TOP GEAR in Argentina

The fact that they were in Tushuaia [the port of the ARA General Belgrano] with that numberplate (whether it was removed before they were there or not, I'm not sure) makes it clear to me it was intentional. Argentina is a very, very large country (23 provinces!) and the odds are far to great for it to be a coincidence.

This is what happens when one group of proud nationalist assholes meets a different group of proud nationalist assholes.
 
Quote from Clarkson's article:

we knew that anti-British feelings still run hard and deep, here at the bottom of the world.

What is this, the flat earth society?
 
Jeremy's article from the Sunday times. Sounds like in a movie.

At this point I don't care who is to blame, if it was intended or not. That something like this could happen is frightening and makes South America/Argentinia look like an unsafe shithole...
Can't really take that at face value. I would not count Jezza's take on the situation as an impartial account.
 
Yes, this is what I meant.

To this moment I think Top Gear is to blame because they've always appeared to live in this un-burstable bubble of being one of the biggest, most popular TV shows world wide. But as the Doctor said, it's not like Jeremy, especially in his current situation with all the things that happened this year, is the most impartial man to ask ...
 
I grew up in Argentina and know that the people there are generally quite proud of their country. They are also extremely sensitive. Just as an example, being from Germany I would know to avoid any sort of conversation around football, even if it means getting up and leaving. The football fans hated us after the 2010 World Cup, and I don?t suppose this situation has improved in 2014, but I haven?t been there since 2011.

The Falklands are even worse. They had huge posters everywhere saying "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" (The Falklands are Argentine). Strangely enough they took them all down when Prince Charles came to visit in 1999, and then put them back up afterwards. This sort of thing, combined with their tendency to be violent about it, is really the one thing I always really disliked about Argentina. When you go there you are a guest in their country, and some people are just sensitive so you need to respect that. A few people throwing rocks still makes the whole country look like idiots though.

As much as I dislike all the shenanigans the trio get up to, I do enjoy their lack of political correctness because this sort of thing has become rare in mainstream media.
I think they should have been smarter about this, but in the end my oppinion is that whoever resorts to violence is always the bigger idiot.

As far as Argentina taking the Falklands by force: The last time I was there I actually had a conversation about this, with some people who do happen to have a pretty good idea about Argentinas military strength. And I?m reasonably certain the brits and the Eurofighters they have stationed there would hold them off long enough for help to arrive. Anyway, I?m pretty sure the Argentinian government has bigger problems at the moment than to consider another Falkland/Malvinas war.
 
That is one ironic comment if I ever seen one. Calling a whole country idiots while making an idiotic statement yourself.

Clearly I couldn't have been talking about the mob that attacked the Top Gear crew (You know, the one throwing stones). That would be idiotic. And obvious.
 
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I grew up in Argentina and know that the people there are generally quite proud of their country. They are also extremely sensitive. Just as an example, being from Germany I would know to avoid any sort of conversation around football, even if it means getting up and leaving. The football fans hated us after the 2010 World Cup, and I don?t suppose this situation has improved in 2014, but I haven?t been there since 2011.

The other South American countries dislike Argentina quite a bit, simply for their behaviour and attitude. But that doesn't change how there was no valid reason for using that plate because it's just not funny in any sort of way, it's not a "smart, funny little quip". It's a "low IQ, 12 year old loudmouth" kind of humour. I'm not PC at all, not even a tiny bit, but being obnoxious just for the sake of it serves no purpose and scores them no points.
 
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TOP GEAR in Argentina

I think EyeQ checked the number plate and found out that it was issued for a V8 Porsche in 1991 - which in my book means it's established that it couldn't have been deliberately used for the shooting in Argentina.

So I wonder why people go on assuming it was a deliberate provocation.

I'm quite sure a deliberate provocation has never been attempted here. What we have here, though, is a production team that is used to being welcomed in a friendly way all over the world, even in the "darkest" places. If you ask me, they completely neglected the possibility they might not be welcome in southern Argentina - not because they're Top Gear but because they are British...

The number plate and Jeremy Clarkson's notorious reputation was just a convenient excuse for the mob to become violent.
 
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I think EyeQ checked the number plate and found out that it was issued for a V8 Porsche in 1991 - which in my book means it's established that it couldn't have been deliberately used for the shooting in Argentina.

So I wonder why people go on assuming it was a deliberate provocation.

I'm quite sure a deliberate provocation has never been attempted here. What we have here, though, is a production team that is used to being welcomed in a friendly way all over the world, even in the "darkest" places. If you ask me, they completely neglected the possibility they might not be welcome in southern Argentina - not because they're Top Gear but because they are British...

The number plate and Jeremy Clarkson's notorious reputation was just a convenient excuse for the mob to become violent.

But as Spectre rightly asked - how come they had a spare license plate? Do you care spare license plates with you in case you accidentally outrage a crowd?
 
But as Spectre rightly asked - how come they had a spare license plate? Do you care spare license plates with you in case you accidentally outrage a crowd?
It could be a third plate from one of the support vehicles. :dunno:

Unless the whole thing was staged, I think we can all agree that the actions on the side of the Argentinians were wrong.
 
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I think EyeQ checked the number plate and found out that it was issued for a V8 Porsche in 1991 - which in my book means it's established that it couldn't have been deliberately used for the shooting in Argentina.

So I wonder why people go on assuming it was a deliberate provocation.
As I said earlier: "Find a beater sportscar with an offensive license plate" is a great job for a junior researcher at the Top Gear production office.

Seriously, I've worked in film production - on the level of professionalism the TG team works at, things don't happen by coincidence.

- - - Updated - - -

Unless the whole thing was staged, I think we can all agree that the actions on the side of the Argentinians were wrong.
Wrong? Yes. Unjustified? Maybe. Unprovoked? Not at all.
 
I think EyeQ checked the number plate and found out that it was issued for a V8 Porsche in 1991 - which in my book means it's established that it couldn't have been deliberately used for the shooting in Argentina.

So I wonder why people go on assuming it was a deliberate provocation.

I'm quite sure a deliberate provocation has never been attempted here. What we have here, though, is a production team that is used to being welcomed in a friendly way all over the world, even in the "darkest" places. If you ask me, they completely neglected the possibility they might not be welcome in southern Argentina - not because they're Top Gear but because they are British...

The number plate and Jeremy Clarkson's notorious reputation was just a convenient excuse for the mob to become violent.

But you are assuming they picked Argentina first and then the car, when it could have been the other way around, as others have alluded to.
 
If there really was malice on the part of the presenters (or just Clarkson), then yeah, what he did was wrong and you don't go poking a hornet's nest. But if the Argentinians' intention was to tell the team to GTFO, there are better ways of doing so than devolving to neanderthallic actions. No matter what anyone thinks, the end never justifies the mans.

If, on the other hand, their intention was to cause physical harm to them because of a LICENCE PLATE, then I'm done defending their actions and don't care what happens to them. I don't want them in my gene pool. Unfortunately nothing will.
 
I wonder how can you be so sure?

That "spare" plate I've seen in a picture in spoilers section only a few days ago didn't look like a valid UK one, it looked like something that was made in a hurry (notice a different font, for example). See Jack Christie's post (#132) or the first one in this thread.

If you want to make something like that, the most difficult task is to get a color printer.

Enjoy abusing negative rep (some, again).
 
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I really hope somebody - Argentine, Chilean, anyone - rescues and then looks after that Esprit. None of this is the fault of that poor Lotus!
 
Quick question - does BBC have to approve these trips? If so, why'd they approve it in the first place? I can't help but think they want to be shed of TG and are just giving them the rope.

TG may have thought they were being sneaky and cute with the plate, of which I'm still not fully convinced, but Argentina may very well have looked on this as an opportunity to make themselves look victimized, and also the victor. Poor Argentina being picked on the bully Brits again, but we'll show them. Let them get almost to the very end of their journey and then we'll pounce.

Whatever the deal was, and we'll never know the full truth, I'm just thankful that there were no more injuries, or more serious injuries, than there were. It could have been way, way worse.
 
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