Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Unbelievable Remedies: Magalluf

Incidents centred on Magalluf's Punta Ballena have decreased considerably. Thus spake a newspaper report of 15 August. "Great evils" require "grand remedies", it was said. These great evils were implied rather than defined and they were hyperbole; the committing of great evils in modern-day Mallorca is a rare occurrence.

But never let it be said that exaggerated words cannot exaggerate situations. This is why there is such a thing as exaggeration. Its purpose is distortion or disproportion. From great evils do grand or great remedies come. The greater the evil, the grander the remedy and so therefore the greater the rejoicing at deliverance from evil.

The grand remedies (equally disproportionate insofar as there can be such a thing as an equal measure of disproportion) can be counted. Counted on fewer than the total number of fingers on both hands. Take away the thumbs and you have the numerical value of the remedies. Eight. Eight local police officers. The magnificent seven plus one. Incidents have decreased considerably.

It would be nice to believe that Punta Ballena has been or is being delivered from evil. Or evils. Nice to believe, but there are plenty of unbelievers. Decreased considerably? Depends. The report's evils were related to the great drunken unwashed. The lesser of evils in that remedies are less grand. They don't have to be super-grand where youthful tourists who are off their faces are concerned. It is, nevertheless, reasonable to ask why the not so grand remedy of a few more cops to tackle the lagering, Jägerbombing, shot-shooting, laughing-gassing invasion force took as long as it did to occur to anyone. Not, or so it would seem, that the eight make a great deal of difference. Despite what the considerable-decrease report suggests to the contrary.

Four days before this report, Javier Pierotti posted again on his "Magaluf Caos" blog. His video with this post was as troubling as the one he had originally posted of a driver trapped by a mob along the strip. It would take far too long to summarise what Javier said in his entry for 11 August, but if you go to the bottom of it, you will see that, in addition to Calvia town hall, he has sent his complaint to television and other media organisations in Spain as well as to the Spanish Government, the Interior Ministry, police agencies, the regional government in the Balearics, the courts in Palma, the Attorney-General, the British Consulate and the Complaints Office of the European Community.

Four days later came the report in the local press. Not about Javier's complaint but about incidents having decreased considerably, a considerable decrease that appears at variance with what is being said by those who aren't in positions of authority. The considerable-decrease report, moreover, did not mention the problems of prostitutes, looky-looky men and violence. There are plenty of people who have mentioned them. Before and since the report of 15 August. Are these the greater evils; greater because they go un-decreased?

Javier Pierotti does not seek to attach blame to the local police. Others do. It is wise that I don't repeat some of the things said on social media, but from what is said, there is clear frustration and anger in Magalluf. The police are one target for this discontent but the greater one is the body politic, in particular that which, to paraphrase some of the sentiments, lies inert in a bunker in Calvia.

What happens in Mallorca stays in Mallorca. It's a ridiculous saying because nothing can stay in Mallorca any longer. The reactions to Stacey Dooley (and to "Bild" on Playa de Palma) were absurd for various reasons, one of which was that they neglected the fact that conventional media are only one part of the story. Through social media, nothing stays in Mallorca. Regular on-the-spot reports by those who have not taken the media shilling and who have no axe to grind other than that they have had it with all the problems are constantly reinforced and added to: hourly, daily, weekly. They too can be prone to exaggeration or distortion. They can be and often are far more accusatory than conventional media. There may be exaggerations, but why would people who work and live in Magalluf invent things? They stand to lose, which is why they draw attention to what they see as inertia and indifference. And why when, four days after Javier Pierotti* posted that he had notified who he had notified, the report of incidents decreasing considerably was greeted with disbelief.


* http://javierpierotti.blogspot.com.es/2013/08/magaluf-caos-ii.html

Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.

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