A fair question keeps coming up from World Cup visitors. Is America safe?
Here is the honest answer.
Yes. Overwhelmingly yes. But like every country on earth, the United States has specific neighborhoods you simply do not wander into.
Here is the part the fear-mongers leave out. American violent crime is not spread evenly across the country. It is hyper-concentrated. In most major cities, the overwhelming majority of homicides occur in a handful of specific neighborhoods, often just a few square miles, driven largely by gang activity and disputes between people who already know each other.
It is not random. It is not aimed at tourists. And it is not where you will be.
In fact it gets even more precise than city lines. It often comes down to the individual neighborhood. A single city can have a world class district full of restaurants and museums sitting a few miles from a handful of blocks responsible for the overwhelming majority of its violence. Same city. Same mayor. Completely different reality from one neighborhood to the next.
A visitor at Fenway, the Magnificent Mile, the French Quarter, or Times Square is statistically about as safe as they would be anywhere in the developed world.
Here is the part that actually matters and that nobody reports correctly.
This is a city issue. Often a neighborhood issue. Not a state issue.
The cities carrying the highest murder rates in America are run by the same kind of city government, and have been for decades. Jackson. Memphis. St. Louis. Birmingham. Detroit. New Orleans. Baltimore.
And here is the proof that it is local and not regional. Take the troubled city out of the red state surrounding it, and that state becomes one of the safest places in the entire developed world. Mississippi outside Jackson is remarkably safe. Tennessee outside Memphis is remarkably safe. The violence is not spread across a state. It is concentrated in a few specific cities, and within those cities, a few specific neighborhoods.
Which brings us to the universal truth every seasoned traveler already knows.
Every great city on earth has two maps. The one tourists use and the one locals know.
You do not wander into the rough parts of South Chicago at 2am. Just like you do not wander into certain banlieues outside Paris. Or around Frankfurt’s Bahnhofsviertel after dark. Or onto certain London estates where even locals will tell you to keep moving.
London has it. Paris has it. Frankfurt has it. So does every American city.
The answer is not fear. It is the same common sense you would use anywhere on earth.
Stay where the life is. The restaurants, the stadiums, the markets, the waterfronts. Use the same instincts that have kept you safe in every other city you have ever visited. And you will have the time of your life.
America is not dangerous. America is large. Know which map you are reading.
Enjoy the Cup. 🦋
@ViQueenie This is nothing more than a rerun of the Portugal story. Remember a few years ago it was all over the headlines that they brought a house in Portugal and then all of a sudden it went away. This is the same thing. When it doesn't happen they can play victim.
@saucysueb It's not, this is just like the story they put out a couple of years ago about buying a house and moving to Portugal. Nothing ever came of it either. It's all to take attention away from the Royals and be able to play victim when it doesn't happen.
Rebecca English has been told that it is not true! We know she does have actual Palace contacts unlike some others... Sussex propaganda being pushed hard! 🙄
This tail is a challenging 7.2 mile hike/bike that is rugged and includes close trees, steep slopes, rough ruts, roots and rocks. You will encounter a variety of habitats with high points overlooking beautiful lake visas and sandy coves along the shore of the lake.
Today at SC Trails Adventures, we continue our series on McCormick County with the second of three trails in Hickory Knob State Resort Park.
Lakeview loop is a multi-use trail that is a dirt loop.
Pride is the sin that convinced Satan he could rise above God, and it still destroys lives today.
Pride rejects correction, resists repentance, and robs God of the glory He deserves.
"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6)
Choose humility before pride ensures your downfall.
@TheRealPikayla Understood! Thanks for clarifying. And yes, we all need grace. The comments in most post now are full of nasty things. It's sad what this world is coming to but Praise the Lord this is not my home. Have a blessed day.