Wow, it's been 7 months since my last post. I guess one of the reasons why I don't post more often is because sometimes I'd like to express my sincere opinion about something, but then I realize some people may get overly sensitive about it, so I end up giving up on the idea of posting. Anyways, today was one of those days when I read something on the news that I just can't let it go.  :)

Many times I've had American friends asking me what the impression that Brazilians have of them is. My immediate response is: "The common perception is that Americans are arrogant.".  Then I often hear a loud "REALLY?" back from them, followed by "why?". I explain that when I'm asked by a Brazilian whether Americans are really arrogant, I normally say that there are arrogant people everywhere, no matter what country you go, and neither Brazil nor the USA are exceptions. But there's also good people, like everywhere else.

Every once in a while though, I see things that really can't help but project this image about Americans being arrogant. Today was one of these days. I'll explain why, but first, let me go back a week in time. So, last Friday, a Brazilian plane came down on the Amazonia with 154 people. Everybody died. A corporate jet (with 6 people or so) collided with the big plane. The jet did an emergency landing, and nobody got hurt.  You can read more info about it here: http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/09/30/brazil.crash/index.html

At this point there are some possibilities as to what actually happen, and nobody can be blamed for anything yet. Since pilot and co-pilot of the jet are still alive and can definitely provide the authorities with important information about the accident, their passport were seized so that they stay in the country to help understanding the causes of the accident. Notice that they are NOT under arrest or anything. They're free to move about the country, but not to leave it for now. They're just being asked to cooperate. Of course, it may turn out to be that they were responsible for the accident, but there are no proofs to support such accusation at this point.

Well, this morning I ran across the following news: http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-liair054918988oct05,0,4984336.story?page=1. I'll now express my thoughts on some things that I just find outrageous on that article:

·                         The subtitle of the article is: "Owner of corporate aircraft involved in deadly Amazon crash seeks help in bringing 2 home to Long Island.". Hmmm... let me see... lots of people are really busy trying to find out what really happened (and that certainly would help a little the families who have lost members on the accident), and some guy is seeking for help in bringing his pilots back home? For Christ's sake, they're ALIVE, being well-treated, and have the chance to help finding the cause to the deadliest plane crash in a country's history, but still, somebody just wants to see their pilots back home. How about some help with finding the causes to the accident? How about helping with seeing if the families of the 154 people who have died need some assistance??

·                         On the first paragraph it's said that the guy asked for "political intervention" to bring the pilots back: "If there's anybody out there who has political influence or any way to bring our people home, we'd encourage it," said Bob Sherry, chief executive of ExcelAire. Oh boy, give me a break.

·                         Then in another paragraph: "Every effort is being made to bring our pilots home at this point," said Sherry, who added that company representatives are in Brazil working on the case. "In a foreign country, things are a little more difficult.". Hey buddy, if you think that in a foreign country things are a little more difficult, I wish you were a foreigner in the USA, and then you would learn about things being a LOT more difficult. Just think about it: what if we flipped the situation and Brazilian pilots have caused an airplane to come down with 154 Americans on it within American soil? Would the USA allow the Brazilian pilots to leave the country? Yeah, right, tell me another joke, because this one was pretty bad. There's actually a case of how things are a LOT more difficult for foreigners in the USA. A few years back, two Brazilian guys went to jail in the USA because of a misunderstanding. They were at the airport and had a "suction pump" (a device that surfers use) in their bag. The word for that device in Portuguese is "bomba", so they said they had a "bomb" in their bag. Long story short, they've spent some rough days in prison in the US. Read more here: http://www.acheiusa.com/acheiusa/arquivo/0095/achei-colunistas-nmartinez-e.asp. On this same article, they also talk about an American pilot who gave the finger to a Brazilian authority, and didn't spend days in prison with dangerous criminals because of that. It's a good read.

·                         Ok, let's keep going. Next paragraph on the article: "Sherry said it was "surreal" that after having no incidents since founding the company in 1985, he now finds himself desperately trying to get his pilots out of Brazil.". Sniff, sniff... "surreal"? "Desperately"?? Poor guy. Let's recap: it's surreal that he's desperately trying to get his pilots (who are alive!!) out of Brazil. I'm sorry, but I just can't feel it. How about families that were dismantled by the accident? A mother who'll never get back to her children? A father whose family loves him and depends on him to put food on the table? A child who the parents will never see again? I guess the words "surreal" and "desperately" should be used by those people instead.

·                         Just one more and I'm done: Sherry said it would be "inappropriate" to comment on the crash or investigation. He added the pilots "should be commended for the effort they made" to safely land their Legacy jet at a military airstrip. First of all, of course they'd make efforts to safely land the jet; they were ON the plane. ANYONE with a little bit of sanity left would do the same. Now, what if they end up finding out that these pilots were responsible for causing this disaster? What then? Are they going to be commended for that too??

You know, this is the kind of thing that could lead other people to perceive one as being an arrogant person.