Gypsy Jan
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Mood: Depends on which way the wind is blowing
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Tijuana is much safer than Chicago - The mexican city is 28% safer
From San Diego Red
by Brenda Colón Navar
"According to some new statistics for the year 2012, the city of Chicago is the city with the highest rate of homicides in the United States, 506
deaths to be exact. Comparing this data to what the authorities in Tijuana, Mexico, have revealed in their numbers. Tijuana had a total of 364
homicides for 2012.
The important thing here is to distinguish how Tijuana used to be a few years ago and how it is now.
Tijuana used to be considered as one of the most violent cities in the world, and this bad reputation is what the residents of this city have changed
over the years.
Warnings from the U.S. government towards travelers have not helped either, and usually when the media releases these messages, people generally
assume that traveling to any part of Mexico is dangerous and a place they should avoid.
Although the wave of violence is still present in Mexico, the incidents are more frequent further south into the country. This is something that is
expected to change with General Alfonso Duarte Mujica, whose success in Tijuana is also expected to be reproduced nationwide. Duarte was one of the
key figures in the Baja California and Tijuana to restore security in the region through the cooperation of military and police.
Meanwhile, the same media that has made these reports about Mexico, are now also reporting the terrible situation that the U.S. is going through
regarding the violence with firearms. The recent shootings in Colorado and Connecticut have again put the use of firearms up for debate, where the U.S
government is trying to respect the rights of U.S. citizens as dictated in the Second Amendment, and at the same time prevent future tragedies.
Currently, Mexico does not share the same type culture regarding gun control like that of the U.S., but the population has been appalled by what has
also happened in the neighboring country. Although the Mexican government has not reached the point of issuing alerts to recommend not visiting the
U.S. Fear is a common feeling on both sides of the border, and just how visitors from the United States are afraid of being kidnaped or killed in
Mexico, Mexicans are also as equally afraid of going to the mall or school where a shooting might break out.
It's very common when speaking well of Mexico that the neighbors up north do not recognize the changes that have been made, and continue to make
comments about "the great danger of visiting Mexico", but for those who have come and visit its cities, they know well that its nothing like "they"
make it seem to be.
Out of 32 states that make up the entire Mexican territory, only 6 are considered to be regions with high criminal activity which are Jalisco, Nuevo
Leon, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Guerrero and the state of Mexico. Now, is it really unsafe to travel to Mexico?
Comparing Tijuana and Chicago is only one example of how important is to look further into details before making your own judgments, and not just
going by what everyone else thinks.
Tijuana and Mexico in general have a lot to offer, but it's only a matter of giving it a chance and finding out on your own. Just like that old saying
"don't judge a book by its cover."
Brenda.Colon@sandiegored.com
Omar.Martinez@sandiegored.com
[Edited on 2-16-2013 by Gypsy Jan]
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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DavidE
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Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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Too many disappear in Tijuana and elsewhere in Mexico and not a word is ever mentioned about it, certainly to the cops and media. The PGR estimates
several hundred people at the least go missing annually. Crime reporting data is skewed so badly by the fact the public hates the cops...
(Translated)
"¡Hijo de La Gran Puta! I have been robbed!"
"Sshh! You'll bring the cops!"
For tourists, IMHO Tijuana is only dangerous at night and in poorer barrios. But it IS a city of several million inhabitants and I can virtually
guarantee that like other cities of similar size not all its residents are Boy Scouts.
JMHO
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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MrBillM
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Mood: It's a Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Day
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Relative Importance
The information might be significant to those who wish to visit or reside in either Tijuana or Chicago, but absolutely
meaningless to those who have no intention or desire to do either.
[Edited on 2-16-2013 by MrBillM]
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Pompano
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Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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Mood: Optimistic
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"Chicago, Tijuana...or?"
At 17, I was eager to explore a bit. So, leaving home after high school...I worked as an assistant-assistant to an underling-assistant in an office
at CB&Q Railways in downtown Chicago. I learned a lot, Chicago makes the best pizza, and why many employers like to hire guys/gals from ND, and
most important...how a college degree pays way, way more than a high school diploma.
The second week I was there, a co-worker told me that a murdered body was found in a dumpster behind his house. He seemed rather matter-of-fact about
it.
I said, 'What, no photos?' Dead bodies in dumpsters were an extreme rarity in North Dakota then....and still are. Live ones on Sunday
morning after Saturday Nite Town Hoots are a different matter, naturally.
Tijuana...I spent an eternity one night sleeping in the back of my Suburban at a tranny shop and trying to keep the junkyard dog from busting the
window and eating my leg. Just saying, that may have soured my outlook on the area.
Given a choice between TJ and Chicago..."Chicago is... my kind of town"...But... thinking back, now...there's no place like
home!
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
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Location: Punta Banda
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Gypsy Jan
The important thing here is to distinguish how Tijuana used to be a few years ago and how it is now.
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Yeah...right. It used to be a toilet...now it's a teacup.
These comparisons are worse than meaningless.
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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| Quote: |
It's very common when speaking well of Mexico that the neighbors up north do not recognize the changes that have been made, and continue to make
comments about "the great danger of visiting Mexico", but for those who have come and visit its cities, they know well that its nothing like "they"
make it seem to be.
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I wonder who "they" might be? Probably the media who has this bad habit of reporting news they get from Mexico news agencies.
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
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| Quote: | Originally posted by ridge
Come on now, fellow gadflies; you left a fat one hanging right over the plate: | Quote: | | Chicago is perfectly safe if you're not involved in gangs or drugs |
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Where was this? I can't find it in the article.
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sancho
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2524
Registered: 10-6-2004
Location: OC So Cal
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| Quote: | Originally posted by MrBillM
absolutely meaningless to those who have no intention or desire to do either.
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Never could figure out comparing 2 different locales,
I imagine Boise, Idaho is safer then Syria. Mex is
going to extremes to portray the country safe
for tourists
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bajacalifornian
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Ah, I'd rather be in Tijuana any day or night, than Chicago . . .
American by birth, Mexican by choice.
Signature addendum: Danish physicist — Niels Bohr — who said, “The opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth.
Jeff Petersen
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