More violence in Brazil

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It's been a few days since I've written anything personal, so, if you've been wanting more news about me, then you're in luck, because I got robbed again!

Nothing bad though. I was walking back home in my street when a couple of probably 15 to 16 year olds pegged me to a wall, told me to give them money, and without politely waiting for an answer, went straight to my pocket. Luckily, they only stole my cheap Brasilian mobile phone and the equivalent of 2 or 3 euros. Petty thieves. Didn't even show a gun or a knife (which I expect they had though). Obviously I didn't resist as you never know what could happen, and thieves here do not tend to highly value human life.

Now, beyond this blazé account of what I by now consider a mere annoyance, a few more interesting things. Reactions to my story here were diverse. A man in the street who saw what happened said "Well, thank God you're alive!". Crime is clearly relative. The mother of the family I live felt very sorry, and told me that if it were down to her, she would have all those thieves killed, because, pretty much, they're just a bunch of fundamentally evil people that were always going to be up to no good, and nothing will change that, so you should get rid of them from a young age. Actually, she thought that from the moment the mother was a teenager, the child was bound to end up "marginal", as they say here. The perception I get from my conversations here is that there seems to be little empathy towards the lower classes, and often the widespread violence of 'have nots' against the 'haves' has simply led to a sense of exasperation of the middle classes, that lose a sense of proportion in terms of repression.

Realistically though, what should you expect if you put a favela so close to an area of relative opulence? People living in my street are pretty well off, but there is a favela just a couple of streets away, so the violence is bound to to spill over to other areas. And with carnival approaching, the number of tourists increases enormously, along with the possibility of easy theft.

Again, though, I have trouble being too angry with those thieves. What could I have told them that would make them see reason? That they live in a fair country in which everyone has an equal opportunity to improve their life through legal means? I can't see this argument carrying much weight with kids that grow up in such poor areas and have to see everyday other, luckier, children get driven around by their parents (having both is not always a given) in expensive hummers. It is easy to fume and rant about these nasty no-gooders, but it is difficult to, realistically, imagine what one would do in their situation.

Dammit! Why can't I just bring myself to hate these people like everyone else?!?

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Comments

[Lydia]

rich and poor
I think you have socialist bones David. That is why you can't bring yourself to hate them. I'm sure they appreciated your obliging reaction to being robbed and I expect it was worth the 3 euro mobile phone to get those interesting reactions... glad to see you are using your blog-space to put the world to rights - or at least not to stand by and watch the wrongs in silence - or at least to critically analyse it all anyway....let us know of any conclusions you come to, un beso, Lydia