1. Police Corruption
1.1. Police view poor as criminals
1.2. Poor view police in the same light as they are aiding and abetting criminals
1.2.1. • Police participating in drug trafficking
1.3. “police-bandits”
1.4. Inability to escape the violence of the community
1.5. Police earn more from corruption money than from salaries
1.6. • Because of the police corruption gangs provide a form of justice to the residents
1.7. Off- duty police killings
1.7.1. • Many police work as death-squad members on their off hours
1.7.1.1. • Settle personal vendettas
1.8. State tolerates corruption and violence from the police and military
1.9. High levels of police violence are not protested
1.10. Support for policies that are “tough on crime”
1.11. Absence of the rule of law
1.11.1. • For the people living in favelas, the police are unreliable
1.12. Majority of homicide and police brutality victims are poor and nonwhite
2. Drugs consumption among the poor usually has something to do with a connection with a gang or drug trafficking.
3. Chapter 5: State Terror, Gangs, and Everyday Violence in Rio de Janeiro
3.1. Defintions
3.1.1. Ta limpinho, ta limpinho – it’s clean, it’s clean
3.1.2. Vagabundos- vagrants
3.1.3. Viciados- addicts
3.1.4. Escopetas- short rifles or carbines
3.1.5. Aviaozinho- little airplane, also used to refer to drug deliverer
3.1.6. Vapor- drug delivery person
3.1.7. Bocas de fumo- mouth of smoke
3.1.8. Grana boa- good money
3.1.9. Bairros nobres- noble/wealthy neighborhoods
3.2. Rio: A City of Extremes
3.2.1. One of the most unequal states in the world
3.2.1.1. Law “belongs” only to the elite
3.2.1.1.1. The elite can choose to ignore the law, the working class does not have this option
3.2.2. Talk of crime among the middle- and upper-class, however they are not expose to the same dangers of the poor
3.2.3. Residents of favelas are associated with crime-
3.2.4. Harboring thieves and drug trading
3.2.5. Also associated with domestic workers, cooks, cleaners and nannies
3.2.6. North and West Zones are mixed with lower- and middle-class neighborhoods
3.2.7. Having a reasonable gang leader was necessary for the security and safety of the residents
3.2.8. Daily violence is experienced differently by class, race, gender and location
3.2.9. “elitist liberalism”
3.2.10. Civil liberties being granted by one’s social status
3.2.10.1. • People who defend the human rights are viewed negatively for supporting “privileges of bandits”
3.2.11. • People living in different neighborhoods are exposed to different risk and violence
3.2.11.1. • Violence is experienced differently according to the socioeconomic class
3.2.11.1.1. • Punishment is determined by class and race
3.2.12. Poor citizens in brown zones are criminalized by the middle- and upper-classes
3.3. Gangs
3.3.1. Hold a lot of power in the community
3.3.1.1. Gangs do more than just traffic drugs
3.3.1.1.1. Bandidos perform internal security and crime control
3.3.2. Residents realize the importance of having a local gang
3.3.2.1. Many citizens must take justice into their own hands
3.3.3. Offer a place of belonging and sense of identity
3.3.4. Gang members join for various reason including the injustice of the system
3.3.5. Given a gun when you join a gang in Felicidade Eterna
3.3.6. Provides a sense of masculinity
3.4. Drugs
3.4.1. Keep other gangs from invading, negotiate with the police, and help to prevent violence in family feuds
3.4.2. Drug consumption by middle-class and elite fuel gang activity
3.4.3. Drug addicts can become involved with gangs just to have access to their drug of choice
3.5. Wages determined by Race & Gender
3.5.1. White males make 6.3 times the minimum wage
3.5.2. White women make 3.6 times the minimum wage
3.5.3. Black males make 2.9 times the minimum wage
3.5.4. Black women make 1.7 times the minimum wage
3.6. Drug-Trafficking Gangs & the Community
3.6.1. Presence of gangs has provided legal/moral justification for the government to use force
3.6.2. Favelas are seen as high-crimes areas
3.6.3. Government seeks to detain the traffickers
3.6.4. In favelas the drug chiefs are important figures
3.6.5. Provide housing and cash in times of need
3.6.6. Employment for the youth
3.6.7. Some boys prefer petty crime over low-wages
3.6.8. Gangs are favored over the police
3.6.8.1. • “Social bandits arise and are successful in the absence of a reliable state”
3.6.9. Outside drug dealers is threatening to the community
3.6.10. Homegrown gang leader is generally excepted under the notion that the person who grew up int the favela will not dirty it
3.6.11. Distinction between “invaders” and “the local gang”
3.6.12. Also between real bandits and children getting into trouble
3.6.13. Gang culture is a form of organized crime
3.6.14. Local gangs must maintain their own protection – aren’t guaranteed protection from larger traffickers
3.6.15. • Drug trafficking organizations- Comando Vermelho and Terceiro Comando
3.6.15.1. Represents themselves as friends of the poor, protectors and victims of society
3.7. Violence and Revenge
3.7.1. Violence and murders occur by during ordinary business
3.7.1.1. • Being a victim of homicide peaks between the ages of 20 and 24
3.7.2. High death rate of young males can be attributed to:
3.7.3. Revenge between gangs
3.7.4. Personal conflict between individuals
3.7.5. And for those who feel they must take justice into their own hands
3.7.6. Good or bad: police or bandits
3.7.7. “There a police who are bandits, and bandits who are police”
3.7.8. Police and bandits both have identities, reputations and personal fame
3.7.8.1. • The personal fame can be positive or negative- depending on if the “correct” person is punished or if the “innocent” is murdered.
3.7.9. • 1995- Padre Miguel- the homicide rate was 229.9 per 100,000
3.8. • Religion
3.8.1. Offer a place to go to escape the experience of violence encountered
3.8.2. Clothing represents lifestyle
3.8.3. Bodily discipline
3.8.4. Clothing and bearings- suggest women are “out of the game”
3.8.5. Honest citizen
3.8.6. Not involved with violence, drugs or crime
3.8.7. Some religious groups require a certain dress code, no dancing, or drinking alcohol
4. Chapter 4: No Time for Childhood
4.1. Definitions
4.1.1. Red Command- youth gang
4.1.2. “Eu von morrer cedo”- “I’m going to die young”
4.1.3. Bandidos- bandits
4.1.4. Casa- home
4.1.5. Rua- street
4.1.6. Gente- people
4.1.7. Capuzados- the hooded ones, referring to off-duty police who are on the death squads
4.1.8. Carteira de identidade- identity card
4.1.9. Galeras- gangs based on funk dance membership.
4.1.10. Malandro- scoundrel, thief
4.2. The Killing Streets
4.2.1. Middle and upper class and Brazil protect themselves from the violence of the streets by moving behind higher walls
4.2.2. Death squads clean the streets
4.2.3. Extermination of street children
4.2.4. 7/24/93- off-duty police who were members of the death squad, kill 7 children
4.2.5. Gilberto Dimenstein’s, A Guerra do Meninos, depicts the assassination of the street children and how the society has outcasted the children.
4.2.6. Children are seen as innocent victims of their economic condition and also as dangerous criminals.
4.2.7. Pixote
4.2.7.1. Directed by Hector Babenco and featured real children, not actors, as the protagonist in the film.
4.2.7.2. Film represented the youth as criminals, but in a sympathetic way in regards to the middle and upper class citizens.
4.2.7.3. Failed to convey the feelings of those who raised the children. Also neglected to represent the context in which violence was present. Poor economic conditions and criminalization by the police and society.
4.2.8. Children and Gangs
4.2.8.1. Children recruited to do dirty work for favela gangs.
4.2.8.2. Children receive restricted sentences
4.2.8.3. Children on the street- beg for money, watch cars, look for labor work
4.2.8.4. Single mothers are often the sole providers for these children
4.2.8.5. Children recruited by favela gangs
4.2.8.6. Children viewed as bandits
4.2.8.7. Death squads “cleansing” the streets to get rid of them
4.2.9. Interaction with the Middle- and Upper-Class
4.2.9.1. Some middle and upper class – pay street kids to watch or wash their cars.
4.2.9.2. Behind closed doors they express annoyed feelings toward the youth
4.2.9.3. Some refuse to give money because it won’t solve the problem
4.2.9.4. Other give because they fear future retaliation for not giving
4.2.10. Nurturing vs. Nurtured
4.2.10.1. • “Nurturing children, in essence, are poor children who from an early age take on serious responsibilities; they bring in resources to their mothers and nurture the household, activities they view as moral obligations. Nurtured children, on the other hand, are the coddled progeny of middle-class families”
4.2.11. Home vs. The Streets
4.2.11.1. Home- personalistic moral world, viewed as the female domain
4.2.11.2. Street- individualistic. Dangerous and exciting.
4.2.11.3. Mother’s fear the temptations of the streets.
4.2.11.4. Brian Owensby made observation that despite the benefits of a modern society the middle class were unable to assert power within the political scene.
4.2.11.5. Instead focused on work and home improvements
4.2.11.6. Spiritual and psychotherapeutic practices.
4.2.11.7. Scientific psychology and therapeutic discourse practiced by the middle and upper classes
4.2.11.8. Charitable institutions and nongovernmental organizations
4.2.11.9. Street youths transformed through hard work
4.2.11.10. Strict discipline and hard work
4.2.11.11. Harsh punishments to discourage bad behavior
4.3. The “Protection” of Children
4.3.1. Chief of favela in Felicidade Eterna declared that there would be no child beatings in his territory.
4.3.2. Children regard him as local hero
4.3.3. Harsh punishments to keep children out of prison and alive
4.3.3.1. Encouraged to do honest work
4.3.3.2. Harsh physical punishments and harsh words
4.4. Honest Work vs. Gang Life
4.4.1. The gang life is tempting with the low-paying wages that honest labor jobs offer
4.4.2. Favela gangs rule through violence and terror, also provide economic stimulus to poor communities
4.4.3. Protectors against enemy gangs
4.4.4. High mortality rate for young men
4.4.5. Homicide is the leading cause of death for men 15-24
4.4.6. Children of the poor are not treated as children, unless they are very young
4.4.7. Children enter the workforce before it is legal
4.4.8. Work for low wages
4.4.9. Middle and upper class youth shun the idea manual labor
4.4.10. Middle and upper class youths experiment with drugs, alcohol and sex