Long before La Manada, in 1989, a sentence regarding a sexual assault caused a scandal that served to begin to change things. The Lleida Court then ruled that a teenager “could have provoked, if anything innocently, the businessman Jaime Fontanet because of her clothing”, for which he was sentenced to pay the ridiculous (even then) 40,000 pesetas for dishonest abuse. The Supreme Court confirmed the so-called “miniskirt ruling”, and it was the president of the Court who presented himself to the media as a victim... of the social upheaval. The real victim, the minor who was attacked, said that she continued to have nightmares about it more than three decades later.
In this time, social sensitivity has advanced, it's about time, regarding violence against women. Well, not everyone's. You can still hear that: “She was provoking.” Another disturbing message also resonates: “I am neither sexist nor feminist.” Or that well-worn one: “I'm not sexist, but…”. It doesn't matter how the sentence continues; It won't lead to anything good.
In awareness against racism we have also been slow in Spain. The continued verbal attacks against Vinicius Jr. have led us to the “I'm not racist, but…” festival. Numerous commentators instruct the victim, in sports media gatherings and columns, on how he should behave when they shout “monkey” at him from the stands. As if it had happened to them. A persistent custom that has exposed Spain to the entire world. In Brazil it is a national issue, about which President Lula da Silva speaks very irritatedly, and demonstrations of rejection have been held.
Demonstration before the Spanish embassy in Brasilia in solidarity with Vinicius, in March 2023.SERGIO LIMA (AFP)
Here we think about the matter from the shirt of a fan, and not from our role as citizens. Coach Quique Sánchez Flores was also insulted, just last weekend, for what he may have as a gypsy, and Cheikh Kane Sarr, Senegalese goalkeeper of Rayo Majadahonda, who to top it all off has been sanctioned with two matches for confronting the aggressors. and with the referee, and the club for leaving the field. What happens in the lower categories remains under the radar.
It is not the same, no, being raped than being insulted, no matter how repeatedly. But in the face of very different forms of discrimination we see the same toxic response, often in the same voices: urging the victim, and not her harassers, to change their attitude. The victim of the miniskirt sentence, that of La Manada, that of Dani Alves or that of the councilor of León had to suffer severe scrutiny, in some cases instigated from those around their aggressors. Oh, he continued to party on Saturdays; oh, he continued dressing the same; ah, she didn't seem so affected...
When Vinicius cried at a press conference, because he is just a young man under enormous pressure, it was said that he was acting for the documentary about him that Netflix is preparing. While this arrives, you can see the episode about him from the
Campo de Estrellas
series , on Prime Video, which was made in 2021, when he was already at Real Madrid but he was not the figure he is today, but rather the object of ridicule for his mistake. in front of the goal. Much of the story is told by his parents, with whom he lived in poverty in São Gonçalo, a place controlled by drug mafias on the outskirts of Rio. They remember that Vini was a shy, introverted child, and since he was good with the ball, they took him to the soccer fields as a child to keep him away from the sinister environment of the neighborhood. At 16 he made his debut with Flamengo in Maracaná, at 18 he arrived at Madrid. Nothing has been easy for him, nor for his people.
He is no longer that shy boy. He tells his father: “His strong point is his personality.” He's a temperamental guy, yeah. He pays for his conflicts on the field with cards and penalty games. He is a great dribbler, of which there are few left, and he pays for it by taking kicks. What bothers him is that he stopped keeping quiet, like others keep quiet, that he dares to point at the stands, that he is a millionaire, that he dances when he scores a goal? You don't have to be Martin Luther King to stand up against racism. No one has to pass the victim exam.
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