Guide to Brazil (5): Crime

When dad was growing up, he had a friend from Georgia. Thank God, the guy from Georgia said, for Alabama -- it made the poor, uneducated Georgia look good.

So on that note, Brazilians could try to say, "Thank God for Baghdad" for making the homicide rates look better, but it maybe wouldn't be true.

Brazilians can blame their crime problems on many factors, from the proximity to Argentina to the significant disparities in economics to corrupt politicians. All these factors have some merits, of course. But there's one thing Brazilians will never tell you is a major factor in crime in Brazil: Brazilians.

It's never said by Brazilians that they are not only the major suppliers of victims to crime in Brazil, but also the largest instigators of crime. Is it because they're trying to hide, perhaps? Were there no Brazilians in Brazil, there'd be nearly no crime.

The problems with Brazilians being the major source of crime in Brazil has been tacitly acknowledged. Brazil is home to about two dozen World Heritage Sites, but none may be more stunning than Ouro Preto, a city named for its gold.



Now, gold took over Ouro Preto, to the point that the churches were involved in smuggling. Ouro Preto also became the home of the state capitol for a time, with the Legislature upstairs and the jail downstairs: Criminals, the joke goes, all in one spot.

So Brazilians are familiar with their crime and its causes, but have a hard time confronting the fact that Brazilians are the reason there is so much crime in Brazil.

So it's tough to tell Lil' Genghis, who will have both American and Brazilian citizenship, that her countrymen tend to cause so much crime in their countries.

But ... what can we do? Facts are the facts. Even mom, a well-educated Brazilian who has lived in the United States for years, is still prone to criminal tendencies. Witness this:

Here, we see mom trying to steal a mountain! Have the Brazilians no shame?

It's a good thing that, as we all know, Americans can do no wrong.