Over this past week, the truth about what happened with Ryan Lochte and a few of his fellow swimmers on the night they claimed they were mugged in Rio has been unveiled. If their own accounts about the supposed robbery were not enough to cause suspicion in you, because in a matter of hours the IOC’s and the swimmers’ versions of the story were practically opposites, now there is actual footage of what happened during that night. For once, I’m grateful for constant surveillance. It just so happens that, not only were they not mugged, but they reported a fake crime, which is a crime here in Brazil, to cover up the fact that they vandalized a gas station’s bathroom -- which just so happens to be another crime. So they committed a crime to cover up another one.

This story is absurd. But what’s even more absurd is the fact that some people don’t understand why Brazilians are so upset about everything regarding this situation. Therefore, as a Brazilian (keep in mind I don’t speak for everyone), I am here to tell you why we care. We care because despite what people think, our country does not consist of one big playground. Though the media has perpetuated this image of Brazil being the destination for any tourist who wants to have a good time, that is only a very small portion of what this huge country actually is -- so when Olympic swimmers come to our country for a global event which has the whole world paying attention to us and think they can get away with a crime so easily, it makes it seem like in our country nothing is taken seriously. And that is a fable.

Now I’ve seen people commenting on social media that it wouldn’t be absurd to assume that the swimmers were actually mugged in a country and city with such high crime rates. And yes, it would not be absurd to think that because, indeed, this happens here -- we are a country with very high inequality which helps crime rates grow. But to take advantage of a country’s social problems in order to try and hide a crime you committed? That is outrageous.

Others have claimed that Brazilians are just hurt because this is bad press for a country which has had its share of bad publicity when it comes to the preparation of the Olympics. These people claim it’s an issue of national pride. Let’s be honest for a second: the lead up to the Olympics did make it seem like Brazil had no idea what it was doing, and that the whole event would be a disaster. But guess what? It hasn’t been. From the spectacular opening ceremony, which was when the Olympic Games actually began, up until now, everything has been flowing smoothly and we have proved a lot of people wrong. Granted, there have been little mishaps, but nothing is perfect, and I guarantee you that we’re not the first Olympic Games host country that has had to deal with a few problems during the games. We are very proud of the Olympic Games we’ve hosted, but when a fake scandal removes all the positive attention we’ve been getting, and we deserve, and starts painting Brazil in a negative light, we will speak out.

Turn the tables around for a second -- what if the Olympic Games were being hosted in, say, Los Angeles, and a few Brazilian athletes committed vandalism, lied about being mugged to cover it up, and were discovered a few days later. I promise you there would be no skepticism directed towards Americans who would be outraged by the situation, and the Brazilian athletes wouldn’t have been defended saying they’re just “kids” having fun and who made a mistake. So before you criticize our reaction to the problem, put yourself in our shoes. And while we’re at it: own up to your mistakes -- there’s a famous Brazilian saying which goes “A mentira tem perna curta” (literally translated to “lies have short legs,” meaning that they don’t survive for long) and I don’t think Brazilians have ever been more correct.