Violence

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  Salvador, Brazil
Sunday, September 10, 2006

We feel obligated now to talk about encounters with violence, despite the fact that it will worry our family and friends.

1st incident occurred in Barra:

A block and a half from our hotel on the ocean. It was around 8:00pm and we had just stepped out of a restaurant. We walked a block, past people mingling around the sidewalks, who were also enjoying the evening or milling about. Susan was having a craving and peeked in an ice cream freezer in a little shop owned by a Chinese couple. When leaving the shop, two small children asked for money and we apologetically but firmly said no before turning left onto the sidewalk, headed toward our hotel. Matt sensed two people heading toward us from behind so he stopped and turned. One man in a red shirt passed by, uneventfully. Meanwhile, a boy (about 12-15 years old) was crossing the street quickly to catch up with us. He said something to Susan in Portuguese about "amiga," with great friendliness, before turning his attention completely to Matt.

The whole time Matt sensed he was too close and, sure enough, he reached out with his left arm and grabbed Mattīs tee shirt. Matt brushed the boyīs arm away and stepped back. As this happened the boy pulled a knife and said "give me your money" in english... but by this time Matt was stepping back out of immediate threat, and Susan had side stepped away to the right, behind a Brazilian hippie nut-cigarette vendor who happened to walk by the scene. The boy huffed and lowered his knife while saying, "No problema."

It happened very quickly, but Matt felt in control of the whole situation, and had sensed where other people were on the street that were approaching. After a tense beat, everyone went their separate ways. No harm was done or money was taken. It was unsettling, but never reached a serious level of threat.

2nd Incident, on Ave 7 de Septembre, between Centro and the museums and theatres on Campo Grande:

This happened only 2 hours ago, today, September 10th. We had passed a bustling street and noticed the neighborhood change - for example, suddenly there were hotels that offered rooms by the hour. Some families were walking with children in the bright 2:00pm sun, and people were moving about... so it was not deserted. We turned right onto a street and someone asked Matt for money. We said no and kept walking. Behind us, we believe he said, "Agora, agora, agora" aloud (which means "now, now, now"), but we didnīt turn back around to see him. A beefy, fair skinned, strong man in a white tee shirt started talking to us from across the street. He started crossing the street quickly and was talking to Matt.

Having been through a knife threat once, Matt stopped and held out his left hand to create space, as he sensed the man was too close. The man grabbed Mattīs shirt collar with one hand, and with the other, he pulled out a knife, while speaking rapidly in Portuguese. He said something about being Brasilian. Matt had simultaneously grabbed the hand of the man that was wielding the knife -- he was worried that the knifer might take a swing. However, Matt never sensed him actually trying to do so, although he did have to use some pressure to hold the knife back.

Matt did not know this, but meanwhile, Susan was standing right behind Matt. When the man had started crossing the street toward Matt and Susan, she had immediately reached into her pocket, pulled out the pepper spray, turned it on, and had her finger on the trigger. She was aiming it at the knifer, while he had Mattīs collar, but there was no clear shot of the knifer because the two were too close to one another. In Matt's mind this time, he was either trying to get the knife out of the hand, or waiting long enough to see what the other people on the street would do. Eventually the man let go and turned away. Again, no real harm was done and no money was taken. Matt and Susan crossed the street, at which point people were asking if we were ok or need something (perhaps, couldn't understand very well). Some people were yelling at the knife man. This incident seemed to be about racist or classist violence, as opposed to trying to steal money. We believe now that this man was provoked by the man who had asked us for money, moments earlier. This would explain why he had called out "agora" as we continued walking.

It is frightening think that either of them could have held Matt at the throat with the knife, if they had gotten a better hand.

Thoughts and tips:

We talked about the encounter in great detail the first night, and more just now, to understand what had happened and what could be better next time.

Tip 1) Don't let people get too close. There should always be a comfortable level of space between anyone that comes near you. People trying to infringe on the space likely have other agendas. When someone has an agenda, things will happen VERY quickly, and you must have established your space and bearings before they arrive.

When people are heading toward you or coming from behind on a sidewalk and you are not sure about who they are, itīs not a bad idea to slip into an open store, stop and let them pass (while maintaining comfortable distance), or you should cross the street, turn around, or get closer to other safer people.

Tip 2) We hate to say this, because we like to explore areas and are fairly adventurous people, but more caution needs to be used in areas you don't know. This is different than other places we have been--even in the supposedly "tough" and dangerous areas we have never experiences such outward aggression.  Different cities have different codes.

Tip 3) Have a plan. Know how your actions may escalate or pacify violence. We each bought pepper spray before we left Los Angeles. However, we hate to use it because even in these incidents, using it could make the problem worse. We are glad we did not use it. However, we decided now that if it happens again, and one of us (probably Matt) is held at knife point, that only if Matt says "now" should Susan spray. This is because the person who is being directly threatened might have some other strategy that they could only know in the moment. It is always better to chill the aggressor down, even with laughter or some other means of non-escalation.

Tip 4) Take some self-defense. Matt has taken about 6 months of Kung-Fu over the years, and even though he never mastered it or actively practises it, the techniques and advice he learned there helped him out now. We hope to take a few classes of various martial arts here in South America when we find time.

Tip 5) Walk in pairs if possible, and don't walk too close together (it is less easy to be attacked if they cant control your locations as well).

Tip 6) Keep your hands free. If youīre not sure where youīre going or how long youīll be out, best to leave at home whatever you donīt want to lose.

Thoughts:
1) Susan was never directly accosted -- the aggressors made a beeline for Matt. Why? We think in the first case with the boy wanting money, that they went for the man instead of the woman, because it might be too hard to hold back the woman and leave the man free. We think in the second case (with the man acting out of racism or some national sense of territory), that it was some kind of a statement, or an affirmation on territory or pride? We don't really know. We are aware of the complexities and know how dangerous it can be to make simplistic statements. Also, humbly, not speaking the language adds a significant layer. We were not sure what the man was saying and it probably would have shed light on the situation.

2) Salvador is a great place. In fact, it may be our favorite city so far. It feels very livable, fun, and lively -- we believe the most friendly we have encountered anywhere in a big city in Brasil. These negative experiences demonstrate the kinds of problems that do exist beneath the main thread of the city, but it should not, and will not, bring us down or make us tell others not to come here.

3) This makes us want to better understand the economics and social structures. We feel bad for the boy that he would come to the place of becoming a thief ready to use violence (it is a desperate act on the boy's part, and a dangerous lifestyle for him). We feel saddened that the man would be so enraged at our race/nationality/class as to feel the need to scare us. And by class, we are not dressing fancy or getting our tourist on (no bags, no cameras, no hi-tech moisture wicking fabrics, no I heart George Bush or US flag t-shirts, no cargo khaki pants with 27 pockets, no loud talking, nothing, just casual clothes - Matt's pants have a few holes in them - and a quiet stroll).

4) Lots of people ask for money on the street. Many are aggressive and persistent, but harmless. While we don't have a lot to give, we have more than people who ask for it. We would prefer to give whenever someone asks for it, but we avoid doing so here as we acclimate - again, we are not sure what the codes in new places are, as outsiders.  It is possible to give safely and humbly, but it's possible that people target you either way.  Case by case we are figuring this out.

We feel okay and will be better prepared next time. Be safe out there in Internet land: remember, hackers might have your mother's maiden name.

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