been known to work in the past.

What is strange about this tradition is that the color blue has been chosen out of all of the colors that humans can see. Why was blue chosen to protect these children? Why is red not used universally? What other colors are used around the world for a similar purpose? These are questions that would be quite interesting to research.

For more research on the evil eye and Judaism, look here: Brav, Aaron. “The evil eye among the Hebrews.” The Evil Eye: A Casebook 2 (1981): 44-54.

“It is better to have tuchus than sechel” – Yiddish Phrase

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 71
Occupation: Teacher
Residence: Mexican
Performance Date: 9/25/2016
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English, Yiddish

“Es mejor tener tuchus que sechel”

Phonetics: “Ez meˈxoɾ teˈneɾ ˈtuʧus ke seˈʧel”

Translation: It is better to have a bottom (understood as persistence) than a brain.

This phrase combines two Yiddish words with the Spanish language. Because it was understood that having a bottom implied being persistence and that having a brain implied being intelligent, this proverb implies that it is better to be persistent than to be smart. It is often said by a wise adult after witnessing another struggling to complete his or her work.

The informant, Reyna Babani, is a 71-year-old Mexican Jew who lives in Mexico City. Because she grew up in such a close-knit community, Reyna considers herself an expert on Jewish culture. She was taught the proverb by her father after he observed her struggling to finish various tasks, such as finishing her homework. To her, the proverb represents the idea that it is better to keep working hard than to simply be smart.

This phrase is a clear example of something that resulted from the Mexican and Yiddish cultures mixing together. Reyna’s father was born in Europe but had been raised in Mexico, so it makes sense why he would mix both languages into the same sentences. It is interesting to see how her father maintained his Yiddish identity, but still assimilated into his new country.