Is It Safe?

[Pete7]

Visit America? are you kidding At least in Egypt the locals drink the tap water.

Pete

[zeehag]

usa IS very racist. research affirmative action laws.

DRAMA sells.

sensationalism sells.

[FrankZ]

Originally Posted by zeehag

kkk was not an all amaerikun idea--many of the aryans come from great britain and germany, just for starters, and then molded into kkk...you dont remember the hitler era, where aryan was only way. ..is a pure white thing, not indiginous to usa. ...

To be fair, and historically accurate, the Ku Klux Klan is an American idea. It predates Hitler and the Nazis a bit. The original Klan was started in 1865 to "deal" with freed slaves.

The Klan has been a blight on the American ideal since its inception through all its iterations. Denying the Klan is denying a part of our history.

[Kenomac]

Most of the folks we've met overseas have a Hollywood view of the USA... which is totally distorted. Unfortunately, the Hollywood freaks who live in a bubble, really believe the crap they write and the movies they make... so the stereotypes continue.

The USA is a big country with over 330 million people; there's always going to be places to avoid just like any other place.

Personally, I don't know any racists,' never seen anyone wearing a hooded robe... ever. I really don't know where people get the idea that there's a bunch of racists wondering around in the USA... Geez, we just voted a black president into office for the second time, so that should prove to everyone we're not a bunch of racists.

[SVNeko]

Yes, but the Klan has been reduced to a tiny laughingstock by continued legal attacks by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which, deprived of its main mission, has unfortunately moved on to become indistinguishable from any other progressive agitprop group.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by David M

I understand your point, but still, negative news does sell the news. It gets more eyeballs watching advertising which is the whole goal.

Oh negative definitely drives the news. News and movie scripts, two entirely different things.

Just look at the news we've had this year -- both stories (Boston and West, Texas)

[senormechanico]

So what has all this USA bashing have to do with sailing?

Not everybody lives in a rathole like LA or NYC and to compare the whole country to those places is like saying,
"You're going to sail to MEXICO??? What about all the BANDITOS ??

Anybody who has done so, laughs at the question.

I'm amazed this thread is still going on, as any other thread making any negative comment about (fill in the non white, non Christian religion, etc. blank) would have been closed a long time ago.

[bobconnie]

First some one needs to explain to me whats SAFE ? I feel safe most all the time ! no matter where Im at ! Ive been most everywhere there is to go ! Folks just are thinking themselfs into fear! Ya need to realise that safety is different for everybody! folks from big citys are afraid of different things then folks from the country! If you prepare for the trip, things go smoother! If you never leave home you might still feel unsafe!! Heck we live next to one of the worst citys for murder in the US, and we don't feel unsafe there! but others are afraid to even think about going there!Personaly, I remember what we said in th Nam, Its nothing but a thing! you have to have the right mind set to enjoy new places! if your afraid to go to the Big city maybe the cruiseing lifestyle is not the place for ya ! Of course if you live in a country that has total control of everything that happens, you might feel safe ! But for us we pepare and go ! and handle things as they happen ! What else can ya do?? live in a bunker undrground? Not for us !! we will keep going where we want when we want !! Just sayin liveing in fear is no way to live !

[Madcatter]

The funny thing is how the misperceptions work both ways. I will never forget the first time I flew to Medellin to meet Serena's Family. All I knew about Colombia was what I had learned from the nightly news, and Miami Vice. She assured me it was safe (well in most areas) and I had a wonderful time. My daughters and I have since made it a point to visit there every year for the past three years in December. ( If you ever get the chance go and see the Christmas Lights stunning) Yes there are still places in Colombia I would not go, but I would have never went there had I not kept an open mind about visiting. Our perceptions tend to be molded by the media and it is the same for people from other countries about us. The only way to truly learn is to go and visit, live and learn. But it is very amusing to have a kid ask if everyone lives in big mansions and drive very expensive cars.

[belizesailor]

Yes, perceptions, misperceptions and individuals' own social myopathy are powerful.

For example, I used to live in the N Dallas area. At the time it had the highest mean income in the USA. In contrast S Dallas was the most likely place in the USA to fall victim to violent crime. I dont think that most of my N Dallas friends even knew S Dallas existed. But when I would take off somewhere foreign to go sailing or diving - they were horrified - "OMG is it safe?". This always amazed me...have you never even driven to the other side of the town where you live??? Definately was not "safe" back then.

Living in Guatemala I get this reaction often now too. On those rare occassions when I do go to the USA now I feel like the stranger in a strange land.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

So what has all this USA bashing have to do with sailing?

Not everybody lives in a rathole like LA or NYC and to compare the whole country to those places is like saying,
"You're going to sail to MEXICO??? What about all the BANDITOS ??

Anybody who has done so, laughs at the question.

I'm amazed this thread is still going on, as any other thread making any negative comment about (fill in the non white, non Christian religion, etc. blank) would have been closed a long time ago.

I have not seen much I would categorize as "bashing" here, and hope that posters will refrain from that, but I have seen lots of good insightful posts about the perception of USA and other cultures...which is fundamentally related to cruising...if you knew all you would encounter were just like yourself then what would be the point of leaving home?

[Katiusha]

Having sailed the East Coast of US a few times, my perceptions were the following:

New England - very safe.
NY, DelMarVa - be cautious. We also sailed to Washington DC and we were scared most of the time there - rally didn't like the vibe of the place. Maybe because w were there for July 4th and there were all sorts of characters from other states. Rats on the shore didn't help the image. Alexandria left a better impression.
NC, SC - be cautious, but more relaxed. Skipped GA.
FL - strange places on the coast... Port Canaveral - safe and quirky due to Space Centre people. Further down starts winter bird country, so didn't feel safe there because figured that there are all sorts of seasonal crime. Visited Miami, stayed in well-off area to be safe. Drove to Key West, felt quite safe there.

In general, I'd feel safest CT and up.

[goboatingnow]

I've worked and lived in the US for several years, some years ago. Lived in upstate NY and Philly . Now I'm a regular visitor with quite a bit of relatives there. To Americans are very friendly , likeable people, its has the best diner style cooking in the world. I was always surprise at the extreme care societies there go about looking after children ( school bus stops, 15mph etc) schooling system was quite good , but very very variable.

Americans tend to receive news in a very carefully controlled way, and unlike say Europeans who are deeply cynical of authority , Americans are not. I would classify them, as very naïve on world affairs , few people outside the obvious intelligentsia seem to look for any sort of deeper analysis. ( this is not uncommon of course elsewhere ). I was always impressed by the patriotism that is present in everyday life ( the flags etc), in contrast to Europe where such displays have historical issues.

I never felt unsafe in any particular area, but of course the huge huge disparity between the haves and the have nots is striking for a European, American is a place where you can rise to great heights but fall very far indeed.. Bus travel is of course a wired experience and Americans don't really have a passenger train service ( they so have fantastic freight railroads ..drool)

I was always amazed at the amount of police and the rigorous enforcing of quite meaningless petty rules ( jay walking , loitering , parking the wrong way ( and the way most Americans are very law abiding )

Was also amazed by the drinking rules in Philly ( early 80s) really wired. And later was the fact I still couldn't get a restaurant to serve my 16 year old a glass of wine.

Its a very ordered ,regulated , officious place at times , from a more laid back European. I always felt in the US , anything that wasnt specifically legal, was regarded as probably illegal , somewhat the opposite in Europe. I blame the German influence in the US myself. lol .

I did like that I could buy beer at baseball games , unlike here where football games look like military invasions at times

So , add compulsory world history , quadruple the size of PBS and ban newspaper that weigh more then 2lbs, it would be a greater place, its already quite a great place

As this isn't the place , I have left out any comments on politics and of course this was all pre 9/11

What I didn't like

The four way stop
The low speed limits (that's improved somewhat )
The lack of a decent fast saloon car
The Schuylkill expressway
Lack of world news and analysis
64 channels of rubbish TV. ( I mean when you come from the beeb)
The awful coffee , though this has improved over the years !!
Nobody can make a proper cup of tea or hot whiskeys
The awful bread and parsnips are exotic

What I like
Diners
Pickup trucks
GM EMD
the huge expanses of wilderness
Hunting /shooting
House design
The people
hoagies and Philly cheese steaks

Now , of course with 9/11 and subsequent , much of the naïveté has go e which is actually a pity. Its a scarier place in recent years , the sense of innocence is gone, and Americans are not handling that well.. In time now doubt , they will just accept a level of domestic terror like Europeans have been dealing with for years and to some extent just ignore it. ( which will really annoy the terrorists )
Dave

[belizesailor]

As a USA living abroad I have to agree about the USA media...if I want to know whats actually going on in the USA, I usually tune in the BBC...via SSB or Sirius on the boat of course.

There are some great cruising grounds in the USA which I would not mind sailing again...New England in the Summer is probably the ultimate but I also like SW Florida and parts (not all) of the N Gulf of Mexico coastline.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by SaucySailoress

As a 'foreigner' I have no desire to go to the US, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ nobody will speak English enough to help me.

Must admit could be the case in Miami. recall when I flew into USA from Columbia, South America it was very much Spanish spoken at airport with all announcements in Spanish.