Brazil: apathy-free zone?
During my time in Brazil I’ve noticed that young Brazilians seem to lack the apathy that is common in many of their British contemporaries. It is quite normal to see Brazilian teenagers and 20-somethings wearing t-shirts bearing environmental messages: “Save Water!”, “Protect Mother Earth!”. Their British counterparts wouldn’t be seen dead in a t-shirt which was this earnest! They would snort derisively and read out the slogan in a mocking voice. “Oh yeah, ‘Save the Planet’ man.”
Take a look at this:
I spotted this as I was walking in Santa Teresa recently and it occurred to me that simple, positive messages like this are quite rare back in Britain.
Compare the sentiment behind the image above with say, the messages in much of Banksy’s work.
“Anti-Capitalism for Sale” by Banksy.
Interesting right? My theory is that much of the cynicism and apathy in the UK comes from having had things relatively good for a fairly long time. To Britons, the words “Military Dictatorship” describe something that happens to other (usually distant) nations. Democracy has been around for a good long time. People lose interest in voting when they feel that all the politicians are going to give them pretty much the same results (in 2010, voter turnout in the UK was just 65% – in Brazil it was more than 80%).
That isn’t to say that the British have nothing to complain about! Another cause of apathy is the feeling that nothing you do will make any difference. In early 2003, around a million people marched in London in an attempt to stop a war with Iraq. Next month the nation went to war.
So what about Brazil? Is this a cynicism-free zone? Certainly not! If you ask a Brazilian about their politicians or the state of Brazilian infrastructure, more likely than not they will tell you that all politicians are thieves and the country is crumbling into the ground (Warning: do not agree with them or you will incur the Brazilian wrath!*).
“I don’t need sex – the government f*cks me everyday!”
So yes, there is cynicism here. But there is also an engagement with politics that I find refreshing. Many young Brazilians will talk passionately about politics where plenty of people back in England would just say “Whatever”.
Does this youthful engagement ever stray into the realms of naivety? It sure does! I have heard several rich kids explain in detail (and with a straight face), how they believe in socialism (and even communism) whilst their entire, comfortable lives are built on foundations of the capitalism they profess to hate. Often these ‘socialists’ don’t know how to use a washing machine, clean a bathroom or cook a meal because they pay poor people to do those things for them.
But in general I like this willingness to engage, the lack of sneering that greets someone who dares to try something new. There is a feeling of potential in Brazil that is positively infectious. Maybe they (we!) haven’t achieved everything they want yet, but the belief that it is just round the corner is inspiring.
*As mentioned above, Brazilians may complain about their country but do not be tempted to agree with them! Ray showed me this brilliant advert for Havaianas. The first 2 guys are Brazilian, having a bit of a moan about Brazil. Then an Argentinian (the guy with the long hair) makes the mistake of joining in. You don’t have to understand Portuguese to understand their reaction!
Disclaimer: I know there are plenty of committed, conscientious British teenagers and conversely, plenty of Brazilians kids who probably say “whatever” to all kinds of things on a regular basis. This post is just based on some things that have occurred to me – feel free to disagree.
Good post!
I think British youth and American youth can be placed in the same category here. Myself included!
I SOMETIMES have moments where I think ”YES! there is still hope!!” while thinking about the future that includes an actual change within the way things move around here (Obama’s campaign was all about ”change”, and while he’s doing OK in some things, I think he’s doing pretty bad in others…he’s great with social issues, but I think he could be one of the world’s worst businessmen.) But then I remember, our politicians go in with good intentions and are corrupted within two minutes of being elected, mainly by the automotive companies and oil companies.
I can’t really comment on this subject for Brazilians specifically, but I can easily see why Brazilian youth would be more hopeful. Things are changing for the better (and somewhat rapidly), people are becoming more educated, and people are getting more involved in general. This is a big positive.
Now, the question is: in two generations when Brazil is a very wealthy country, will the people still be the way they are, or will they be more like Americans and like the British? My gut wants to tell me that Brazilians will always be Brazilians, for better or for worse.
Hey Alex – that’s an interesting question. Like when lottery winners say “It won’t change me”, I have my doubts! But not all change is bad – I would hate it if Brazil took on all the worst aspects of first world culture. But on the other hand, maybe Brazilians will become more comfortable and more confident with the new-found prosperity that seems to be coming.
But like you say, I hope they manage to hold on to their essence of Brazilianness – that should be a word… ;)
I’d rather use rates of volunteering and philantrophy to measure apathy. A positive message on a shirt, albeit nice to look at, really doesn’t accomplish anything concrete. In this regard I think Americans are much better than Brazilians, much better. I could be wrong though since I am basing that last statement solely on what I have witnessed. Plus, if a person helps out their nationality really isn’t relevant. And it could also be argued that volunteering in a less organized place is actually more of a challenge. .
Hmmm, interesting points Gritty. Certainly it’s easier to go off helping other people when you’re not in need of help yourself. Volunteering (somewhere sunny/exotic) has become almost the expected pre- or post-university activity for many in the UK.
Regarding the t-shirts thing, I wasn’t really saying that I thought that reflected philanthropy – more that it showed that young Brazilians aren’t afraid/embarrassed to say “I feel strongly about environmental issues” – in the UK, during my youth, saying things like that became uncool at the age of 13/14!
I’m not sure if that’s still true though. If you happened to catch recent film 21 Jump Street (which was kinda funny at the beginning), there was quite a good bit where 2 cops go back to school (disguised as school kids) and one of them says to the other “the secret to being popular at school is to show everyone that you don’t care about anything.” The joke was that everything had changed on him and now it was cool to be into environmental issues, etc… So maybe I’m just getting old!
Tom / Gritty,
Não sei se os brasileiros são menos ou mais otimistas. Ou menos ou mais engajados.
Mas dizer que brasileiros ajudam menos as pessoas a volta não me parece correto. Provavelmente o numero de voluntários no Brasil é muito menor, mas isso não reflete o nível de filantropia.
Vá por exemplo em uma favela, ou qualquer comunidade pobre, e você vai perceber que tudo é dividido. Um vizinho divide com o outro o pouco que tem – seja comida, roupas, a geladeira o chuveiro elétrico. Quase tudo é dividido.
Eri
@ Tom
The thing is that even back in the “Ï am so cool and don’t care about anything” days I would see alot more volunteering and engagement than I see in Brazil by those who champion virtuous deeds on t-shirts, or during bar talk. In my high school students would even volunteer their weekends to pick up and drive those who were to drunk to drive themselves – teens helping drunk teens instead of helping themselves to them – quite something. I just feel alot more confident in those who espouse positive behavior and ideas if they have actually done something to that effect, even if during a short period of time. If not isn’t the whole constant positive message on a t-shirt somewhat flaky?
@ Eri
Concordo contigo, e perceba que as pessoas que fazem o que você descreveu raramente usam uma camisa defendendo uma causa ou um ideal (liberdade, luta por isso ou contra aquilo, etc). O que quero dizer é que a facilidade de publicamente pregar por algo em camisas ou numa conversa de bar nem sempre é traduzido em ações uteis pelos pregadores. Na verdade pelo o que tenho visto no Brasil quase nunca é. A grande parte da ajuda na verdade parece acontecer entre pessoas que precisam dela: uma apoiando a outra no que pode, e quando pode.
Isso sendo dito ter um sistema de saúde como o SUS não deixa de ser uma ato de solidariedade de todos com aqueles que não conseguem, por meios próprios, acesso a esses serviços.
Concordo – há varias formas de ajuda. E sobre as camisas, a frase “ações falam mais alto que palavras” aparece apropriado.
Excellent post, and right on target, too. I think that one of the most objective measures of apathy is voter turnout, and as an American citizen, I’m deeply embarrassed that the US has terrible turnout compared to the other major democracies. When I read what you wrote about turnout in the UK being “just 65%,” I admit that I was very jealous!
Since the 1970s, US voter turnout has hovered around the 50% in presidential elections, and it’s usually even worse in the off-year elections. It reached a modern high in 2008, at just over 57%, but that’s still really bad, especially considering the chronic whining that many Americans indulge in as their preferred form of political expression.
Brazilians may complain about their government too, but at least 80% of them manage to show up at the polls, a level of civic participation that is enviable.
I know that the economy and bad job market are making things difficult for Americans today, but that’s true in Europe, too, and they also have much higher turnout rates than we do. In the recent French Presidential elections, voter turnout was about 80% in both the first and second rounds.
After prolonged periods of political repression, it’s exciting to see Brazilians taking ownership over their future.
Hi Phil – wow! You guys are even worse than us! ;)
A couple of things about voter turnout here in Brazil. Whenever I mention it, my (Brazilian) wife always says “Ah yes, but you have to vote here.” Apparently there is a fine for not voting which everyone knows about. I’m told that what isn’t so well publicised is that the fine is minute (like R$3 or something), but still, a fine can be a very motivating factor!
But I don’t think we can let that fully explain the high voter turn-out here. It was a tricky thing to try to get down in words. I regularly see a very cynical response from Brazilians when asked about the politicians here. But I have to constantly remind myself that democracy here is still relatively new (compared to the UK). I’m sure the fact that so many people can still remember the Military Dictatorship has something to do with this. I’m not sure if this is very scientific (so many factors must affect voter turnout), but interesting to see Spain’s voter turnout was up around the 70-80% mark until recently… Spain Voter Turnout
Hi Tom,
Your theory about the relationship between voter turnout and the memory of a recent dictatorship is really interesting. Using the same website you linked for Spain’s voter turnout, you can see that voter turnout in Germany was in the high 80% to low 90% range from the late 1940s up through 1990. It’s still very high, but there was a definite drop-off, presumably as the older generation of Germans started to die off. Someone should do a study…..or maybe they already have.
I think it’s OK for voters to be cynical about their politicians, as long as they still show up and vote. It’s when people give up on the process that things can start to go wrong.
Perhaps stability plays a part in voter turnout. As democracy takes root and societies mature then the options that political parties put foward don’t differ all that much – actually they seem to converge more often than not – and voting doesn’t appear to be so urgent. I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing since it indicates faith and satisfaction in continuity, and people can then focus on other civic contributions which are more hands on, and effective in my opinion.
I would not be surprised though if, during an economic downturn, voter turnout increases regardless of how rich a country may be.