"Complexo de Vira-Lata"
◊: Exhibit A (Protuguese)
There's not a "Brazillian Culture" thread, so I posted it here.
But really, I find it very interesting no one says anything of the sort when it comes to having African or Ameridian descendency, it's always European.
Interesting Person #928
Culture and politics go hand-by-hand, so it's not inappropriate to post this here anyway.
And, well, African-Americans are at the other side of the issue, where slavery erased people's ethnic identity to the point of making it impossible to trace back anyone's origins, so it's pointless to engage in stuff like that.
... And that's called jazz!
Ah, that old chestnut.
You know, for all that I dislike being Brazilian and desperately want to leave, I've never denied being Brazilian. Hell, a not insignificant part of my issues with Brazilian culture lie on what it has evolved into, instead of what it actually is. My personal issues with the people aside (I'm an introverted, intellectual nerd in a land of extroverted sports fans, it's not exactly a great position), I find our culture, history and art fascinating, and the fact that Brazil is a huge melting pot of heritages and cultures makes it incredible. It's my disappointment with how we treat those aspects and the fact that we're slowly becoming a land characterized by racism, corruption and authoritarianism instead of all our positive aspects that makes me dislike being Brazilian and want to leave right now.
That kind of thinking, the "I'm not Brazilian, I'm whatever my heritage is" shows not only a type of racism, but a more deeply-ingrained issue of Brazilian reality, this idea that Brazil is somehow inferior to everywhere else on the planet and that it's better to be something and somewhere else than here, when really, Brazil is only beyond fixing as long as we have people who give up on fixing it. It's a bit hypocritical on my part, I know, but still. It's kinda sad that the "Brazilian Dream" isn't really that of an ideal Brazil, but instead of turning Brazil into someplace else entirely.
I never denied being brazilian but I had a complex about it when I was a little kid, my family went to live in the US for a year and when I got back it was very hard to adjust and from my (immature and inexperienced) perspective everything here just felt like a downgrade, and I couldn't meaningfully connect with the people around me anymore or the culture at large. My father insisted we speak english in the house when we got back so as to not lose fluency (something my siblings and I still do out of habit), and I spoke so little outside of the house that my portuguese actually atrophied a bit as a result (not that I ever forgot it, my english was just much better in comparison).
It took quite a long time and a lot of experience for me to finally make peace with it. Honestly, we have such a rich history, culture, art, some of the most talented and creative people in the world, but most people here give it such little value and exposure that barely anyone has any idea of it. This actually crosses over into politics too, it still shocks many people that the Lula presidency was well-regarded internationally for what it did to combat poverty, investments in public funding and works, and improving the economy (which is another problem, people here have selective memory and don't seem to learn from prior mistakes). Sometimes it feels like foreigners have more respect for our achievements than we do.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
The irony of that is even the far right (supposedly the nationalistic ones) basically want to turn Brazil into something else, in this case being an idealized version of 50's America that never existed.
Edited by Draghinazzo on May 26th 2020 at 7:47:25 AM
You tell me: I always get pissed whenever my mom gets into one of hers "Europeans are so much better than us" phase.
Not that I ever say anything because you'd have better luck digging an actual hole to China than getting her to change her mind in a argument.
Sounds like you were really insufferable.
Edited by HailMuffins on May 26th 2020 at 9:31:34 AM
Yeah I don't look fondly back upon the old me, but I think most people feel that way about themselves from 15 years ago or more.
Edited by Draghinazzo on May 26th 2020 at 12:00:30 PM
Hey, no judging: if the opportunity to strangle my highschool-self was presented to me, I'd take it in a heartbeat.
Interesting Person #928
I would totally mentor past me if I had the chance, giving some pointers and all. But not too much - I've realized that what made me grow as a person was learning from my mistakes first-hand - I'm not sure I'd like to rob this opportunity from myself.
But there are some embarrassing stuff I'd like to correct, yeah.
As for cultural identity, this is something that came back to my mind with the whole "re-appropriating the national flag" thing that's happening. You see, I've come to view "patriotic love" as something that is often flanderized to the point of becoming hollow. You are told to sacrifice yourself for the nation, forgetting to see how your act in fact does something to help (or hurt) the people.
At the same time, I do think it's important to value cultural aspects of your place of origin and that you shouldn't be ashamed of there - rather, look at what positive contributions you can bring to the table. That doesn't mean I have to accept the bad cultural habits as well, nor the way my country is ran at a given time. Giving your contribution to make your country a better place is noble, but if the situation does not allow for it, then there's nothing wrong with aiming for a better situation elsewhere.
... And that's called jazz!
At least we have one thing on the US, if nothing else
.
Edited by HailMuffins on May 28th 2020 at 10:06:45 AM
Interesting Person #928
We also have awesome regional food - AKA the one aspect of Brazilian culture I love the most.
... And that's called jazz!
Oh, bother.
I admit, I don't have much experience with Brazilian cuisine. Maybe you could mention a dish or two in the Food thread?
Disgusted, but not surprised
I mean, feijoada is a big one. Few foods more Brazilian than that.
...I can't deny, if I ever do manage to move from Brazil, I'm going to miss the food the most. Nevermind the music or the arts, it's going to be the food no doubt.
Interesting Person #928
Yeah, I feel that. I moved away from my region 5 years ago. We try to get stuff from there as often as we can, but there are limitations, of course. I really miss some northern BR cuisine - it has lots of exotic spices, sauces and fruits that aren't really seen outside of the Amazon region.
Edited by KusaMigeru on May 28th 2020 at 11:56:56 AM
... And that's called jazz!
I don't think I could live without some good canjica, personally.
Edited by HailMuffins on May 28th 2020 at 12:18:51 PM
Interesting Person #928
I know you're talking about Northeastern cuisine, but that just reminded me we're not gonna have a normal festive season in June. Gonna miss the food. :(
... And that's called jazz!
Well, I'll just buy it from the store and listen to the appropiate music.
Edited by HailMuffins on May 28th 2020 at 12:30:31 PM
A bit late to the cultural discussion. When I was a kid I had a bit of the typical Brazilian cynical streak where you like your country because it's your home but you also find it absolutely shit due the rampant corruption and economic inequality, thinking it's unchangeable and the best you can do is keep your head down and survive.
Obviously I matured out of that as I learned to have a much more nuanced view of Brazil rather than a nation-sized Film Noir Wretched Hive, but in the past decade I have been struggling with identifying myself as "Brazilian" rather than "Northeastern". This decade brought to the fore a lot of the differences between the Northeast and the Southeast politically (i.e the Northeast is the left's sentinel while the Southeast is the right's brewing ground) and most of all some intense levels of Xenophobia from the South and Southeast towards Northeasterners. I never really recovered from the aftermath of Dilma's elections (in which she basically narrowly won due the Northeast) and the frankly appalling discourse about Northeasterners. I mean, the whole "South vs Northeast" has been a feature of Brazilian history since somewhere the early 19th century but wow that election's aftermath was something and it hasn't really led up in the years since.
Bolsonaro's election and the surrounding consumption of the Brazilian flag and traditional patriotic symbology by the far right has made me even worse. Combined with all the xenophobia towards our lot it has brewed a lot of resentment and distaste in me in reaction.
"All you Fascists bound to lose."
Hey man, I feel the same.
Felt the same, actually, since I was old enough to notice thay was a thing.
You can really notice the disdain when so many geography books refer to the Northeast region as the "problem child" of Brazil.
Ignoring, of course, that for decades the region was completely ignored politically and left to rot by the federal governement.
I do find it funny the contrast with the rest of the world: Northeast is more commonly thought of as leftist (because we're very poor and generally speaking don't want to starve to death), and it is also steotyped as more fiercely religious. It's generally the opposite.
Edited by HailMuffins on May 28th 2020 at 3:08:00 PM
I mean, ask anybody what the defining trait of the people of Bahia is, and you'll see that there's something very problematic normalized into our culture. It's a problem that dates all the way back to the colony days, really.
The flipside of the situation is if you live in the South, where you're forced on a daily basis to confront the fact that many of the people around you were at best, indifferent to the problems that led to our current situation, or at worst were an active part of making them worse. It's just kind of depressing, honestly, that supposedly for all these riches and better access to education the population insists on making the worst decisions possible. I also bet many of these people (if they were old enough to vote back then) voted for Collor back in the day and have still learned nothing from the experience.
Related: Deaths in police actions in RJ increase 43% in April, amid the pandemic (PT-BR)
MPRJ starts listening to friends and family of the boy João Pedro, killed in police action (PT-BR)
Poor lad was just 14...
Edit: Apropos of our discussion on the Mongrel Complex:
67% are proud to be Brazilian and 29% are ashamed, says Datafolha. 57% of respondents say they are afraid of the country's future and 41%, confidence.
Edited by HailMuffins on Jun 1st 2020 at 10:53:22 AM
Okay, so some of what happened in the last 24 hours, all links PT-BR:
- Celso de Mello files request to seize cell phones of Jair Bolsonaro and son: The Attorney General of the Republic, Augusto Aras, had already spoken out at the Supreme Court against the seizure of the devices.
- 90% of Brazilian voters support regulation of social networks to fight 'fake news', says Ibope poll
- Civil Police and MPRJ carry out 11 arrest warrants against militiamen who work in Jacarepaguá
- Gang with rifles explodes bank, sets cars on fire and shoots at PM in Bragança Paulista
- After a confrontation at Av. Paulista, Doria bars demonstrations against the same day and place
- Doria calls for investigation to be investigated by activist Sara Winter for crimes against honor and threats against him
So apparently Olavo de Carvalho published a video going on a tirade against Bolsonaro.
So who's the Communist here? Bolso or Olavo?
Geez, bad year to be a sheep, huh? First Moro, now Olavo... soon enough these people won't have any other psychopaths to hide behind other than the president.
Edited by TheLovecraftian on Jun 7th 2020 at 11:47:33 AM
I'm all for it.
Awkward pagetopper as usual, but I think contextualizing the pagetopper will make it even more awkward, so there you go.
Edited by KusaMigeru on May 25th 2020 at 7:51:58 AM
... And that's called jazz!