os PROTESTOS

A few months ago my Portuguese teacher told me about a personal tragedy he'd endured and seemed fascinated when I teared up and became outraged on his behalf.

'How the shit can that happen?' begged Cill. 'How the SHIT does that happen?'

('That' was a proven rapist/murderer walking free because he had good connections. This murderer's victim was my young professor's close friend.)

Up till then he and I had had uber-fun one-upping contests over whose country is more racist, more classist, more sexist, corrupt, unhealthy. (I think he gave me that the US is more racist. I conceded that the Brasileiros seem more classist. The rest we might never settle.)

But this noise about his friend just knocked the wind out of me.

'What about public outrage?' I asked, and BTW all of this was in shitty Portuguese. 'Didn't people fucking FLIP OUT?'

Professor shrugged. 'O publico aqui é passiva.' <--'Bitches here are passive.' There is no public outrage.

I've had several conversations like these with Brasilerios, exchanges that leave me feeling naive and kinda dumb. Like I grew up in a bubble for Stupidamericans. or just Dumbheads. Perhaps because I did.

The cynical ease with which my friends say 'well, the government here is corrupt and that will never, ever change,' would seem sad considering how much you read about Brazil changing every day with its burgeoning economy. You'd think this economic growth would be the exact moment TO change other stuff, or at least try planting seeds.

But a) I don't really know anything about this kind of stuff and b) I plan to stick to my policy of never, ever knowing relevant stuff.

And people would wave my hopeful notions away anyway, all: 'Não, the rich people will benefit from the rising economy. The poor will stay poor.'

O publico aqui é passiva.

Um, PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSYCH.

How goddamn cool are these people? Over a MILLION out in the streets to demand responsibility, ethics, and that their bus fare not go up by like 20 centavos. It seems like elsewhere you need major human rights atrocities to get people out in the streets. Sure, people in the US protest, but not in these numbers, and not with anywhere near the same rage against the 20 centavos.

It's true that tear gas is bad and violence is bad, and it's a tragic bummer that someone was killed in a car accident in the confusion.

But still.

I won't get too excited, esp. since everyone seems intent on warning me against ...

But for serious, here's a fantasy: what if this is exactly what dilma needs to actually change stuff? She can look at all her corrupt, entitled colleagues and say - about stuff she'd had to swallow before as 'never going to change' - and say, 'We have no choice. the people are roaring in the streets.'

I'm just saying.

Brazilians rule.