Spring Break 2006

Copacabana Beach. It looks calm, but not long after a brawl broke out between the lifeguards and a group of Brazilian 20-somethings who were singing and laughing and drinking beer. The lifeguards (who were, mind you, barefoot, wearing shorts and tanktops) broke out the night sticks (I'm NOT kidding) and started whomping one of the guys. He suffered a pretty serious head wound--there was a big gash and blood was gushing--and his friends dragged him off down the beach to go to the hospital. All of this happened in front of a refreshment tent, so we thought maybe the kids weren't paying or something, but this nice French tourist who was sitting next to us explained that the life guards are very violent here--they want to keep it "safe" for the tourists, and that all the kids hadn't done anything... yeah, I felt safe.