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 From the feedback I have received over the last four years, the average Brazzil correspondent appears to be a semi-literate (in English and/or Portuguese) adolescent with a penchant for four-letter words or a poorly educated pedant who cannot grasp the big picture and is a good example of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing.
Fortunately, amongst this dross, there have been some messages from thoughtful, intelligent people who may not have agreed with me but were prepared to make their point in a rational, sensible way.
Some of these people have actually been to Brazil unlike many critics who know everything about a country they have never set foot in. Those who have visited Brazil or even live here obviously live in a different country from the one I inhabit.
However, to show that I bear no hard feelings to the hostile readers whose general message is “get back to ****ing Scotland you ****ing ****headed” I have written the following article on their behalf.
This is a generous gesture on my part since it will allow the views of these readers to be expressed in a more articulate way than they would ever be capable of doing themselves. I would like to state here and now that these correspondents do not need to thank me. Writing this article has been a pleasure. Here we go.
Protecting Paradise from the Greedy Gringoes
Brazil is a wonderful place. Everyone is nice and kind. The weather is marvelous and the sun shines all the time. If there are any problems (like poverty, violence, injustice) then they are the fault of George W. Bush in particular and every American citizen in general.
Brazilians bear no responsibility for these problems even though they have been running the country for themselves since 1822. Every single problem here is caused by outsiders, usually Americans.
That’s why it was right for terrorists to attack New York and Washington in revenge for their just grievances. It was a bit of a pity about the 3,000 people who died but, since most of them were Americans, they deserved their fate.
Unfortunately some Brazilian were also killed, but that was Bush’s fault too because these people were forced to go to the US to work because there was no work for them at home. If the US had not made Brazil so poor then these Brazilians would be at home now with their families having a good time.
The terrorists were not Brazilians of course because Brazilians are a peaceful people who have never attacked any other country. In fact Brazilians have stretched the hand of friendship out so far that they have even brought large parts of Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru under their wing.
How fortunate the people in these places were that they were not taken over by the evil Americans who grabbed parts of Mexico and incorporated other parts of Central and South America and the Caribbean.
Although Brazil actually had an Emperor for about 60 years this did not make it an imperialist country since the Brazilian Emperors were not imperialists. If you look at their photos you will see what nice, cheery, peaceful-looking fellows they were.
By becoming part of Brazil these lucky people from Paraguay and so on have been able to enjoy the samba, TV novelas, football and other examples of the glory of Brazilian civilization.
Brazilians are also peace loving at home and the massacres of hundreds of thousands of Indians, the importation of millions of slaves, the suppression of revolts in Canudos and Rio Grande do Sul in the 19th century were the fault of outside imperialists.
The Portuguese were not really to blame because they were ( and still are) funny people whom Brazilians make jokes about. The Portuguese were just puppets of the British and all Brazil’s gold ended up in London.
Brazil granted freedom to its slaves in 1888. Although this was 80 years after the British abolished the slave trade and 20 years after the US outlawed slavery, at least it was done peacefully.
The American Civil War, which was fought over slavery led to 600,000 deaths but not a single Brazilian died to end slavery. In fact, Brazil even provided disgruntled American Confederates with land and some of their descendants still live in a town called Americana in São Paulo state. This shows the generous nature of Brazil.
The soldiers who seized power in 1964 and held it for 20 years were not really to blame. They were acting in the interests of the United States and the oppression and violence they practiced against their fellow citizens was the fault of the Americans.
It’s the same today when Brazilian kill and rob other Brazilians. The gangsters who terrorize the favelas, killing, exploiting, raping and turning children into drug addicts and prostitutes are really just victims of an unfair world.
In fact, it is the demand for drugs in the US which causes drug trafficking and misery in Brazil and other South American countries. If Americans would stop taking drugs then these social problems would end immediately.
Other evils, such as child prostitution, are caused by foreigners – Americans and Europeans. These disgusting people are so rich that they can afford to fly to Brazil, stay in luxury hotels and exploit children into having sex with them.
The fact that the overwhelming majority of men who use prostitutes, including children, are Brazilian is irrelevant. The fact that child prostitution is openly practiced in many places in the Northeast, with the pimps and procurers being Brazilian men (and women), is also irrelevant.
These foreigners should not be allowed into the country. After all Brazilians don’t go abroad and sexually abuse European or American children. This is something Brazilians should be proud of.
As well as Brazil’s women and children, the greedy gringos are also exploiting Brazilian resources. They buy Brazil’s orange juice, coffee, soybeans etc for a pittance and, in return, sell Brazil expensive technical products.
However, they refuse to allow Brazilian high-tech items into their markets. Brazil has lots of high tech products, such as Embraer jets. It is true that Embraer receives some help from the government and it is a fact that almost half the Brazilian National Social Development Bank’s (BNDES) loans go to Embraer, but this does not mean that the company is getting favorable treatment.
Not content with exploiting Brazil commercially, the Americans have got their eyes on the Amazon. They know that the Amazon is a genetic El Dorado, full of priceless plants and herbs which will be able to cure all the world’s known diseases. However, the Americans want them for themselves so that their multinationals can develop them and make a fortune selling medical drugs at obscenely high prices.
The Americans are so arrogant that their atlases show the Amazon as no longer belonging to Brazil but as part of an internationally protected zone. Even now the Pentagon is deploying thousands of troops in Colombia to invade the Amazon.
In fact, the whole Iraq war is a rehearsal for the invasion of Brazil. That is why President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva should be congratulated for seeking alliances with Latin American patriots like Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez.
John Fitzpatrick is a Scottish journalist who first visited Brazil in 1987 and has lived in São Paulo since 1995. He writes on politics and finance and runs his own company, Celtic Comunicações - www.celt.com.br - which specializes in editorial and translation services for Brazilian and foreign clients. You can reach him at jf@celt.com.br.
© John Fitzpatrick 2005
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