Who killed Jesus?

Between 2003 and 2015, <strong> 89 </strong> children below the age of 14 were murdered by the police in Brazil. <strong> 60% </strong> of those executions took place in Rio de Janeiro. According to researchers, police brutality, impunity, and prejudice against people from the “favelas” are among the many causes of the problem. [[Enough.]]

The lastest victim of this tragedy: <em>Eduardo Jesus</em>, <b>10 years old</b>. He was sitting in front of his house, playing with his mobile phone when a military police officer fired a rifle 16 feet away from him. He was shot in the head and died instantly. A human-rights international organization empowered <em>YOU</em> to indicate who must be hold accountable. Brazil’s federal government has complied to follow whichever recommendation you deem fit. In your report, you only need to answer [[this question]].

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tirajapaegrupo.jpg" width="300" height="100"> </div> In your office, you face the spokesperson for the military police in Rio, a professor who investigates public safety at the University of Rio and an advocate for the civil rights of the people in the slums. Here's your first question: <h4>Why is the police in Rio so lethal?</h4> Who do you want to answer this question? <hr> [[Police]] [[State]] [[Society]]

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tirajapaepm.jpg" width="300" height="100"> </div> The way this questions is posed leads to a misconception. We do not kill children. What we do is fight for the Brazilian people, for the safety of every citizen in a city controlled by drug traffickers. We carried out an extensively investigation against the police officers accused of killing Jesus, and it has been proved that they fired their rifles as a reaction to drug dealers who opened fire first. Unfortunately, a child was caught in the way. The police did act in self defense but made a mistake in the execution. <hr> [[Ask about the unnoficial version of Jesus'death. ]] [[Ask about the Amnesty International report on police brutality in Brazil.]]

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tira.jpg" width="300" height="100"> </div> The problem of police brutality in Brazil is a direct result of our military dictatorship. What we see today is the same State’s killing apparel of that period. It was left intact by the legislators who brought us democracy and did not punish the public officials responsible for creating the apparel in the first place. <hr> [[Ask the professor to explain the link between police brutality and the military dictatorship.]] [[Ask about public safety policies in Brazil.]]

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tirajapaeguynormal.jpg" width="300" height="100"> </div> To Brazil, public security means arresting and killing poor people so that the rich feel safer. Because this strategy only generates more violence, the middle class and the wealthy demand even more incarcerations, more executions, more blood. Between 2009 and 2013, the police killed 11.197 people, almost 8 people each day. In the same period, 1,770 police officers were murdered. This endless war does not make anyone consume less drugs. Neither does it make people safer. What it does is boil a hatred in society that WILL at some point explode. <hr> [[Do you believe that only poor people suffer police brutality in Brazil?]] [[How far do you think discrimination affects the problem in question?]]

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tirajapaepm.jpg" width="300" height="100"> </div> Jesus' mother and other witnesses account of what happened differ from this official version. They say that there was not an exchange of shots with drug dealers when Jesus was killed; And Jesus' mother says that when she saw her kid's body on the street, she tried to attack the police officer who in turn threatened her by pointing his rifle at her. Witnesses also say the police officer tried to change the crime scene. <hr> [[Do you want to explain that?]] [[It does not look like this problem started with the death of Jesus, does it?]]

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tirajapaepm.jpg" width="300" height="100"> </div> Amnesty International recently released a report concluding that the military police in Brazil is the deadliest in the world. 15,6 percent of all homicides in 2014 were committed by a police officer. <hr> [[Ask about the unnoficial version of Jesus'death. ]] [[It does not look like this problem started with the death of Jesus, does it?]].

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tirajapaepm.jpg" width="300" height="100"> </div> Police officers are three times more likely to be murdered than the average Brazilian. The lower ranked military police officers earn an annual salary of $15,248, including benefits and danger pay allowances. They work in 12-hour shifts, night and day, for an average of 42 hours a week. Our work goes unrecognized. Our errors are scrutinized. We have fractions of a second to decide between accelerating or braking, shooting or retreating; either way we are blamed. The bottom line is: the police is not called to assist; we are here to contain. We are called when social norms and the law are not enough to make a person in the good path. That’s why the police ought to be virile. The testosterone that makes the criminal violent is the same that gives courage to the police officer. <hr> [[The United Nations has recommended Brazil to abolish the military police, could that be then a solution?]]

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tirajapaepm.jpg" width="300" height="100"> </div> In the military police we are guided by discipline and hierarchy. What I think about the tragic death of Jesus is the same as the governor of Rio de Janeiro, Luiz Fernando Pezão, publicly stated: "I understand their sorrow. My wife has lost a family member to violence. But we cannot forget that the drug mafia make use of these tragedies to rise against the government. We will not back off in the face of the mafia’s cowardice”. <hr> [[It does not look like this problem started with the death of Jesus, does it?]].

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tira.jpg" width="300" height="100"> </div> The culture of impunity and violence within Brazil’s security forces was inherited from the military dictatorship. Our current Constitution from 1988 did not change most of what the Constitution of 1967 - bestowed by the military government – stated about public safety and the role of the Armed Forces. Apart from most of the world’s democracies where public safety is dealt by civilians, in Brazil it’s the Army who administers and regulates the structure and logistics of the military police. This control allied with the lack of punity of dictatorship’s torturers have created the favorable environment for the violent scenario we see today. <hr> [[But even so, civil society in a democracy has many more ways to avoid abuses than in a dictatorship, so what don't we see that in Brazil?]] [[Ask about public safety policies in Brazil.]]

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tira.jpg" width="300" height="100"> </div> The problem is a direct result of decades of <b>NOT ONE</b> effective public safety policy in Brazil. Just to give you a notion of the map of violence in Brazil: - There are 154 homicides every single day; - Depending on the state, less than 15 percent of the homicides are investigated and solved; - In a recent national survey, 81 percent of Brazilians said they were afraid of being murdered, almost half of the population fears of being killed in the next year; - 62 percent of people living in a city with a population larger than 100,000 are afraid of the military police. <hr> [[But even so, civil society in a democracy has many more ways to avoid abuses than in a dictatorship, so what don't we see that in Brazil?]] [[But the pacification programme in Rio is overall an effective policy, isn't it?]]

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tira.jpg" width="300" height="100"> </div> Yes and no. The results are mixed. Since pacification began five years ago up until 2012, we saw a good decline in homicides and robberies. Inside favelas with UPPS, homicide rates were actually halved. Recently, crime is again on the rise. Policy makers hoped that this type of community policing would change the extremely violent police culture in Rio, but that hasn't happened. Police have been discovered trying to plant weapons on innocent bystanders. There have even been cases of forced disappearances and torture. Traffickers have also attacked and surrounded pacification police outposts, and many cops have been injured and some killed. <hr> [[Human Rights Watch has recommended Brazil to abolish the military police, could that be then a solution?]]

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tira.jpg" width="300" height="100"> </div> Brazilian society is largely favorable to the police violent actions. One in six Brazilians legitimate the practice of torture by the police. This support from the people shelters this kind of violence. What I see is that the military police is unable to reform itself and other institutions have never stepped forward to solve this issue. There’s this inertia from everyone involved. <hr> [[But police brutality is ultimately a problem for all Brazilians, isn't it perceived in that way by everyone?]] [[But the pacification programme in Rio is overall an effective policy, isn't it?]]

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tirajapaeguynormal.jpg" width="300" height="100"> </div> Did you know that in the words of the State of Rio’s Public Security Secretary, José Mariano Beltrame, a shooting in a slum in the outskirts of Rio is one thing and a shooting in Copacabana is a whole different story? He is the man behind the Pacifying Police Units in the slums and did say that in a conference in 2007 to explain why drug traffickers were moving their weapons and key personnel to the slums in the south zone of Rio in order to fight police occupation. He said that police missions in the south zone are much more complicated than in the north and west zones where most of the population is made of poor communities. In the south zone there's always the risk of killing someone from middle and higher classes. <hr> [[Is social segregation a widely discussed issue in Brazil?]] [[But police brutality is ultimately a problem for all Brazilians, isn't it perceived in that way by everyone?]]

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tirajapaeguynormal.jpg" width="300" height="100"> </div> The Federal Order of Brazilian Lawyers officially repudiated the State of Rio’s Public Security Secretary, José Mariano Beltrame, who essentially publicly admitted that in the eyes of the state’s government the middle class population from the south zone is treated differently and have more rights than the working man living in the slums, who is constantly caught in the middle of fire between police and drug traffickers. But nobody honestly seems to care. There are so many killings in the slums that we end up mixing up the names and ages of the victims, as if each of them were not a person, did not have a story, a favorite soccer team, a certain way of laughing, a nickname, a favorite dish. And they actually didn’t. For the State, they didn’t. <hr> [[But police brutality is ultimately a problem for all Brazilians, isn't it perceived in that way by everyone?]]

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tirajapaeguynormal.jpg" width="300" height="100"> </div> Middle class cannot passively watch to what happens in the favelas and keeo doing nothing about it. They would not tolerate the same rates of violence in their neighborhoods. Jesus’ death did not stir much commotion, besides those thinking “this could be my son”. The reason is so obvious: Jesus was poor; his family is poor and living in the slums. They almost deserve it in the mind of many. We also did not see many headlines about his death, which is, again, nothing out of the ordinary in a nation that was the last one to abolish slavery and still ranks among the top 10 countries with the obscenest inequality rates. <hr> [[But police brutality is ultimately a problem for all Brazilians, isn't it perceived in that way by everyone?]] [[Do you believe that only poor people suffer police brutality in Brazil?]]

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tirajapaeguynormal.jpg" width="300" height="100"> </div> Jesus did not die at 10 years-old because of police brutality. He died because of social brutality. Did you know that 90 percent of society begs to lower the age of criminal responsibility of minors, from 18 to 16 years-old for all kinds of crimes? They think this will decrease crime rates. Right after Jesus was killed by the police, there was a picture of a boy holding a rifle in a favela that spreaded like fire in social media. People from every social status were saying that the boy was Jesus and that he was killed because he was one of those minors who wasn't in jail only because of his age. In reality, Jesus dreamt of being a firefighter. He was a straigh A student and was watching TV with his mother only minutes before deciding he would wait in front of his house for his sister who was about to arrive homefrom work. His sister would never see her baby brother alive again. <hr> [[Amnesty International has recommended Brazil to abolish the military police, could that be then a solution?]]

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tirajapaepm.jpg" width="300" height="100"> </div> The demilitarization of the police would result in a complete disruption of public order and a severe institutional instability, since we would see a relapse of hierarchy and discipline in the State’s only repressive apparatus. Contentious military police force exists in every democratic country in the world!! We police officers are also victims of violence. We are in the frontline of the problem and whenever one of us is killed by criminals, we don't even get media coverage. Sometimes, the family of the deceased police officer doesn't even get a visit from authorities who are too afraid of public opinion. In the United States, we see a complete different behavior. The bad guy is afraid of killing a police officer because he knows that the death is going to turn into a public commotion and his punishment is going to be as heavy as it is to kill a man of the law. <hr> But now, YOU tell me. [[Who do you think killed Jesus?]]

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tira.jpg" width="300" height="100"> </div> I ultimately believe that the military police is the easiest target to take blame. We are talking here about the people who have the worst public mission in a place like Rio. Who send these police officers to carry out an impossible mission? The burden of pacifying a historically deadly city lies solely on the shoulders of our policemen. We determine that these men, who are in most cases as poor as the ones executed in the slums, are the solution to the problems created by a neglectful and incompetent State. The same State that unquestioningly occupy the slums with the police force, but is incapable of also occupying these places with doctors, social service professionals, teachers who could carry public assistance in these places of exclusion and deprivation. <hr> [[But now I'd like to hear who do you think killed Jesus?]]

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tirajapaeguynormal.jpg" width="300" height="100"> </div> It is possible and quite likely that a public servant murdered Jesus. This feeds the debate about the official treatment of underprivileged people as enemies and also about the compulsory enforcement of Justice to discourage impunity. Just as Dylan sang I sing, "how many deaths will it take till he knows that too many people have died?" <hr> Maybe to you who are foreign to this country, things might be clearer and you are able to answer: [[Who is responsible for Jesus'death?]]

http://www.infonet.com.br/cidade/ler.asp?id=171086 http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/colunas/luizfernandovianna/2015/04/1612725-o-sangue-escorre-ao-lado.shtml#_=_ http://palavraplena.typepad.com/accosta/2015/12/homenagem-aos-policiais-militares-mortos-em-2015.html http://www.pragmatismopolitico.com.br/2015/04/e-se-o-menino-jesus-fosse-morto-em-ipanema-ou-no-leblon.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rv-ytj0T7c http://nacoesunidas.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/End-of-Mission-Statement-SR-Minorities-Brazil-FINAL-ENG.pdf http://veja.abril.com.br/blog/felipe-moura-brasil/brasil/o-perigo-e-a-falacia-da-desmilitarizacao-da-policia/ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/20/opinion/barbara-reform-brazils-military-police.html http://www.brasilpost.com.br/2015/09/08/policia-brasil-mata-mais_n_8102650.html http://jovempan.uol.com.br/noticias/brasil/policia/81-das-pessoas-tem-medo-de-serem-mortas-diz-datafolha-violencia-da-pm-assusta-62.html http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/08/30/435993447/rios-favelas-feel-the-peace-and-the-pressure-of-pacification http://jus.com.br/artigos/27650/por-que-sou-contra-a-pec-51-2013-conhecida-como-pec-do-trem-da-alegria#ixzz3tVU8Wqa9 http://www.gazetadopovo.com.br/vida-e-cidadania/90-apoiam-reducao-da-idade-penal-c8e24o0vlosyiway5n00aryvi http://extra.globo.com/noticias/rio/beltrame-um-tiro-em-copacabana-uma-coisa-na-favela-da-coreia-outra-oab-critica-diferenciamento-720077.html http://www2.uol.com.br/historiaviva/reportagens/ditadura_autoritarismo_edson_teles.html http://g1.globo.com/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2015/04/mae-de-morto-no-alemao-acusa-nunca-vou-esquecer-o-rosto-do-pm.html http://oglobo.globo.com/rio/estado-do-rio-teve-em-dez-anos-50-criancas-mortas-por-policiais-60-de-todos-os-casos-no-pais-15789318

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<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tirajapaepm.jpg" width="300" height="100"> </div> Thank you for your time, Mr. spokerperson for the military police. <hr> I have made my mind that [[the Police]] or [[the Brazilian State]] or [[the Brazilian Society]] is the main responsible for the deaths of these children. <hr> I still want to hear what [[State]] or [[Society]] has to say about this.

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/cristoclose.jpg" width="320" height="330"> </div> </div>Thank you for helping us identifying the main actor of the problem of violence in Brazil. Your report has been sent to the Federal Government. We will keep you posted. Tchau! <hr> [[References]]

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tira.jpg" width="300" height="100"> </div> Thank you for your time, Professor. <hr> I have made my mind that [[the Brazilian State]] or [[the Police]] or [[the Brazilian Society]] is the main responsible for the deaths of these children. <hr> I still want to hear what the [[Police]] or [[Society]] has to say about this.

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tirajapaeguynormal.jpg" width="300" height="100"> </div> I appreciate you taking the time to come here and tell me about the society's perspective. <hr> I have made my mind that [[the Brazilian Society]] or [[the Police]] or [[the Brazilian State]] is the ultimate responsible for the deaths of these children. <hr> I still want to hear what the [[Police]] or [[State]] has to say about this.

<div align="center"> <img src="http://strayinreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/cristoclose.jpg" width="320" height="330"> </div> Thank you for helping us identifying the main actor of the problem of violence in Brazil. Your report has been sent to the Federal Government. We will keep you posted. Tchau! <hr> [[References]]