The class discussion we had about civic society and
sports brought to my mind this article I read a few days ago. I mentioned it in
class as the Brazilian football murders. Here’s the link to anyone interested.
This story came out months after the murders took place and covered in more
detail the socioeconomic factors that may have created the environment where
something so horrific could occur. What seemed to surface through the article was a lack of civil infrastructure
mentioned from numerous people effected by the murders. Family members wondered why it took police so long to respond, whereas police officers blamed the situation on
a lack of resources to adequately do their job. There are larger socioeconomic
questions regarding the lack of attention paid to the region despite Brazil’s
burgeoning economic status, furthermore, blame from some was placed on the
wealthy land owners of the region who appear to have a stranglehold on the
political and economic decisions which stymie civil progress.
What is interesting
is that none of the respondents lay the blame on the game itself, and the often
hostile environment created during competitive soccer, or the fact that violent
deaths involving soccer matches has steadily increased over years. I
tend to agree, feeling that these manifestations of violence would occur at
other social events if not at soccer matches and the issue’s solution lies in
the amount of attention given to proper civic investment on part of the decision
makers in the community. In this particular area the public sphere is
non-existent or it manifests itself violently. Either way, judging from this story the State, the citizens and the civil society appear to be at a stalemate regarding the road ahead and whether the right adjustment in
this particular situation be a more adequate police force, more education, or maybe just a positive environment where individual frustrations regarding the community can be voiced and one can still walk away feeling like
they’ve been heard is anyone’s guess
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