Respect, disrespect and the police from the viewpoint of favela-dwellers

• Main Author: Marcus Cardoso
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad Católica de Temuco 2016-07-01
• Series: Cultura-Hombre-Sociedad
• Subjects: moral insult; recognition; favela; police violence
• Online Access: http://cuhso.uct.cl/index.php/cuhso/article/view/1057

The narratives of the inhabitants of two Brazilian favelas on certain practices by the agents of law and order reveal the experience of a moral insult. They allow us to advance in our reflections on how certain categories commonly used by favela-dwellers open up access to a web of meanings which reveals world-views central to understanding of what is in play when they talk about the police. Through analysis of local categories and the contexts in which they arise we are able to glimpse why certain episodes and behaviours are signified as acts of disrespect, an insult to the dignity of a certain «type of person» who lives in these areas.