Perception of Violence, part II

In part one of Perception of Violence, I talked about violence in Mexico and how my personal perceptions changed as I lived and traveled in foreign lands. In part II I'll give you some facts. See if they support or refute your perceptions.

When I rode through Mexico the drug war had been raging for several years. So in 2007 it was already bad. Admittedly it has intensified and it is worse now. Most of the statistics I'm going to give you are from 2008 because they were the easiest to find. Remember, this post is about perception so try not to get hung up on battling statistics. We all know they can be manipulated and twisted to meet one's own conclusion. I'm admitting to doing that in this post. The statistics used are from trusted sources. If you want the sources let me know and I'll post them.

Every single day in America people are murdered. In fact approximately 35 Americans are murdered every single day. Every single day is statistically more dangerous in the US than a day in Iraq (358 dead in 2008) for an American soldier. You think you live in safe country? Ponder this, in 2008 there were more murders each in the cites of Chicago (508), Detroit (340, almost more though these numbers are the lowest in 40 years),and Los Angeles (376) than American soldiers killed in Iraq. To be clear this is not a combined sum, each of these cities was more dangerous for it's citizens than Iraq was for our soldiers. I could go on and on about work place murders, drive by shootings, children murdering each other in their schools but you all know about that. While still in high school one of my closest friends was shot while being robbed in Detroit. Many who read this will know who I'm talking about. Having outlined in some small way how dangerous the United States is, how many of you are too afraid to walk out of your doors? Will any of you postpone trips to Chicago or LA. Will any of my friends here, in Traverse City skip a trip to see the Tigers this summer? I haven't heard of anyone canceling their plans. But I have heard of people canceling trips to Mexico. Why is that? Is Mexico really that dangerous to visitors? Let's take a look.

Mexico is a country of 100 million people, mostly peaceful hard working folk. The biggest threat they face today is a drug war fueled entirely by our country's insatiable desire for illegal drugs. Prior to President Calderon's decision to fight the very powerful drug lords, Mexico's total murders were less than the United States. Granted, they had a murder rate higher than ours, but the overall total was lower. Since that time murders have exploded. But believe it or not the murder rates are actually down from 1980s. In 2008 the murder rate in Mexico was 12 per 100,000. Bad but not nearly as bad as Columbia (35) or even Brazil (25). I wonder how many people would change their travel plans to Rio if they knew it was twice as dangerous as Mexico? Additionally, the vast majority of drug related murders take place in the Northern and Western parts of the country and are for the most part, involving those in the drug trade. Yes, innocent people get caught in the cross fire or are targeted but it is the exception not the rule.

In some small way I've shown that in our country murder happens everyday yet we don't feel threatened at all. In Mexico murder is on the rise fueled by a drug war of our own making, but not nearly as bad as many other countries you hear nothing about. Also, the violence is concentrated in certain regions of the country and for the most part concentrated in the drug culture. So, why are we inundated every single day with headlines about Mexican drug violence? What makes us almost oblivious to the dangers in our own country while at the same time fixated on those of another country?

In part III, we come back to perception and try to tie it all together.