Author: Fritz Utzeri

Source: Jornal do Brasil, 15/07/2007

In small, seemingly insignificant things, a people's ways of thinking and acting are revealed. What is the use of being indignant with Renan & Roriz and, on a daily basis, traveling along the side of the road if there is traffic jam; disrespect the signal if there is no guard or ignore the sign and park in the parking space of the paralytic? I see this every day in the parking lot where I leave my car, downtown.

It seems that we always look for the advantage at the expense of small expedients. Corruption is another thing, we think. It's stealing great! How many of us Brazilians are just not corrupt simply because we never had the opportunity to be corrupt? Or is it that, as the immortal Barão de Itararé used to say, corruption is “that big business we were not invited to?”

Last Sunday, I read a note about the inauguration of Engenhão in one of the most prestigious columns in the Rio de Janeiro press. The ticket would be exchanged for a can of powdered milk, destined for charities. Read the transcribed note, ipsis literis of the newspaper:

“In time: smart fans exchanged powdered milk from cans for sand at the opening of Engenhão. In the act of exchanging for tickets, few ticket agents noticed the blow ”.

Got it? Not? Read it again. Is it appropriate to qualify as a "smart" fan who gives this blow to enter the stadium? Let's check, at Aurélio, what “smart” means.

Clever. [From lat. aka expertu (see smart).] Adj. 1. Awake, awake. 2. Intelligent, thin, shrewd: "Nothing escapes him, he is very smart". 3. Energetic, vigorous: smart movements. 4. Smart guy (1). 5. Strong, alive: smart fire. 6. Almost hot: Weird the bath water that was smart. 7. Bras. Gir. V. cool (1). Sm 8. Smart guy (2): The world belongs to smart ones. [Cf. expert.]

Let's go smart:

Smart guy. [Clever + alhão.] Adj. 1. He is said to be a smart, fine man. Rogue, cunning, malicious, smart.

See how behavior and perception are reflected in the language, making it inaccurate and demonstrating how the criminal can be admired by society, to the point of being confused with “smart, thin and shrewd”, not to mention that “smart” gives rise to “Expert” means someone who has experience, an expert.

In other words, according to the dictionary, "smart" for Brazilians means: "smart, thin, sharp", but also: "finorous, rogue, cunning and malicious" ... Do you understand?

Now, what these smart guys from Engenhão (then the word would be applied correctly) did, the law typifies as fraud, fraud, which is a crime defined by the Penal Code:

"Fraud is the fact that the subject obtains, for himself or for others, an unlawful advantage, to the detriment of others, inducing or keeping someone in error, through artifice, ruse or any other fraudulent means".

The penalty for crime of fraud is two to six years of imprisonment with a fine. There is no reason for the poorly concealed admiration that we often show for these criminal little "cunning". Let's use the right words. And there is no point in complaining about Renan and Roriz & Cia. If you walk along the shoulder, pay a beer for the guard or find it idiotic to waste your precious time in a queue, and you can punch it, you, my friend, are not smart. You are a delinquent.

PS - The note does not inform what happened to the “smart ones” who were caught. Were arrested? Sentenced to how many years? For me, I ordered to prepare a cup of the powdered milk that they brought and had to drink until the last sip ...