Letter to the Editor
Issue date: 10/8/09 Section: Opinion
What Adam Murphy has shown in his recent article that paints Brazil as a dangerous country - unfit to host the Olympics - is a blatant act of prejudice. We are all mature enough to realize that even the U.S. is faced with rampant violence, poverty and joblessness. Other countries may have more of this problem, but they also are unlike the U.S., which imposes its wealth globally.
Brazil is not an underdeveloped country. In fact, Sao Paulo - Brazil's largest city - is in the top 10 largest cities in the world. Curitiba is of Brazil's greenest cities and one of the best infrastructure projects in the world. Additionally, Brazilian President Lula has been working increasingly on redeveloping the favelas in Rio de Janeiro and other cities. Brazil's future does not depend on how it will quell its violence, but how it will stand up to more internationally engaged countries, such as the U.S., who will makes things difficult for Brazil to succeed economically in the global market.
Murphy's editiorial is untrustworthy in that it uses outdated statistics and the prejudiced notion that a country cannot be civilized if there is violence. If it were true that Brazil was unfit to host the Olympics because of its violence, then the U.S. is similarly troubled; it is engaged in two wars overseas, riddled with violent nationalists groups calling for Obama to step down and covered with impoverished areas like Alameda County, East Los Angeles, the Appalachian Mountains and Washington DC.
Zachary Pallin
senior, political science major
Brazil is not an underdeveloped country. In fact, Sao Paulo - Brazil's largest city - is in the top 10 largest cities in the world. Curitiba is of Brazil's greenest cities and one of the best infrastructure projects in the world. Additionally, Brazilian President Lula has been working increasingly on redeveloping the favelas in Rio de Janeiro and other cities. Brazil's future does not depend on how it will quell its violence, but how it will stand up to more internationally engaged countries, such as the U.S., who will makes things difficult for Brazil to succeed economically in the global market.
Murphy's editiorial is untrustworthy in that it uses outdated statistics and the prejudiced notion that a country cannot be civilized if there is violence. If it were true that Brazil was unfit to host the Olympics because of its violence, then the U.S. is similarly troubled; it is engaged in two wars overseas, riddled with violent nationalists groups calling for Obama to step down and covered with impoverished areas like Alameda County, East Los Angeles, the Appalachian Mountains and Washington DC.
Zachary Pallin
senior, political science major
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