Don't forget your ID

I heard it the other day through the window.
Young neighbor girl arrives home and I hear the sound of the chains on the gate opening.
The girls mother comes out and shouts at her for not taking her identity documents with her.
The girl doesn't reply.
The girls mother shouts again and tells her she has no idea how serious it is that she isn't taking her seriously.
My roommate/friend turns to me and starts up a discussion about this type of attitude.

Surprisingly we were not talking about the girl not paying attention to her mother. We were talking about the mothers fear. This is not the first time I have had this conversation about ID, nor do I think it will it be the last time. The problem is, the dictatorship only ended in the mid 80's and Brazilians have only had a short time to recover. Most people don't like to talk about it much, but you might get lucky and find someone who will open up about it.

Many people here know of, or have someone in the family, who was either arrested, beat-up or tortured during the dictatorship. So the idea of leaving the house without identification would truely frighten anyone above the age of 25. It isn't as dangerous anymore to leave without ID, you can't just be stopped anymore and asked for your documents. I think though that just like the neighbor lady did to her daughter... the older gerneration is passing this fear on to the younger generation.

The effects of the dictatorship are not only seen in the fear of the police and being caught outside without identification, but it can be seen in many aspects of the Brazilian culture. Just an example of this, is the lack of censorship on Brazilian TV. It is really common to turn on the TV during the day and see a half naked girl dancing around a group of boys in a studio.

I was shocked when I was here in 1999 and Feticeira was on tv dancing in nothing but a g-string and a cloth covering her..... mouth! I turned to my friend and asked how they could allow that on tv with little kids watching. It was then that I realized that the truth is, the people are not ready to give up the freedom they have to not be censored and it is only recently that they are starting to slowly place a few restrictions on what can be shown on day time TV.

I guess it is like a child that has grown up in a repressive household and when they get out on their own... they want to experience everything and they don't want anyone to come in and place rules again.

I have several friends who's family members were tortured during the dictatorship... so, I learned to hold my tongue when it comes to wanting to make comments about the lack of censorship and the irrational fears of the police. I don't leave the house without ID, but that is for clearly different reasons than those of my Brazilian friends.