Cogito Ergo Non Serviam

US, UK Athletes Robbed in Rio, Authorities Blame Victims

The Olympic Games are always a chance for the host nation to showcase its culture and revel in past, present and future glories both real and imagined. Crime is, therefore, a threat to the message of the games, and reporting on crime is even worse. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that Brazilian authorities and IOC big shots are being awkward over two different robberies in which Olympic athletes were given the choice of one's money or one's life. It looks from here as though the authorities are blaming the victims and are not serious about catching the crooks.

Brazil is a nation awash in corruption. The president is being impeached and more than half of the legislators doing the impeaching are under some kind of investigation for corruption. The state oil company, PetroBras, is the root of much of it, and the system of pay-offs and red-tape extends down the social and economic ladder. This is not the message Brazil's ruling class wanted to export. Rather, they wished to proclaim the 21st century a Brazilian century. There is much to praise about Brazil, but its transparency and squeaky clean government are not on that list. Frankly, it is a case of a wonderful nation deserving better than it is getting.

In the higher profile incident, four American swimmers were at a party at an Olympic-sponsored club, left by taxi and were robbed at gunpoint. NBC News reported, "Lochte said Wednesday they were at a gas station and got back in the taxi, the taxi driver did not move, and it was then that two robbers with guns and badges approached the car and ordered the swimmers out of the vehicle and onto the ground."

The network added, "Brazilian judge Keyla Blanc de Cnop said Lochte and Feigen gave contradictory accounts of the robbery, according to the court's statement. The men also said the robbery took place on the way home from a club, which they left at 4 a.m. But security video showed them leaving at a different time, the judge said. De Cnop added that Lochte told police there was one robber, while Feigen said there were more, one of whom had a gun." Mr. Lochte's story has changed in some small details regarding whether the gun was put to his forehead or merely pointed in his direction.

Mr. Lochte is already back in America while two of his fellow victims were pulled off a plane in Rio and told to stay in the country while the investigation continues. In most instances, the police merely ask the victims to stay, which was not done in this case. Pulling people off planes is reserved, under Brazilian law, almost exclusively for suspects. NBC also says Jeff Ostrow, Mr. Lochte's lawyer and a spokesman for the US Olympic Committee, stated that "Police did not ask Lochte for more information, and they did not ask him to remain in Brazil. "They never said, 'Stay around,' Otherwise, I would have advised Ryan to stay.' He accused Brazilian authorities of trying to 'save face' after allowing the incident to become 'a circus'."

Meanwhile, The Guardian reports that "A member of the British Olympic team in Rio has been held up at gunpoint while enjoying a night on the town." The athlete has been spared the ridiculous treatment the US swimmers have faced, but members of Team GB have received a letter, which reads in part, "following a significant security incident overnight . . . [athletes should] avoid leaving the village after dark in anything other than British Olympic Association/Local Organising Committee/UK Athletics transport -- taxis cannot be considered safe late at night. If you are planning on going out after dark and have no way of returning other than via taxi, do not go out."

That is probably sound advice, but it goes right to the heart of Brazil's problems. The climate of corruption, which runs from the very top at the president's palace all the way down to the poorest favela, has rendered its showcase city during its show case event unsafe for the stars of the show.

© Copyright 2016 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.



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