Although JP has just expressed the same ideas that I was going to post, and better than me I think, I still want to contribute to this along the same lines, in my own words.
Sara, perhaps what you fail to notice is that you have exactly the same position as those that insist Bs As is not dangerous. Why?
Because:
Sara didn't see any violent crime in Washington D.C.= Reasons for not being afraid in D.C.
Even when statistics show crime was a problem.
Expat X in Bs As didn't see any violent crime in Bs As = Reasons for not being afraid in Bs As
Even when statistics show crime is a problem.
The only other contribution that I want to add to this admittedly pointless exercise ("and why are you contributing" I hear you ask) is that the Crime & Insecurity issues are a permanent favourite song in Buenos Aires among people of certain status and that has been the case for a lot longer than the last few years.
If anyone cares to do the digging and find a Rough Guide to Argentina volume from about 10 years ago, you'll see that the Personal Safety and Crime thing was already all the rage back then, significant enough to deserve a warning page or two in the general info part of that travel guide, along the lines of "it's not as safe as it used to be". When I say "the Personal Safety and Crime thing" I refer specifically to the "One can't go out at night anymore" mantra.
And when was it that used to be so safe in the mythical past? I tell you when:
I grew up in Buenos Aires and I grew up hearing the relentless "It was safer ten years ago, not anymore" dirge, all the time. In fact, the only times when you didn't hear it quite as much was during the 70s when we were all so safe with a dictatorship that knew well how to take care of delinquents.
(...and for those here too dim to detect the irony, I am being ironic when I say it was all safe with the juntas, shame that I actually have to clarify it with a Irony Alert signpost just in case).
Sara, perhaps what you fail to notice is that you have exactly the same position as those that insist Bs As is not dangerous. Why?
Because:
Sara didn't see any violent crime in Washington D.C.= Reasons for not being afraid in D.C.
Even when statistics show crime was a problem.
Expat X in Bs As didn't see any violent crime in Bs As = Reasons for not being afraid in Bs As
Even when statistics show crime is a problem.
The only other contribution that I want to add to this admittedly pointless exercise ("and why are you contributing" I hear you ask) is that the Crime & Insecurity issues are a permanent favourite song in Buenos Aires among people of certain status and that has been the case for a lot longer than the last few years.
If anyone cares to do the digging and find a Rough Guide to Argentina volume from about 10 years ago, you'll see that the Personal Safety and Crime thing was already all the rage back then, significant enough to deserve a warning page or two in the general info part of that travel guide, along the lines of "it's not as safe as it used to be". When I say "the Personal Safety and Crime thing" I refer specifically to the "One can't go out at night anymore" mantra.
And when was it that used to be so safe in the mythical past? I tell you when:
I grew up in Buenos Aires and I grew up hearing the relentless "It was safer ten years ago, not anymore" dirge, all the time. In fact, the only times when you didn't hear it quite as much was during the 70s when we were all so safe with a dictatorship that knew well how to take care of delinquents.
(...and for those here too dim to detect the irony, I am being ironic when I say it was all safe with the juntas, shame that I actually have to clarify it with a Irony Alert signpost just in case).
