So there is a new twitter hate campaign out there and it's focused on the Northeast of Brazil.
Apparently there are quite of few Brazilians, who shall remain nameless (Damn Paulistas... oops), that are blaming the people of the Northeast for Dilma's win.
It's a total smear/hate campaign calling them ignorant, poor, stupid, and saying they shouldn't be able to vote because they aren't educated enough in the first place.
First of all, all the stats show that Dilma would have won even if you didn't count the Northeast. So go suck on that you pseudo-intellectual, "educated" people.
And who are you to talk shit about another group, especially one who didn't grow up with a knock off Lojas Americana's silver spoon being put into his mouth by his nanny, who raised ya, and who is from the Northeast in the first place!
North easterners are feisty survivors who speak a Portuguese I have no chance in hell of understanding! And it does not matter how long I've lived here. They are the forgotten step children of this country.
Go on, claim corruption. Right, like that has never been a problem in this country. That's like blaming the pizza instead of the deliveryman for it arriving late. It is not going to work if the system doesn't. Everyone will, and does, steal because the system allows it. And if you high and mighty figure out a way to fix it, bottle it up and sell it to the rest of the world. Maybe you'll be able to bump yourself up to real silver.
The thing is, I know all kinds of people from the northeast and they aren't just doormen, they are family and close friends. They are the feistiest, smartest, and best survivors out of everyone I've yet to meet. Hell, we city folk panic when we can't get our Brazilian passports on time or our maid doesn't show up one day. OH MY GOODNESS! Who will raise my children, wash my dishes, and what on Earth are we going to eat?!
It comes down to this. Brazil would survive my presidency without a problem. This country has had it's fill of drama. Dilma is not going to kill it. If Bush didn't kill my country, and he sure did try, Dilma is not going to kill yours. And why hate your brothers from other mothers? They were only trying to pick a lesser of two evils. Apparently the vast majority of Brazil, and the world, disagree with you.
Deal with it. Start a blog. I know I did. Oh wait, maybe that's what you are doing with twitter in the first place. Well then just shove it. No one wants to party with the pity partiers, and if they do, they are no better.
I swear, I'm going to start an island for countries to send their prejudice bastards. Sadly, my Grandma may have to go too. I'd hate to see her go but I'm no hypocrite, most of the time.
The really ridiculous thing about that is those who shall remain nameless *cough* Paulistas *cough* are blaming North Easterners as if voting is ANY Brazilians' choice in the first place!
ReplyDeleteI mean, they're saying you shouldn't even be ALLOWED to vote blah blah but the REALITY is the GOVERNMENT has FORCED people to vote. The entire region of the North East is not to blame here. It's a broken system already.
Plus, can I just comment on the fact that so many people are hatin' on Dilma without even knowing why?? My SIL was going on and on "oh I'm so sad about this election, we have a real loser idiot for a President now".
When Ro asked her why she dislikes Dilma so much she didn't even have an answer... She just gives the same answer everyone else is feeding each other. "Oh she doesn't have enough experience." So? Does that mean she's gonna burn the place down?
So many people are uneducated about politics in Brazil. I say, if so many people were willing to vote in a goddamn clown, what's so bad about Dilma?
Sigh. I have commented elsewhere that this same hysteria reared its head when the “uneducated” Lula was elected. Same old tired knee-jerk response.
ReplyDeleteLula and Dilma have been running the Workers’ Party gig in Brazilia for years. Now Lula is out and Dilma is in. I seriously doubt there is a radical shift in the wings.
Ask the nay-sayers: Are you better off now than you were 8 years ago? Do you have greater access to cheaper credit? Have you bought a new car? Did your mother finally buy a new refrigerator? Is your employer expanding their activities? Do you have more money in the bank and less under your mattress? Do you see a prosperous future for your children in Brazil?
C’mon. What’s the friggin’ problem? Neoliberal economic policies have been proven to be less advantageous than other hybrid routes. The Workers’ Party has proven themselves to be effective governors.
Ok, Ok, calm down. Yeah… corruption. Like the PT has a monopoly on that.
Let’s have a history lesson. It has been the PT that has been the LEAST corrupt over the past 20 years. (People point to dramatic examples now, but don’t let them eclipse historic reality.) It has been the PT that has been in the trenches of poor communities all over the country organizing to get local residents (regular folks) involved in bettering their community. This STRENGTHENS democracy. They have put in YEARS of lifting up poor people to participate in creating a better tomorrow.
The PT has not been the party promising to “take care of” the poor. They have been doing the real work of EMPOWERING people to take care of themselves through the democratic process.
Oh, but sorry – the rich folks hate it when the uppity poor folks think they can do what is best for the country. The owning class (who, by the way, wrote the book on corruption) gets so bent out of shape when they are not in charge.
Well f**k off. The Worker’s Party has EARNED an honest seat at the table and has won over the trust of the populace. Sit down rich people. Shut up for a second and try to be a part of the solution.
If you behave yourself you might actually win an election.
[And don’t get me started on the mess in the USA!]
Oh but please get started on the mess in the US! I'm requesting a post on it!
ReplyDeleteI would have voted on Marina.
ReplyDeleteBetween Dilma and Serra: none of them.
But then Dilma was elected. I think she is well prepared, yes she is. Good luck to her and to all Brazilians !
I think Linds' comment really nails it. How you can blame people when they didn't have a choice int he first place? Personally I'm against mandatory voting. If it's my right shouldn't I get to choose whether or not to exercise it?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, here in Espirito Santo the vote went pretty much straight down the middle. What I've heard from Capixabas(an admittedly small circle of them) is that both Dilma and Serra would enact pretty much the same agenda. Nobody is going to roll back policies when things are going so well for Brazil. The people I've talked are generally disillusioned with the system. Which, as you pointed out Rachel, is the real problem.
Sigh. You know, I really thought I was going to have a career in politics. I went to school in DC and got an internship with a Senator at the first opportunity. After a year on Capitol Hill I realized 90% of politicians pursue the same agenda when in office. Stay in power and beat the other team. The culture really is a zero sum game and the most important thing is to win. Constituents are seen as annoying, whining people who need to be placated in order to "win" the next election. It's all about the political game and winning. I get sense the sense that is pretty much politics everywhere. I found it to be an exhausting and toxic environment. I think most politicians be they Brazilian or American, once in office, make staying in power their number one goal.
Does that make me too cynical?
Oh, one more thing.
ReplyDeleteJim, I think telling rich people to "fuck off" because they hate uppity poor people is just as prejudicial as calling all nordestinos ignorant. Having money does not automatically make you a bigot. It certainly doesn't prevent you from being one but it's not a given either.
Brynn - fair enough. The point I really want to make is that people who go into politics to actually empower poor people have been doing it via the PT. It's not glamorous work. Community organizing is slow and tedious. It does not pay well - but it gets results and strengthens democracies.
ReplyDeleteIn Brazil, the Workers' Party has been focusing on this more than any other. Hands down.
And I have admitted before that I have issues with rich people -- my prejudice. I'm just calling it like I see (experience) it.
Nordestinos are Brizilians BUT Mexicans are not Americans.Mexico should first help their own citizens and then if they need more then the US and its citizens can help them without having to take on 25 MILLION new people from 1 country in just 20 years.Why does'nt anyone seem to ever recgonize that Mexico is responsible for employing Mexicans not the US!Mexico unlike the Nordeste Brazil is WEALTHY!They have alot of oil ,farm land,coastline,tourism,fantastic weather and an unstoppable workforce.Why cant they take care of their own citizens?The situation with prejudice against Nordestinos reminds me of the prejudice against Appalachian and Native Americans at certain points .The media and also hollywood for whatever reason seem to have choosen these groups to villify and they still do with regularity.Always the standard ethnic hate speech hillbilly,inbred,mixbreed,uneducated,genetic predisposition to crime and drug addiction,dirty,poor the entire gambit of hateful stupidity all because they needed work and just wanted to live as the rest of the americans.The accent with which one speaks is used all over the globe as a bassis for discrimination.When we degrade the poor, when we inprison them for simple crimes,when we bully them and tell them that they're less than we are then they have no choice but to band together and fight back and they often do with ferocity.I traveled Brasil and i thought the rural parts were great i was very comfortable.I LIKED THOSE PEOPLE.I was there when the president made his statment about white blue eyed people and i just thought oh well i guess were all blaming our problems on someone else.There are alot of white people bitching about the rainforest maybe but i don't think that they are responsible for Brasil's problems.Trading one rascist for another has never seemed quite honest to me.I would marry one of those pretty Nordestinos in a heartbeat!
ReplyDelete