SÃO PAULO'S GOVERNOR DÓRIA VS JOURNALIST CONSTANTINO

This week, while on a radio and video morning show broadcast by #JovemPan, #RodrigoConstantino commented on and criticized #JoãoDória's strong but ineffective fight against #COVID19 infection and death rates, and also Dória's offensive comment on #Bauru's mayor #SullemRossim, because she was loosening the #lockdown measures and also because she went to meet directly with President #Bolsonaro and some of his ministers, in order to expose her city's critical financial situation due to the #pandemic, making the governor fume and call her a '(science) denier' and a 'vassala of the president.' Vassala means 'someone who's dependent on someone else.' It originally means the same as 'vassal,' and it still passes a negative (for today's standards) impression, because it's rarely used and thus not have undergone any practical change or softening of meaning, and it also sounds strong. This is a word that you simply don't hear in #Brazil in everyday talk and, worse, she's black. But, the #BlackLivesMatter and the #feminist movement... Guess what? Haven't said a word.

After #Constantino's comment and criticism, saying things like, “THE GOVERNOR'S STATEMENT IS ABJECT,” “A VASSAL MAY BE THE GOVERNOR HIMSELF, OF THE CHINESE REGIME,” “HE ONLY THINKS ABOUT (THE ELECTION OF) 2022, THAT'S WHY HE GOT SO IRRITATED (BY HER DECISION TO ESTABLISH A DIRECT COMMUNICATION WITH THE PRESIDENT),” “HE'S MAKING THE PANDEMIC ALL ABOUT POLITICS SINCE IT STARTED,” “HIS STATE HAS THE WORSE NUMBER OF COVID CASES IN BRAZIL (IN SPITE OF ADOPTING THE STRICTIEST MEASURES) [true], AND I ASK MYSELF HOW HE CAN HAVE SUCH A BRAZENLY ARROGANCE TO TRY TO TEACH THE REST OF THE COUNTRY (HOW TO DEAL WITH THE PANDEMIC).” This was not the first time Constantino comments on how Dória is running São Paulo, but it was last straw.

These quotes are the strongest parts of Constantino's criticism, which lasted only 70 seconds, but it was enough to make Governor #Dória call in during the same show asking the host to give him the right to respond and rebut Constantino, who was present. His call was unannounced and got everybody by surprise, and he asked for his right to respond and rebut on spot, which is very unusual, as the contact for a response and rebuttal is made in advance (so that the counterargument can be prepared) and, in most cases (especially when it involves high profile people), it's requested by their lawyers.

His call can be considered an exemplary study case about how basic leftist tactics of attack work, and how embarrassingly out-of-touch with the people a politician can be. Perhaps a #Marxism 101 class? And, not because this is anywhere a rare thing, leftists do this often, but because of who he is: The governor of the most powerful and rich state in Brazil, and Bolsonaro's biggest self-declared archenemy among all the governors. Read on below Dória's response and rebuttal (with comments and small pieces cut out for the sake of length).

NOTE: This line-by-line commenting was greatly inspired by a video posted by #PaulaMarisa on #YouTube.

“DEFENDING LIFE AND SCIENCE, AND REBUTTING CONSTANTINO, A (SCIENCE) DENIER, BOLSONARO'S IDEOLOGUE” [instead of rebutting Constantino, he starts by framing his character], “DEFENDER OF A HOMICIDAL GOV'T” [accusing the Bolsonaro administration of being homicidal is quite a serious thing to say, and it's further character framing, as if Constantino knew about a plot by the gov't to kill people; a conniver]. “BY THE WAY, THE SAME RODRIGO CONSTANTINO THAT DEFENDED A RAPIST ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND (BECAUSE OF THAT) WAS FIRED FROM JOVEM PAN” [this was a confusion caused by a misinterpretation and the fact that the network was too fast to react to the mounting outrage that built up on #Facebook and #Twitter, fueled by leftists, but the company later apologized to Constantino and re-hired him; you see, the governor totally ignored the fact that he was back to the same company and same show, showing disrespect for Jovem Pan, as if implying the company lacked judgement by hiring him back].”

“RODRIGO CONSTANTINO, #SÃOPAULO DEFENDS #SCIENCE, #HEALTH, AND #LIFE. THIS IS SOMETHING YOU AND #JAIRBOLSONARO NEVER DID. ON THE CONTRARY, YOU AND BOLSONARO ALWAYS SAID THIS WAS A LITTLE FLU, A LITTLE COLD” (Bolsonaro didn't express his own thoughts, but replicated what an until-recently-and-unanimously-respected and a venerated-by-the-left doctor called #DráuzioVarella said on video on social media). “TODAY, BRAZIL ACCOUNTS FOR MORE THAN 225,000 DEATHS DUE TO A PANDEMIC WHOSE EFFECT COULD HAVE BEEN MINIMIZED IF WE DIDN'T HAVE A GOV'T THAT DENIES (SCIENCE)” [the gov't's hands were partially tied from the beginning when the #SupremeCourt, #STF, ruled out that the decision about how to apply health prevention and care measures during the pandemic, including lockdown measures, would be the mayors' and governors' responsibility, not the State's], “AND JOURNALISTS, I MEAN, PSEUDO JOURNALISTS LIKE YOU” [calling a journalist a pseudo journalist before any rebuttal was made sounds like further character framing], “DEFENDING THE EARTH IS FLAT” [not everybody on the side of #conservatives, #rightwingers, and who is a Christian agrees on this, but many leftists call absolutely everyone who supports Bolsonaro a '#flatearther,' as if in one more attempt to frame one's character].”

“IT WAS HERE IN SP, RODRIGO CONSTANTINO, WHERE THE #VACCINE WAS MADE AVAILABLE. THE ONE WHICH YOU AND JAIR BOLSONARO REPEATEDLY MINIMIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF” [this vaccine, called #CoronaVac, was approved by the Brazilian health agency #ANVISA by a critical margin, it has several reservations, and is still not recommended for everybody to take; these things are never mentioned during press conferences in SP], “CALLING IT 'VACCINE FROM CHINA'” [Is it not? What's the problem here? It sounds as if he knew many people were growing suspicious of, critical of, and put off by the Chinese gov't, and Constantino and Bolsonaro, according to Dória, shouldn't be saying that it is Chinese in order to avoid scaring people], “BUT THIS IS THE VACCINE THAT WAS APPROVED BY ANVISA” [by the same time, Oxford's was as well], “A VACCINE THAT'S SAVING MILLIONS OF BRAZILIANS, BRAZILIANS WHO ARE IN THE FRONTLINE, WHO DO WHAT YOU DON'T DO, DOCTORS WHO HELP SAVE LIVES. SHOW HEALTH PROFESSIONALS THEIR DUE RESPECT” [there's no record of Constantino disrespecting health professionals, and the governor still hadn't started his rebuttal].

“SHOW RESPECT TO SCIENCE, TO THE FAMILIES OF 225,000 DEATHS, AND ALSO TO THE PEOPLE, TO THE AUTHORITIES, WHO ARE FIGHTING TO DEFEND LIFE AND PEOPLE. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY [...]. BUT, LET ME REMIND YOU GUYS. IF RODRIGO CONSTANTINO RESPONDS AND REBUTS (AGAIN), I DEMAND THE SAME BE GRANTED TO ME.”

At this moment, Constantino, who was live, said, “YOU CAN STAY ON AIR, (MR) GOVERNOR. YOU CAN STAY ON AIR TO HEAR MY ANSWER. I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU FEEL HURT FOR ME PRESENTING FACTS, AND YOU COME AGAIN WITH THIS ATTEMPT TO MONOPOLIZE THE VIRTUES, THE SCIENCE [...].” Right there, the governor cuts him and keeps cutting him, never letting Constantino finish any single thought, and he repeated several times that Constantino defended a rapist, and he also repeated all the other things he said previously. Constantino did well, could still make some good points. Near the end, the governor went further and implied the network should fire Constantino again.

“SHAME ON YOU FOR WHAT YOU SAY EVERY MORNING ON JOVEM PAN. IT'S NOT UP TO ME TO JUDGE WHY JOVEM PAN REHIRED YOU. #THIAGOUBERRAICH [the show host], JOVEM PAN LISTENERS, AND JOVEM PAN MANAGEMENT,...” At this point, the host asks the governor, “DO YOU WANT TO CONCLUDE, PLEASE, FOR US TO FINISH?,” but Dória presses on. “IT'S A SHAME THAT WE HAVE THIS KIND OF DEBATE ON JOVEM PAN, THIAGO, THAT'S A SHAME. IT'S A SHAME THAT JOVEM PAN, AFTER SO MANY YEARS OF TRADITION IN JOURNALISM, HAS IN ITS TEAM OF COMMENTATORS SUCH A DISASTROUS PERSON LIKE RODRIGO CONSTANTINO. DEFENDER OF 'BOLSONARISM,' DEFENDER OF AN EXTREME RIGHTWING IDEOLOGY, (if he's a defender of that, he's conniving and/or he is a rightwing extremist; character framing again; no rebuttal). IT'S A SHAME THAT JOVEM PAN GIVES SUCH A PERSON ANY SPACE [again, implying Jovem Pan had bad judgement when they rehired Constantino after firing him unfairly). I WANT TO EXPRESS, AS A JOVEM PAN LISTENER, AS A CITIZEN, AND AS A DEMOCRAT [as if #Democrats had a good reputation], MY PROTEST.” Thiago interrupts, curtly, “DO YOU WANT TO HANG UP, (MR) GOVERNOR? WE APPRECIATE IT.” Dória, “YES. THANK YOU.”

Constantino, as a commentator, not only for Jovem Pan but also other media, exposed this event, and many others did as well. Only the original video with the interaction reached a million views in three days. The governor apparently gave up on pushing this further, maybe due to the backlash and perhaps for realizing how insane (and quite badly calculated, we might add) his attitude was.

It's worth remembering that Dória was elected because of Bolsonaro. He strongly campaigned for and supported the president, showing up in rallies with him, defending the same policies in these rallies, and on radios, on TVs, and on social media, and even produced, wore, and distributed apparel containing the saying “BolsoDória.”

Rodrigo Constantino promised to sue Dória for saying he defended a rapist. Now, will the Bolsonaro administration sue Dória for the accusation that he's been using the State machine to intentionally let people die? We aren't talking about a simple citizen, but a very high profile politician who has an army of opposition (fake) news media to amplify his out-of-touch and authoritarian-like rhetoric.

What could Dória possibly be thinking when he asked for Constantino's head on air when he was rehired and he has built a good reputation (and in country that's still not a dictatorship)? #XiJinping certainly didn't like Dória's lack of basic research, planning, and preparation.

#CCP #christians #leftists #leftism #leftwing #feministmovement #sciencedenier #feminism #fakenews