Perception of Violence part III

In parts I and II I talk about perception and how it effects our truth. I also compared the violence of Mexico and the United States and how we view each. I think I've shown in some small way that the violence in the United States is horrific and yet, we go about our daily routines as if we're really quite safe. I should've added that many of us are. However, many are not. I've shown that while the violence in Mexico is also horrific and worse than the United States, it's not the apocalyptic nightmare that we've been led to believe. So why do we think it is? Why, do we ignore the violence in our own country but fixate on the violence of another? Honestly, I do not know, but I have some ideas that I'll share.

I don't think there is one simple explanation for our perception concerning violence. Ignorance, arrogance, laziness and self preservation all play a part.

It's always struck me odd that our country has been dominating the world stage since at least the second world war, yet we are the most ignorant of it. Any study of American's understanding of geography,world politics, or world history proves this point. Additionally we are poorly traveled. The world continues to get smaller and yet we don't travel it as much as other world players. Americans are less likely to travel exstensivley outside of our own borders as say a German or Japanese. One of the main benefits of travel is the exchange of ideas. Another is understanding that many places we once feared that once traveled aren't so scary. You begin to see people in foreign lands as people like you, who simply want to raise a family and send their kids to school. A strong example of this is the Rotary International Exchange program. The REP stated goal is "Peace through Exchange". They believe that the more our children live and travel in foreign lands and the more children from those lands do the same here, the more we'll understand and appreciate foreign cultures. The past few years we have hosted three wonderful young women from Chile, Turkey and Germany. Each reinforced my belief in the power of travel. During this period of time I sent my own daughter to live in Turkey for ten months. This was a life changing event for her and a reinforcing event for me. During the three years we were involved in the REP not a single American student was harmed in a foreign land. Conversely during that time at least two REP students were murdered in the United States. Both were random acts of violence. One in Miami and one in Seattle. So yes, ignorance of the outside world is contributing cause of our perception of violence. We see the world as a dangerous place filled with people who want to kill us. So when we see images on tv of the violence in Mexico it reinforces our perception and beliefs. Ignorance is bliss.

From the moment we are born we are instilled with the belief that America is the greatest country on Earth. It is taught and reinforced in our school systems, movies and popular culture. We are taught that as a country we are almost infalliable and it's a crime to suggest anything other than this belief. The punishment for such a crime is to be labeled as Un-American. This is an arrogant belief that blinds us from reality. I'm not suggesting that my country isn't the greatest. What I believe is that we are fallible. That we make mistakes but we strive correct them. This arrogance makes it impossible for us to clear this hurdle. So it's easy for us to believe that our country doesn't have the problems we indeed have. It's easy for the perception of infallibility to be reinforced. The perception that our country is the safest while the rest of the world is dangerous is fed by our arrogance.

Today we work harder than we ever have. When we're not working we're taking the kids to music classes, soccer games and a million other places we have to be in an average American day. By the time we're done running it's late and we're exhausted. We plop down in front of the tv and watch "Real Wives of Where ever" or the ballgame. Some will flip the channels and catch a twenty second piece on cable news about the drug war in Mexico. Few if any will attempt to discover the truth and let's face it, the news does a poor job of giving us the truth. It's a business and it plays to the dollar. Whatever sells will be covered. If it's a portion of the truth that's fine. Just as long as advertisers keep paying. Any any given day, people will be shot and killed in our country, but the national news will not cover it. Drug dealers in Mexico get killed in a shootout and it's played non-stop for days on cable news. It's so much easier to be spoon fed our information than to mine it for ourselves. It's so much easier to accept than it is to question.

If we fully understood how scary our own country is we might be paralyzed with fear. So it's just easier to ignore it. Put your head in the sand and everything will be ok. Poke your head out and ask questions and you'll wish you didn't. It's better to believe your safe and that Mexicans are just waiting for you to cross the border.

Like I said, I honestly don't know why the perception of violence exists. These are merely thoughts I've been working on for awhile. I am convinced that the perception is real. And like I also said if you believe in that perception, than that is your truth.

Perception of Violence part I

Several years ago I became interested in the concept of adventure motorcycling. I'm not sure what the correct definition is or even if there is one, but I'd sum it up by saying it's riding in unfamiliar and potentially dangerous areas far from your home. It didn't take much searching to find on websites like advrider.com or horizonsunlimited.com which had thousands of first hand accounts of men and women who were riding their bikes in every corner of the world usually without a safety net. Just their own courage and wits to see them safely to the next town and eventually home. The dream was born and I was going to be an adventure rider too. Mexico was my logical choice for my first (and so far only) adv ride. It bordered the US, offered different cultures and terrains and I'd been there several times before. Now when I said I'd been there what I meant to say is I'd been to the Yucatan; Cozumel, Playa Del Carmen, Tulum. Certainly different than the US but not adventurous. I mean if Uncle Fred can make it two weeks in Cancun wearing the usual tourist uniform, tropical shirt, ill fitting khaki shorts and sandals with black socks, it can't be that dangerous. I mean seriously, how long would Fred last wandering Detroit in that outfit?

With Mexico as my destination I began to research. I bought maps and guide books, I read accounts of riders old and current trips to Mexico and I talked to those around me. It was the people around me that raised the most alarm. "You're going to do what?", "You can't ride through, Mexico, it's too dangerous", "There's a drug war going on, they'll kill you", "banditos, kidnapping, rape, mayhem!". Jesus (the Mexican pronunciation), was it really that bad? I listened to my friends and families but I also listened to the riders who had been there. Almost to a person they said Mexico was safe. In fact many of them felt safer in Mexico than in the US.

So, I went. Me and a buddy rode seven thousand miles in Mexico without a single problem. After the first few days I felt comfortable and very safe. We followed precautions. Basically we did what any thinking person would do. We didn't flash cash around, not that we had any. If we got drunk it was with people we trusted and we tried very hard not to ride at night (that requires more explanation, read my blog account of the ride at motolocogringo.blogspot.com).

During the ride I often thought about the perception of Mexican violence in the US. Where did we get this perception? Why did most American's believe Mexico was a wild and dangerous country? Most importantly was this belief validated? From my own point of view it wasn't. So what led me to my own version of perception? My experiences have often showed me that reality is often very different from perception. Unfortunately perception is reality if that person believes it. As a young man I lived in Germany while serving in the Army. I traveled Europe as much as I could and found time after time that stereotypes (perceptions) of people and cultures were often at odds with what I was told to expect. What changed most during my four years living in Europe was my perception of my home country, the United States. I was told time and time again that America is the greatest country on Earth and I agree. I guess my perception was that because we were such great innovators, everything we did was better than everywhere else. I saw so many things being done more efficiently and better than we were doing back home. This changed my perception of perception. These experiences and many more like them have made me question perception in pursuit of fact.

So, what perception is reality? Is Mexico a lawless wasteland where banditos roam without fear and murder anyone in path? Or is it safe place that struggles with crime like every other country? Or is it something else altogether? Honestly, there's no way I can answer these questions but I can provide some insight. Part II will follow shortly.