1. No Time for Childhood
1.1. Pedro Paulo and other disenfranchised youth see crime as a quicker, easier way to climb the social rank
1.1.1. They watch those in "honest" professions struggle just to survive
2. City of Walls
2.1. Upper and middle class seek to separate themselves from the lower class
2.1.1. Fear of children turning to crime or gangs has lead to the killing or Rio children en masse via "death squads"
2.1.2. Some will refuse to aid urban youth, hoping to not acknowledge the problem whatsoever
2.1.3. Two types of children "nurturing" who aid their families, sometimes through illegal means and "nurtured" children who are provided for
2.1.3.1. "Nurturing" children on the street, however, are more prone to break from familial ties and some mother's punish them harshly hoping to dissuade them from this kind of life
3. Out on the Streets
3.1. Many impoverished families consist of a single mother raising "her" children, these children may in actuality be her blood relatives or children of friends
3.1.1. A differentiation is made among the children as to the relationships they hold, "brother" as opposed to "cousin"
3.1.2. Much importance is placed on keeping the disquiet of the "public" streets out of the "private" home
3.1.3. Survivalist instinct has many caregivers of the lower classes instill the values of hard work into their children in the hopes they will be able to fend for themselves in the harsh realities of Rio
3.1.4. Gloria is not above casting out children who seem bring trouble into the private home, she refers to them as "deceased"
4. Youth Culture and Resistance
4.1. Gloria and other caretakers may seem harsh on their children but this is only because they wish to keep them safe in a culture that is racially and economically divided
4.2. Though some youth believe involvement in the streets through a gang may lead to easy money, many end up dead Homicide is the leading cause of death in Rio among men between 15 and 24
4.3. Children of the lower classes must mature the fastest in order to learn a skill and strive to become "contributing" members of their society
5. State Terror, Gangs and Everyday Violence
5.1. Though the wealthy talk at length of the violence and crime of Rio, they rarely experience it themselves
5.1.1. The lower classes must deal with murder and crime in the favelas and this stereotype of a seedy underbelly helps to strengthen the class divide
5.2. Many young men join gangs in favelas because they are aware of the huge economic divide and wish for a better life; the gangs also function as an accepting social group promoting camaraderie
6. Drug-Trafficking in Rio
6.1. The presence of gangs in Rio have lead the government to use excessive force in many favelas
6.1.1. Some, however, would rather cooperate with the local gangs for protection, they provide needed services and employment for youths
6.2. "Good" bandits are locals who stop "outsiders" from causing trouble in the community
6.2.1. Similarly, good policemen need to have an honor code to stop senseless violence
6.2.1.1. The term "police-bandit" was adopted in dealing with corrupt police who are willing to kill or extort members of the favela, they are seen as worse as the gangs
6.3. At times there is a sense of some civility in gang warfare, residents of a favela are usually warned before a shoot out begins
7. "Private" Matters
7.1. Lack of a proper social services or policing system has led many favelas to take justice in their own hands in "private" matters of the community or in a home These matters are usually handled by local gangs
7.1.1. Sometimes a gang will act on behalf of two different parties at different times, helping one and then later acting on the other party's behalf This is seen as "alright" by the citizens of a favela as long as the "punishments" are in line with the consensus feelings of the community
7.1.2. Sometimes the line between police and bandit become blurred and local residents cease to care As long as transgressions are paid for and a community is not dirtied, it is more important that the perpetrator is made to pay for his/her crime
7.2. Brown zones are urban shanty town areas usually devoid of much state infrastructure and are most prone to violence by police or gangs
7.2.1. The poor are criminalized by the police and the gap in socio-economic terms is so extreme and inexorably linked to race that many of the lower classes find themselves less as citizens and more as prisoners of police who will extort and torture
7.2.2. May of those in urban areas have much more respect for local gangs and bandits who dole out what is seen as a more fair sense of justice within the community
8. Women, Oppositional Culture, and Religious Conversion
8.1. Pentecostal temples tend to be in the poorest parts of a city and attract those with the least income and formal education 69% of the members of these churches are women
8.2. "[W]omen are choosing religious conversion as a form of oppositional culture, one that resists male oppositional culture, namely, gang membership and participation in urban violence"
8.3. Religious revival seems to stem from a sense of uncertainty, norms of violence are mired
8.3.1. Pentecostal and evangelist religious commitment also seems to correlate with taking a stronger stance against racism and taking more pride in one's person, it melds the public and private
8.3.2. Provides as a "protective camouflage" against the violence and day to day corruption It is a symbol of neutrality and nonparticipation