Video: Portuguese with English Subtitles
Tim’s Comments:
Unlike the US, Brazil criminalizes attacks on someone’s honor or against minorities.
At the time of the US’s founding, the country had an “honor culture,” such that Alexander Hamilton got into a duel with Aarron Burr. Today, it is assumed that “a man” can brush off attacks to his honor.
In the US there are resrictions on “imminent” threats. This wouldn’t qualify as an imminent threat and therefor be allowed.
It sounds like this comedian is well-known and has been a regular on television, but is willing to go outside the Overton window. Putting aside the legality, I wonder whether he is playing a character, like the Stephen Colbert show, or speaking in jest? Sometimes a message is more effective if it can be delivered as satire.
I think people are more protective of minorities than they are of “honor.” How do you feel about putting a “shock jock’ comedian in jail for 8 years for jokes like these?
ELSEWHERE:
São Paulo, Brazil – A São Paulo court on Tuesday sentenced Brazilian comedian Léo Lins, 42, to eight years and three months in prison for charges of defamation and hate speech, following a criminal case brought by federal prosecutors in 2023.
The charges stemmed from a stand-up comedy performance in Curitiba in 2022, in which Lins targeted several minority and vulnerable groups. The show was later posted on YouTube, where it quickly went viral.
Before a crowd of roughly 4,000 people, Lins made jokes targeting elderly people, Black and Indigenous Brazilians, people with HIV, the LGBTQ+ community, evangelical Christians, Jews, people with disabilities — and even referenced pedophilia in his routine.
The video garnered over 3 million views and sparked a wave of public backlash for what critics described as offensive and discriminatory content. In May 2023, a court ordered YouTube to take the video down.
Among the jokes included in the performance were statements such as:
“I’m fat! I love eating and hate working out. How am I going to lose weight? Get AIDS! Don’t you love eating everything? Go sleep with unprotected gay men! It’ll work eventually!”
“I’m totally against pedophilia — I’m more in favor of incest. If you’re going to abuse a child, abuse your own. What’s he going to do? Tell his dad?”
“I saw a poll online asking: ‘What do you say right after sex?’ I replied: ‘Don’t tell your mom and I’ll get you a doll.’”
“Prejudice, to me, is a primitive thing that shouldn’t exist anymore. Just like Indigenous people. Enough already.”
The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office filed charges under two key Brazilian laws related to discrimination and hate crimes: Law No. 7.716/1989 and Law No. 13.146/2015.
Source: www.brazilreports.com
Moral Cultures 1: Honor & Dignity
What is a serious offense and what should you do about it? by Jason Manning, Jul 28, 2022
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Dignity Culture
Writing in the 1960s, sociologists Peter Berger described the concept as obsolete. You accuse a modern American of having no honor, he is more likely to raise his eyebrow and look at you funny than fly into a rage and challenge you to a fight. He argued that the concept of honor had been replaced by the concept of dignity.
Dignity cultures are those in which someone’s moral worth is seen as inherent and inalienable. People in these cultures still care about their reputation — people everywhere do — but the emphasis isn’t so great. Reputations aren’t worth dying for. Other people’s views can be more easily dismissed. “That just, like, your opinion man.” No one can take away your dignity.