Sad Education: Why the Brazilian Public Will Need to Slap Down One of Its Representatives

We interrupt the previously scheduled post for a breaking announcement....

This weekend, I will participate in a protest to demand the cassação (roughly analogous to impeachment proceedings) for a Federal deputado (Congress member), Jair Bolsonaro.  Bolsonaro caused massive outrage for his racist, homophobic and pro-dictatorial comments in a March 28 interview on TV Bandeirante's popular program CQC [think Daily Show + Upright Citizen's Brigade].

One thing that CQC, Daily Show, and UCB all have in common is that they all only have one (very talented) woman in each ensemble.  Note the hard-hitting (and beautiful) Mônica Iozzi does it all backwards and in heals.

 

If you're interested in Bolsonaro's specific comments and video, see below the fold.  What has struck me is the rapidity with which this has become a news story, an LGBT activist cause, and shows the possibility for political radicalism in the public sphere.  Bolsonaro was already known before this interview as a polemic figure, defending the use of torture during the military dictatorship and against drug traffickers in the 1990s.  He has also stood by his claim that someone should have fuzileirado [literally rifled, or assassinated] former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso.  His homophobic comments have also sparked debate, saying the reason that there is a gay problem in Brazil is that father's don't slap around their sons and raise them right [give them a good education, uma boa educação].   This is actually a common claim on the Brazilian right--that those on the left, people involved in identity politics, redistribution of wealth and resources, etc. just don't know any better.  They lack any sense because they don't 'act right' and respect authority. 

To review, Bolsonaro's previous comments provided the necessary tinder to ignite a fire amongst activists and the broader public.  But in the four short days after this latest interview, the public and media response has been swift and overwhelming.  CQC's blog has been taken over by this media story, with responses from Bolsonaro, counter-responses, and even a call to action.  And if Bolsonaro is successfully impeached, it will be the first time (I think) that a public official in Brazil has been removed from office for something they said.  This might strike American's first ammendment sensibilities as a scary proposition.  In fact, I am a little torn on the matter.  Nevertheless, it has been interesting for me to observe how Brazilians consider such injurious speech (to borrow Judith Butler's term) as either a potential harm or delegitimation of a democratic and egalitarian civil society. 

I first heard about the new, controversial interview with Bolsonaro from my roommate, who mentioned it during our dinner conversation on Wednesday night (remember broadcast on Monday).  On Thursday morning, I opened my facebook to see an invitation to demand Bolsonaro's cassação.  At the time of writing, another facebook group has amassed 40,000 members demanding an investigation.  The subject came up Thursday night at an LGBT advocacy meeting, where a member of the group said: "we have to respond to this.  Other organizations are responding.  We have to link up."  And this morning (Friday), I received multiple invitations to a protest against Bolsonaro taking place Sunday on Paulista Avenue.  What struck me as a media story and political movement has been the rapidity of the information cycle.  On Wednesday, I received one piece of information, on Thursday five, and today the response is overwhelming.  It is also pretty amazing to observe the experiential difference of being inside vs. outside of the production of a media story.  That is, as you consume more media on a particular story you become psychically invested in it in a way that distinguishes you from those who aren't.  This kind of psychic investment and the overwhelming stimuli involved in the news cycle strikes me as distinct from Michael Warner's instant-classic description of counterpublics.  For Warner, the pull to new counterpublic worlds is predicated upon a concatenation of addresses that circulate with regularity.  The news cycle (particularly the political news cycle), is based upon an entirely different rhythm, where people aren't creating worlds but catching up to them. 

More on what Bolsonaro said below



Among Bolsonaro's responses to the audience questions:

-When asked what he missed most about the dictatorship, Bolsonaro responds: 'the respect [for the] family, security, public order..."

-If he found his son smoking a joint, "he would slap him around..."  the questioner continues, "[would you] torture him?.  Bolsonaro responds: "act energetically... [if that's], torture, he'd be tortured."

-If his son turned out to be gay, Bolsonaro responds: "I don't even think about this because I raised my children right.  I am around for my children, so there's no risk there." 

-When asked by Preta Gil (the daughter of singer, ex-minister of Culture Gilberto Gil), what he would do if his son fell in love with a black woman, Bolsonaro replies: "Preta, I won't even discuss such promiscuties with anybody who asks.  My children were raised with a good education, and they don't live in the environment to which you, unfortunately, belong."  After the clip, the host of the show responds, "I sincerely hope that Bolsonaro misunderstood Preta's question." 

Here is the video.  Unfortunately, there are no subtitles.  But you when he has said something ignorant by the CQC 'groan' track.