Wearing Their Degrees on Their Sleeves

As we were walking through a tourist center of Salvador, I noticed a military police officer. The ubiquitous military police, it should be noted, purportedly serves as a preventative force, while the civil police investigates crimes already committed. Now, seeing a military police officer should not surprise anybody, but this officer was an anomaly. She was a young female, the only female officer I have seen thus far. However, being Afro-Brazilian (as far as my foreign conception of race was concerned), she fit the racial profile of most officers I have seen. Unlike most occupations with any sort of prestige, Afro-Brazilians make a large proportion of the military police force, largely because rich, white Brazilians do not aspire to such positions.

Julia and I approached her, and, wearing braces in her mouth and a tourism badge on her uniform, she responded with great civility. We asked her the meaning of the tourism badge. She told us that the patches on her uniform represented the different degrees she had received at university, as well as other awards. Thus, having received a degree in tourism, she displayed it on her uniform. She told us that it was quite common for officers to hold university degrees. Her older, male colleague remarked that his uniform lacked enough space to display all of his badges. Her answer surprised me; why would somebody with a university degree ever choose to join the military police?

I figured the reasons included wages and career opportunities. Wrong. Although I never asked about the wages (I was later told that the wages are actually quite low), her position afforded no prospect of advancement. However, she did claim that the work experience, and the military police’s positive reputation, allowed her to find a position outside of the force. (I have serious doubt about the reputation claim, as this was only the second positive comment I have heard regarding the military police.)

Hours later, I remained unsatisfied with her answer; it just did not appear to provide enough of an incentive to join the force after receiving a university education. I made a few assumptions, and I believe these assumptions may highlight some of the obstacles hindering Afro-Brazilians and the arguments for affirmative action. It is possible that these individuals obtained their degrees but then were unable to find employment, a problem facing Afro-Brazilian I have heard repeatedly. It is also possible that she was unable to attend a prestigious, public university. Earning a degree from a university lacking prestige may result in employers viewing the degree as substandard and refusing to hire its holder. Combine the issue of race and academic prestige and you will see how hurdles quickly compound, effectively precluding Afro-Brazilians from opportunities and careers available to rich, white Brazilians and forcing them down certain avenues.