Brazil: Primetime Prejudice Against Atheists Triggers Mass Response

By • on September 4, 2010

By Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

On July 27th, José Luiz Datena [pt], a famous Brazilian TV host who runs a show called Brasil Urgente on national television, “delivered a speech of deep prejudice and bigotry against atheists, against those who ‘do not have God in their hearts’”, according to Robson Fernando, from blog Arauto da Consciência [Herald of Consciousness, pt].

Photo shared by Flickr user Juliano Marques under a CC license ( Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)

Blog Ateus do Brasil [Atheists from Brazil, pt] explains what triggered the discussion:

Ele criou uma enquete no seu programa para as pessoas responderem se acreditavam em Deus ou não. Quando viu que muita gente tava votando “não”, ele abriu o berreiro.

“Como nós temos mais de mil ateus? Aposto que muitos desses estão ligando da cadeia.”

“Ateus são pessoas sem limites, por isso matam, cometem essas atrocidades. Pois elas acham que são seu próprio Deus.”

“É só perguntar para esses bandidos que cometem essas barbaridades pra ver que eles não acreditam em Deus.”

Disse que só quem não acredita em Deus é capaz de cometer crimes. Disse que ateus são “pessoas do mal”, “bandidos”, “estupradores”, “assassinos”. Disse que a culpa da violência e da corrupção do nosso país é dos ateus.

“Quem é ateu pode desligar a televisão, ou mudar de canal pois eu não faço questão nenhuma de que assistam o meu programa.”

Além disso ele disse que respeita todo mundo, mas se tem uma coisa que ele não gosta é “gente que não acredita em Deus porque não pode ser uma pessoa boa”.

He created a poll on his program for people to respond whether they believed in God or not. When he saw that a lot of us were voting “no”, he began to roar.

“How come we have over a thousand atheists? I bet that many of these are calling from jail. “

“Atheists are people without boundaries, that’s why they kill, commit such atrocities. Because they think they are their own God. “

“Just ask criminals who commit such atrocities to see that they do not believe in God.”

He said only those who do not believe in God are capable of committing crimes. He said that atheists are “evil people”, “bandits,” “rapists,” “murderers.” He said the atheists are to be blamed for our country’s violence and corruption.

“Those who are atheists can turn off their TV or change channels because I do not care if any [of you] are watching my program.”

In addition, he said he respects everyone, but if there’s one thing he dislikes it is “people who do not believe in God because they cannot be good people.”

Such angry comments on atheists triggered a furious reaction [en] from bloggers and Atheist organizations [pt], such as the ATEA, that called on all netizens to contact the TV station that runs Datena’s show to complain, and also called for a protest on Twitter:

A emissora tem uma página de comunicação com os telespectadores. No momento, o envio de mensagens para o Brasil Urgente está desabilitado, mas uma alternativa é dirigir suas reclamações aos programas de jornalismo. Pode-se ainda utilizar sites como o reclameaqui, o Twitter [Twibbon] ou o Tag #CalaBocaDatena, também do Twitter. Em breve, daremos notícia sobre a série de ações judiciais a que daremos início.

The station has a contact page for viewers. The facility to send messages to Brasil Urgente has been disabled, but an alternative is to direct your complaints to current affairs programs. You can also use sites like reclameaqui [complain here], Twitter [Twibbon] or use the #CalaBocaDatena tag, also on Twitter. Soon, we will give news about the series of lawsuits that we will begin.

Paulo Lopes, on his blog, adds [pt] that the Atheist organization ATEA (Brazilian Association of Atheists and Agnostics) asked for a right to reply and, at the same time, that Datena exploited the situation to attract more attention and viewers. For the blogger, they are both taking the issue a bit too far:

A associação atribui ao episódio uma importância que ele não tem. “Esta causa é importante e pode significar um grande salto em nossa luta por reconhecimento”, exagera.

Datena tem aproveitado a reação dos ateus para exercitar o seu destempero verbal. No dia 17 deste mês, de olho no Ibope, ele disse que deseja que os ateus se “lasquem”. Dúbio, reafirmou que “quem não acredita em Deus geralmente não tem limites” e em seguida falou que nunca meteu “o pau em quem não acredita em Deus”.

The association [ATEA] has attributed to the episode an importance that it does not deserve. They play up: “This is an important cause that might mean a great leap in our struggle for recognition”.

Datena has taken advantage of the atheists’ responses to exercise his verbal distemper. On the 17th of this month [August], with an eye toward the Ibope [Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics] stats, he said that he hopes atheists “screw themselves”. Caught in two minds, he reaffirmed that “whoever does not believe in God generally has no boundaries” but then said he has never “criticized severely those who do not believe in God.”

Photo by Flickr user Swperman shared under a CC license ( Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)

On the 17th August, Datena commented live on his show on the ATEA’s request, once more insulting Atheists. In response to this the blog Bule Voador commented that he needed “someone to teach him logic, please” [pt]. Bule Voador [Flying Teapot, pt] blog also posted excerpts from the Brazilian legal code, and tips from a lawyer, in order to help netizens to open lawsuits against the host. A transcription of Datena’s hate speech can be found here [pt] and some more angry reactions can be found at the blogs No Lado Escuro da Lua [On the Dark Side of the Moon, pt] and Lindo Dia Feio [Beautiful Ugly Day, pt].

Video responses

The audience found an equivalent way to react to the display of prejudice on primetime TV. The blog Sedentário e Hiperativo [Sedentary and Hyperactive, pt] posted a video of Pablo Villaça, editor of the website Cinema em Cena, criticizing Datena’s attitude and offensive comments on Atheists. Robson Fernando also posted a series of YouTube video responses with netizens criticizing Datena that can be found here, here and here.

YouTube user DanielFragaBR’s presents a video advising Atheist individuals who feel offended by the hate speech on how to sue Datena. Back in June, well before the controversy, the video-blogger had already noted that:

Ser ateu no Brasil é como ser católico no inferno

Being an Atheist in Brazil is like being a Catholic in hell.

Syndicated from http://GlobalVoicesOnline.org: Brazil: Primetime Prejudice Against Atheists Triggers Mass Response
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
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  • Westdude

    Os ignorantes aprenderam que ateus são pessoas más, comunistas, criminosas, etc. Tudo isso é propaganda originada em igrejas, cultos, etc. Os que povoam as prisões não são ateus e muitos deles se identificam claramente trazendo pendente no pescoço um crucifxo. A china, por exemplo, está provando que o comunismo não é o que a propaganda geral afirma. O grande progresso na China 'nestes últimos 10 anos tem provado que se bem dirigido um país comunista pode tornar-se um modêlo. Em meu caso, por mis de 50 anos fui enganado por religião. Mas hoje considero religião apenas um tipo de câncer afetando nossa sociedade moderna.

  • Flavioos

    YES – I KICKED RELIGION OUT OF MY LIFE; I DON’T NEED IT

    “Break the chains of mental slavery to religious superstition. Arise and become a free and independent human being. Dignify yourself as a Man and justify your living by being a Brother of All Mankind and a citizen of the Universe.” –Joseph Lewis (1889-1968).

      

    Years ago, while living in Southern California, I became acquainted with a piano-tuner, a fellow associated with Jehova Witnesses. One day he told me that the Catholic church manufactures Atheists as well as General Motors manufactures cars; and I immediately raised my hand presenting myself as a genuine example of a good product from the Catholic church’s “assembling line.”

    Son of a Catholic-fanatic mother, that many times during my childhood woke me in the middle of the night to pray, because I didn’t pray before retiring, I clearly remember one evening when we had a passionate prayer-session and upon getting in bed I had a most terrifying dream in which Satan stopped in our ranch for a brief visit. He presented himself barefoot, resembling a low-stature bulky man, with the largest and boldest feet I had never seen or heard of. Then, with my brother, I started whispering and finger-pointing his awkward feet. Unhappy, the undesirable visitor screamed: “I hate places with those dumb kids!”– and punching fists in the air, exploded forming a dark smoky cloud, and disappeared.

    Frightened, I couldn’t sleep well for the rest of the night. Still frightened in the morning, I rushed to my mother to tell her about that scaring dream, but before I finish details, she gave me a punch while calling me a liar. At that time I was around six and a half years old and since then I could never believe in effectiveness of “foolish” prayers, and by observing the continued triumph of misleading preaching, business and teachings of religious institutions, without any regrets or apology, I kicked religion out of my life and abandoned Christianity. The stage where religion plays its roles is located between Hell and Heaven–both invented by ancient fanatics–and supported by two strong pillars: “superstition” and “intimidation”.

    The novelist Ernest Hemingway wrote somewhere: “All thinking men are Atheists”; and I support Hemingway’s words since the time I found a right spot among that brilliant group of men and women who independently think by themselves, make their own decisions and never rely on fictitious deities to guide their lives and conduct their personal affairs.

    The bible–the most revered guide-book of Christianity faith–is a macabre black-book talking too much about “blood” and “destruction” of human beings. Blood is a frightening substance nobody wants to see around, while the destruction of human beings is more tragic than the tragedy itself. If someone dares to place one of those black books under a heavy press and click the electric switch, surely will see blood running from its pages. Also, in that “sacred” black book anyone can read and count the absurd number of human beings killed. While Satan killed 10 people, Jehova and his followers killed over 2,000,000; not counting since that time all the victims of natural disasters as floods, volcano, hungry, storms, tsunamis, etc. Who rules all those deaths by natural disasters; Satan or Jehovah? If the ruler is Jehova, why he kills of those people? Because they do wrong things? Because they are sinners? Well, if he is so friendly, benevolent and powerful as Christians say, why instead of killing or destroying those people doesn’t he approach them and influences their minds so they can change their personal behavior becoming thus “sin-free” individuals? The truth is that the fantastic tales preached in religion have, throughout centuries, deceived millions through powerful brainwashing, making them weak, vulnerable and unable to think and reason by themselves. Those weak-minded people are guided by exterior emotions; not by their own thinking.

    Still in the bible, on Psalm 14.1, we read: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.” However, a list containing names of hundreds of men and women Atheists–who did and do for the human race what none of those “famous” theologians ever did or do–would include names as Thomas Alva Edison, Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Charles Darwin, Andrew Carnegie, Walter Disney, Benjamin Franklin, George Bernard Shaw, Denis Diderot, Charles Schultz, Carl Sagan, Sigmund Freud, Friedrich Nietzsche, Voltaire, Bill Gates, Irving Berlin, Marilyn Manson, Frank Lloyd Wright… and many, many, many others who, by their enthusiastic contributions left or will leave the world better than they found it. But in spite of their dedication to humanity, irreverently, the bible classifies them as “fools” and “corrupts.”

    Since early age, we are pushed into religious dogmas but later on, by observing and reasoning, a great part of us discovers all the false tricks and fallacies that characterize the real nature of religion which seems to be so enigmatic that most people, unable to understand, accept it exactly as it is addressed.

    The way so many intellectual people are deliberately driven and deceived by a bunch of religious donkeys makes me strongly believe that those donkeys hide among themselves an arcane top-secret which audaciously and unsuccessfully have tried to challenge even the modern sciences of our technological times. –Flavioos / Spring 2009

    .

  • Flavioos

    VÁ BAXÁ NÔTO TERRÊRO !

    –Flavioos

    Mi alembro qui um dia

    Eu tive munto duente,

    I um peste meu amigo

    Pensô q’eu ia morrê.

    Entonce sem mi dizê

    Mandô um pade careca,

    Daqueles qui u povo adora,

    Vestido in batina prêta

    Pareceno um arubu,

    Traseno um rosaro na mão

    Qui veio mi cunfessá

    Pra mi dá istrem’unção.

    Rapais, quando eu vi

    U bicho entrano na porta

    Meu sangue logo freveu,

    Meus cabelo arripiô,

    I eu fiquei tão danado

    Qui a raiva mi alevantou.

    Aí eu disse pra ele:

    Pare aí mermo, seu pade.

    U sinhô si enganou

    Entrano na porta errada.

    Vá baxà nôto terrero

    Donde si conta mentira

    Pra enganá us cristão.

    Já ouvi munta farseta

    Contada pur seus irmão

    Qui hoje é tudo difunto.

    Sô véio cabra da peste,

    Num tenho mêdo da morte,

    I quando ela aqui chegá

    Num vai m’amedrontá,

    I vai sê arrecebida

    Du geito qui arrecebi

    A partêra qui chegou

    Nu dia qui eu nasci.

    Aí u pade assustado,

    Oiô a minha cartêra

    Qui tava perto da cama,

    I fez u siná da cruis

    Oiano feio pra mim,

    Dizeno:“Deus te abençoi”.

    I entonce arrespondi:

    Ele vai mi abençoà

    C’aquele siná di dedo

    Qui u motorista dá pro ôto

    Quano um carro na rodage

    Corta na frente dele.

    Aí u bicho si foi

    Oiano munto assustado,

    Mi dexano aliviado

    I cum vontade di agarrá

    Quem mi mandou a visita

    Sem anti mi consurtá.

    ~~~~~~

  • Westdude

    That most Powerful God everyonesecretively loves and worships everyonehat most Powerful God everyonesecretively loves and worships everyonesecretively loves and worships
    –Flavioos / Summer 2009From all the gods invented by men, Money-God is the most powerful and venerated by everyone throughout our civilized World. rom all the gods invented by men, Money-God is the most powerful and venerated by everyone throughout our civilized World. hat most Powerful God everyonesecretively loves and worships everyonesecretively loves and worships
    –Flavioos / Summer 2009From all the gods invented by men, Money-God is the most powerful and venerated by everyone throughout our civilized World. rom all the gods invented by men, Money-God is the most powerful and venerated by everyone throughout our civilized World. When I see on Dollar bills the motto “In God We Trust”, I always question myself why people don’t realize that the correct motto should be “In GOLD We Trust”, , for gold (Money) is the most powerful god that really assists us 24 hours/day, from the first to the last day of our lives — and beyond because after death always come the last bills for the funeral services. Surely, the word “Gold” was premeditatedly misspelled in order to hide the true meaning of that motto stamped on our “green” bills.I challenge those who deride what I am saying by suggesting them to immediately abandon their homes, give-up all their clothing, and stay seven days without using money or any items or services acquired with it. At end, if they dare to try this heroic experiment, they will find out that those seven days was the most disgraceful, degrading, deteriorating and miserable week in their lives. Then they can clearly understand that the word “Gold” is truly misspelled, and why everyone, without exceptions, secretively loves and worships that real god called MONEY. When properly harnessed, that god performs incredible works by making some people look more important and authoritative than others, giving us better and more comfortable lives, helping men to build wonderful towns and cities, explore the outer space, improve the general life-standards around our Planet, etc. But because that Money-God is worshipped only through hard-work and creativity, no other god would be able to help us in performing such wonderful tasks. He is also the only god whose power–if properly funneled–would be capable of taking from the streets the infinite number of homeless people that, widely spread, populates cities and towns around the world. Also, apart of being the most inimitable and powerful, Money-God is so charismatic that a great part of his worshippers ignores its honorable spot in our Society and commits the most unbelievable cheatings, atrocities and robberies in order to take possession of him.        