WELL SAID

As the violence in Rio only increases, it is an obvious result that so does the anger of its law abiding citizens. Less than a month ago a bus cashier (in Brazil buses have not only the driver but another person, a cashier, who collects the money) was shot in front of the bus' security camera and many passengers, in broad daylight, despite the fact that he did not resist the robbery and handed over all the cash to the violent criminal teens (likely ages 12-17). That same week a drugstore sales woman in her 20's was also shot by the robbers after handing all the money to them as asked. Now a days there is nothing you can do to avoid death. Compliance or non-compliance, Rio's criminals are getting younger and more violent by the hour, and with the lack of deterrent laws (which protect minors from incarceration and limits lengths to 20 years with right of parole within 1/6th of the time) crime is worth it.

But still criminals and their families, with the help of "human rights" organizations, complain of prison conditions for things as ludicrous as the distance from the prisoners home towns, which increase the distance that their family members need to travel to visit them in their (short) stay. One woman however decided to speak out in a letter to one of these complaining mothers. She named the communication "letter from one mother to another" and her words accurately reflect the ridiculous lack of respect to the law abiding people of not just Rio, but the entire Federal Republic of Brazil. Carrying the slogan "human rights for the right humans" it read:

"Today I saw your strong protest in front of television cameras on the transfer of your child, a minor offender, from the dependencies of Febem in Sao Paulo to another dependency in the Febem farther within the state. I saw you complain about the distance that now separates your son from you, of the difficulties and expenses you now have in order to visit him, as well as other problems stemming from the whole transfer. I also saw the extensive coverage that the media gave to the fact, and saw that not only you but also other mothers in same situation, have the support committees, pastorals, organs and bodies for the defense of human rights. I am also a parent and thus can well understand your protest. So I decided to echo your sentiments. There is an enormous distance that separates me from my son. Working and earning little, I have the same difficulties and the costs that you have to visit him. With great sacrifice, I can only do it on Sundays because I work, including Saturdays, to assist in the maintenance and education of the rest of my family. Fortunately I have my husband, an inseparable companion, who, to me, has played the important role of friend and spiritual advisor. In case you don't know, I am the mother of that young man who your son brutally killed during a robbery, stupidly, at a video store, where he, my son, worked during the day to pay for studies at night. Next Sunday, when you are hugging, kissing and caressing your son, I will be visiting mine and placing flowers on his humble tomb in a cemetery on the outskirts of Sao Paulo ... Ah! I almost forgot: do not worry because even though I work very hard while earning very little, I still am able to pay my taxes in order to ensure that I will pay again for the mattress your son burned during the last rebellion in Febem, ok?"

I think it's important to disseminate these words. They are so powerful and show the disparate treatment, pro-criminal and anti-law abiding, tax paying, peaceful criminal. This extreme reversal of values is ruining my city and my country. Human rights should be owed to the right humans.